Preparing for Finland!

Alright, by now, I hope those who have been accepted have

-         received the package by post sent by the university,

-         paid the student union fee

-         accepted the offer

-         signed up for accommodation with Kortepohja orKOAS

-         applied for their residence permit (if needed)

Now, paperwork has been taken care of, you are ready to say goodbye to family and friends to start your journey to Finland, you ask yourselves: What should I pack? How do I start?

So, this blog entry is to answer those questions.

I, once, was also confused and frustrated, then came a miracle: Internet!

Yes, I mean start by doing your research and asking lots of questions to those who have been living here for a while. Luckily for me, there was an online forum of Vietnamese students who had been studying in Finland and they shared their experiences there. It was easy for me to figure out everything else. You can do the same thing: looking for the community of students coming from your own country in Finland and asking them questions. I can answer your questions too but you have to take into consideration that you and I might come from completely different climates and environments, which results in different level of tolerance threshold and cultures. The answers coming from your country fellows might be more applicable to you.

Another great source for asking question is Facebook group of Foreigners in Jyväskylä. Just remember to edit your public profile somehow so that the admin of the page can see that you will move to Jyväskylä and accept you to the group.

So, you might already know that I am from the southern part of Vietnam, a much tropical climate, South East Asian culture. And here is what I think you should prepare before going to Finland.

Disclaimer: For many of you (especially those from Europe or America), many things I am going to say here sound like common sense to you but do bear with me because they might not be common sense to lots of students coming from other cultures.

First, mentality! Those of you who have been traveling and living abroad, it might be easy for you to overcome culture shocks. But those who have never been abroad or even living independently, arriving in Finland might come as a big shock for you both mentally and physically. Anyway, this can’t be helped. You will have to get over it over time. Just remind yourself that you are going to a completely unique and different country from your own and other popular western countries that you often see on TV as well. So, keep an absolutely open mind to whatever comes your way. It can be either good or bad from your point of view but it's all experiences. You learn as you go and hopefully you grow. 

It is in the very nature of Finnish to be independent and you are expected to be too, which means even though you can certainly ask for help, you first need to rely on yourself. Do not expect others to do everything for you. That won’t do you any good in the long run. If you are lucky to have a caring tutor, she/he will help you out regardless. But if you are unfortunately assigned one like mine who didn’t really care and you still insist on relying on your tutor, you’ll have a hard time getting things done. So, do prepare to be independent and a reliable source of yourself. You will get guidance, of course, but you will have to organize your study and register for courses yourself. If you are sick, you have to call the clinic, book an appointment and go there yourself. Except for emergency when you have to call an ambulance, you are expected to do such things on your own. So, do not skip orientation week! You will get a lot of useful information there on how to go about problems you might encounter during your stay in Jyväskylä .

Winter could be harsh, but do not worry too much about this. I’ve been around some parts of Europe and I can say that Finland has the best facilities regarding heating system. It is all logical when they have had to deal with winter for years on end, they have developed the best technology possible for keeping warm, right? So, either you are at home, at school or even inside the bus, it’s always toasty and warm during winter. 

It is dark in winter. There is no denying it. I am more or less fine with lack of sunlight; I just tend to sleep a lot more; but I've seen people struggle with short hours of sunlight and the darkness in winter. There are tons of things you can do about this. Finland is a country of winter sport, get yourself a pair of skates and learn how to skate, for example. Or if you sign up for friendship family program (highly recommended), there's a chance that they'll take you skiing with them somewhere. Darkness might affect you in some ways but do not pay too much attention to it and you'll be fine. Take vitamins if you must. Try to keep a normal routine: going to lectures, eating properly ... 

So, this leads to the second thing to prepare: Clothes!

As I have said above, with very good central heating system here, you don’t need to bring gigantic coats and jackets which take up all the space in your luggage. Bring one or two good coats with two or three layers and you can put on more layers inside if you still feel cold. Bulky sweaters are not advisable either. Well, bring one or two if you absolutely cannot live without them. Just keep in mind that there are quite a few second-hand shops in Jyväskylä where you can buy all the winter clothes you want with very low price. 5 euros/kg or so. Even winter boots (which I find unnecessary but others might need them) can be bought in second-hand shop as well. Or on the Facebook group of Second-handitems in Jyväskylä . But I do advise bringing a good pair of snickers, running or trekking shoes or whatever kind of shoes that you can walk in comfortably. Also take into consideration what kind of transportation you would like to use primarily here: bus, bikes or walking; and prepare clothes accordingly.

