Last modified 15.3.2011 at 13:14

From Down Under to up here

Text and photos: Susanna Siironen

Australian Jussi (Joshua) Schultink came to Finland in 2005. Now Jussi studies in Oulu University of Applied Sciences in the Degree Programme in International Business. He is keen on Finnish teaching methods and long summer nights. Jussi advises people who are planning to come in Finland to prepare on darkness and extraordinary personality.

Jussi enjoys his practical training in Navicron. He wanted to stay in Finland because many businesses that he wants to work are available here.

Jussi applied for Oulu UAS because he had heard about its learning methods and he thought that it would be suitable for him. The degree programme was easy to choose.

- I was running my own business in Australia. So lots of the things in studies are very familiar to me, but I have also learned a lot of new stuff as well. I had some experience so it has made learning a lot easier.

For example, he studies marketing and business processes, from the international starting points, of course. Jussi has one year left of his studies. He tells that the main reason for him to move to Finland was that his wife was Finnish.

- That makes things a bit more clear, I guess, he laughs.

Flexibility is a key word

Jussi thinks that Finnish teaching methods are more flexible than Australian.

- In Australia you need to be in every lecture and style is very pushing and compulsory which I really do not like because, you know, sometimes it is just easier to study at home or sometimes you already got some experience and you do not really need to go to that course, he says.

Jussi tells that he likes Finnish teaching methods very much. He says that it is nice that you can go to discuss with your teacher if you have a problem. The atmosphere here is more open.

- You do not feel like the person you are discussing with is so much higher than you and so much more educated than you and that’s the reason why you can discuss with them.

At the moment Jussi is doing his practical training in Oulu in the company named Navicron. His job is deals with technical marketing.

- I do a lot of stuff here like marketing, planning, maintaining websites and thinking about the future product designs. I am the guy in the corner who does what ever the boss says, he jokes.

Jussi thinks that he would have come in Finland eventually anyway.

Never mind darkness

Darkness in Finland is something that may surprise foreign people. Jussi tells that it was hard to learn to deal with darkness.

- I am getting used to it now but it has always been difficult. The cold I can cope with, you just go inside. But with darkness I have to learn to deal with.

Despite the darkness Jussi says that he just loves Finland.

- I love sauna and whole mökki (cottage) culture here. I enjoy that. And summer is fantastic! You know, the long nights and all that, he explains.

Jussi advises people who are planning to come to Finland to be prepared that things are different here. People in Finland seem to be at first glance a little bit different.

- You got to be willing to adapt a different personality style. If you do not understand Finnish people they can seem very cold and very inward personalities but once you get to know them they are actually wonderful people.

Jussi has now lived in Finland two years. So does the guy speak any Finnish?

- Finnish course in the School of Business and Information Management was very good, even though my Finnish sucks still. I really do not have any need to speak Finnish at the moment. However, I am still trying to learn it but I am not really good at languages, he laughs.

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Attic - Attracted by the Finnish teaching methods

Degree Programme in International Business

About 50% of the students are Finnish, the rest of the students come from 15 different countries, for example from China, Russia, Australia, USA and Ethiopia.
There are 5 foreign teachers and about 20 Finnish teachers. In addition to this the degree programme has about 20 visiting lecturers from partner universities.
Students go mostly to exchange in the UK, Spain or Hungary.
Typical Bachelor’s Thesis can deal with marketing, export or internationalisation of some company, for example.
The School encourages students to do their practical training abroad. Students look for their practical training placements themselves.
Scope of degree: 210 credits
Duration of studies: 3.5 years of full-time study
Enrolment in autumn 2008: 25 students
About 80% of students graduate in the prescribed duration of studies.