I know that many people are not comfortable with the idea of wearing other people's old clothes. If that's the case, just bring enough, don't bring a whole lot, there are several outlets here with frequent sales as well. You can buy a good coat for 40 euros or so. 

Lots of students cook while they’re here so they do bring kitchen items with them, so here are some advice, especially for those from Asia:

Save space in your luggage for FOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, there are several shops here in Jyväskylä where you can buy Asian spices and food, they are really expensive though. So, instead of bulky clothes, save some space for spices and food from your own country. One very important thing for those from countries with rice-based cuisine, please DO NOT BRING RICE COOKER with you!!!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough, guys! You can definitely cook rice with a normal sauce pan and have it ready in 15 minutes. Believe me, I’ve been living in Finland for almost two years absolutely fine without a rice cooker and I eat rice very often. The story I’ve been telling like a broken record is that before coming to Finland, my parents insisted that I brought the rice cooker with me and I am glad that I said no. Regarding kitchen stuff, I brought one bowl and one pair of chopsticks. That’s it! I got everything else here second-handedly from other students. Do bring chopsticks though, they do not take up any space at all and they are expensive here.

My biggest mistake, I should admit, was that I thought I would just cook and eat whatever the cheapest available in the store while I was here. So I didn’t bring any Vietnamese spices and food with me. I love pasta, it is cheap so I kept eating it for every meal. So, for the first few months, it was quite okay until the craving for Vietnamese food really drove me crazy and I had to go shop and cook real Asian food with rice. So, do bring food and spices from home.

Lastly, one student asked me how to have a head start for her studies. So, here is my answer.

First, regarding books, do not worry about bringing any textbooks to Jyvaskyla. All the books used for the courses or books used for further reading and references are available for free use to all students in the libraries. If you would like to bring your favorite books to read for pleasure though, it’s a different story.

Secondly, if there’s one thing about preparing for your study here I would advise you, especially those accepted into D&IC, it would be START THINKING ABOUT YOUR MASTER’S THESIS TOPIC. Believe it or not, many students, including me, have struggled with getting started on their thesis. Of course, you will get guidance and supervision along the way, but as I said from the very beginning, you have no one else aside from yourself to completely rely on. No one can think or write the thesis for you. Eventually, you will have to write the thesis on your own. And the first question you’ll get asked will be: “What do you want to write about in your thesis?”. So, look around, see what interests you in your field (major) and dig a bit deeper to see how you can develop it into a thesis. Read about thesis structures online or here in the university's website. There are many videos on Youtube you can watch too. When you have a certain topic always in the back of your head, ideas come to you when you listen to lectures in class or read materials or even talk with your classmates or professors, then you can connect those ideas with your topic and gradually develop it. 

Anyway, more about the academic life will be covered later in coming entries.

It might sound a little bit harsh, I know. People would say I am scaring you guys. But I've seen people struggle and break down because they came here poorly prepared, mainly mentally. But it is an opportunity for you to learn and grow, both personally and academically. I have had my own struggles and obstacles when I first started. But I've had an absolute blast and I would choose Finland and Jyväskylä all over again if I had to for I'm grateful for what the country has helped myself gain during my two years living and studying here. I've made incredible friends here whom I see myself staying friends with for the rest of my life. I've gained knowledge and abilities that I never thought I would. So, do be prepared and make the best out of your time here in Jyväskylä! 

It's Spring here and the weather is absolutely gorgeous! 

Accommodation guidelines

To those who have been accepted, PLEASE GO TO https://koas.agileus.fi/en/campus_apply_form/ or http://www.kortepohja.fi/en/applicant/application/ IMMEDIATELY TO APPLY FOR ACCOMMODATION. Fall semester is hectic and full of exchange students, you need to apply as early as possible so that they can arrange accommodation for you. Last semester, there were cases where people had no place to stay even after they arrived in Jyväskylä. They will only send you offers 1 month before your anticipated arrival time in Jyväskylä, if you want to accept the place, you send them the deposit. If you do not want to accept the place, you can decline it.

So, I have talked about accommodation for international students coming to study in Jyväskylä before, please see this entry: Student housing options

When I first received offers about accommodation, I preferred to live near the campus as well. But after coming here, I realized that the campuses spread through a big part of the city so ... there is no housing option which is technically "close" to the campus. If you want to live close to the city center, hence close to the main campus (about 10 minute walk), and money is not a problem for you, yes, you still have the option of living in the middle of the city center. So, I am glad that I went for "cheap" rather than "close" because there are many choices for commuting to school and back home like I mentioned in this entry.

So, in this entry, I would like to simply provide you guys a map of the locations of all student housing provided by the University and KOAS (local housing company) and the university's campuses and departments. You can use this map to choose the most suitable place for yourself when you apply for housing.

For example, those who are about to start their Master's Degree in Nanoscience will have to do a lot of lab work, so it would be nice to live near the science campus, which means somewhere along Survontie street. That would be KOAS housing areas: Ainolankaari, Ainola, Humppa or Tango, etc. When applying for accommodation on KOAS's website, you can choose where you would like to stay. I know that they'll try their best to locate you there. But of course, since there are normally lots of students coming in Fall, it's hard for every wish to be granted, so there's no guarantee but there's no harm in trying. I actually got a place with the price I was very happy with so ... there's that!

Alright, there you go. 

Student housing in Jyväskylä map: 

Orange areas: Campus (click the name of the campus to see which buildings and departments are there!)
Dark pink area: Student Village Kortepohja
Blue areas and red bubbles: KOAS housing (Click the name of the areas to see the address!)

Click this symbol   on the up right corner of the map to view on full page.

Click this symbol  on the up left corner of the map to view names of all the places on the map

Aside from this, you can view this map bellow to see the detailed map of the campuses including libraries, cafeterias, pool, gyms, bus stations and hospital ...




ONCE AGAIN: APPLY RIGHT NOW, NO KIDDING, GUYS!

Residence Permit Application to Finland!

Okay, this blog should be catered to real needs for currently urgent matters concerning studying in University of Jyväskylä. So, I guess it’s time for some information about boring paperwork. 

First, my hearty congratulations to all candidates who have received offers to study Master’s Degree at University of Jyväskylä! Your hard work has finally paid off. Allow yourself to celebrate a little bit. Some alcohol might be involved but don’t go overboard though because … brace yourself … tons of paperwork awaiting! 

Now, for those who are EU citizens, you have nothing to worry about, celebrate, have some fun and pack your bags to come here in August or September. 

For those who are not EU citizens and need to obtain a residence permit to come and stay here in Finland. You have a long and whining road waiting for you ahead. 

Well, but what’d life be without some struggles, right? It’d be too boring to bear. I know the pain all too well, so I’ll try to walk you through it. 

This is 100% from my own experiences, like any other information I've shared with you on this blog. I know that I sound like a broken record repeating this in many of my entries. I just need to make sure that you all understand that the information I share applies differently to each individual. Even if you ask another Vietnamese student, she/he might give you a different take on it. This should only act as your guide so you'll be alerted about what might be expected or unexpected. 

Alright … applications for a residence permit might be different from country to country, from individual to individual; it is the best to consult with the Finnish embassy nearest to your place. However, there is some key information that you need to focus on. 

Go to the website of Finnish Immigration Service to read the general introductions.

You’ll find the general process illustrated like this:

Then, go to the website of the Finnish embassy nearest to your place, read carefully the specific instructions for students applying for residence permits in that particular country/region. These should not be too different from the general requirements. 

Generally, the required documents are: 
- OLE_OPI application form (you can download it from here)
- An acceptance letter sent from University of Jyväskylä (1)
- A certificate of health insurance (2)
- A clarification of income (3)

(1) This will be sent to you by post together with the official package from the university. However, if you anticipate that you should apply for your residence permit quite early in order to obtain it before having to arrive in Finland for your study on time, you might ask for a scanned copy of your acceptance letter. I cannot assure you 100% that the embassy you go to will accept the scanned copy but in my case (in Vietnam), they accepted it. You can ask for this scanned copy from the person who sent you the email informing you about your being accepted into the program. 

(2) Several students have asked me to recommend a health insurance company for them; I do think this very much depends on your personal preferences. However, I’ll list here for you some companies that I have used and I know that other international students here have used as well, only for your reference, I take no accountability for this, alright?! You can purchase all of these online. 
Atlas Health Insurance 
SwissCare
SIP

(3) With the clarification of income, remember that the most important thing is that you have to prove you will have access to this amount of money when you are in Finland. This means that it is the best if the account is under your name and not your parents' or guardian's. The number is 6720 euros/one year. You need to understand that the reason you are asked to provide this proof is to make sure that you can make it through the year without financial struggles. Please do not take this for granted and think of tricks to get past the process. I myself know people who thought they could easily find a job within the first few months they are here so they had managed to provide the income proof but did not come here with enough money. As I said in this entry about employment in Jyväskylä, it is very hard to find a job that can pay for all of your expenses here. So please, do come prepared. 

Also, it is absolutely fine to use your local bank account for this, don’t even be bothered with opening a Finnish bank account from abroad, it ain’t gonna happen, my friends! 

There are two options for you when it comes to submitting the application: in person or online. However, it doesn't matter which method you choose, you still have to go to the embassy in person for your fingerprints to be scanned there. Rumor is that if you apply online though, the process might be faster, which I can’t guarantee you because I have no data and information on this.  

If you apply in person, you might have to make an appointment by calling the embassy or sending them emails. I did both; when I called them, they told me to better send them an email instead. Be patient! You might be ticked off quite a lot while communicating with the local staff at the embassy. I know I was. And I have been told that this is not just in the embassy in Vietnam. I understand that they have to answer a lot of phone calls and deal with a lot of people every day so they could be cranky sometimes. But isn’t it their jobs? If they don’t like their job and can’t possibly handle it without getting all nasty with those who ask questions, they might just as well quit it. Anyway, this varies though. I’ve also heard stories about very nice embassy staff though I’ve never encountered them myself. 

DO NOT CALL AND SEND THE EMBASSY OR IMMIGRATION SERVICE EMAIL EVERY FEW DAYS TO ASK IF YOUR RESIDENCE PERMIT IS READY. YOU WILL NOT GET ANY ANSWERS. 

Ladies and gentlemen, if you've done everything right, the residence permit will come to you (in post to your house or at the embassy for you to pick up) in 2-3 weeks from the day of submission (if you apply in person) or the day you provide finger prints at the embassy. I applied in person and got mine exactly after 3 weeks. Finland is very efficient in this business. So, don’t worry too much about it. Just make sure everything is done properly in your application. Double check it, triple check it or check it as many times as necessary to make sure there are no mistakes on the application. Many student have done it, you can do it too! 

Alright, good luck to you all and I wish you a smooth residence permit application process! 

The most beautiful Autumn in the world is waiting for you in Jyväskylä in August, see you all very soon!!!

Yes, this photo was taken in Jyväskylä, during autumn 2014! 

Rocking your interviews!

First and foremost, I would like to send my congratulations to all prospective students who have received an invitation for interviews with the programs you applied for.

I received a message from one prospective student saying that she had been invited for an interview with Development and International Cooperation Program (D&IC); so I thought it might be a good time for some insights about these interviews. Hopefully, after reading this entry, you will have some ideas on how to prepare for an interview with our program. I apologize that I can only give my insights for those having interview with D&IC program. For those who have been invited to interviews with other programs, send me message to my Facebook inbox, I will forward it to ambassadors from the particular program and you can talk to them directly. 

Disclaimer: This is by no mean exactly what is going to happen to your interviews or neither does it ensure success. I have no attention in teaching you how to be your best during the interview because I know nothing of you. This is purely based on my personal experience with my one and only interview with D&IC program. There are things mentioned here that I wished someone had told me before my interview 3 years ago. This blog post should only be regarded as a guide so that you will have an idea of what might occur during the interview. Based on this, you can adjust other elements to suit yourself best as an individual. 

In 2012, when I was invited to the interview with D&IC program, I was also given an article for a written test. However, this year, it seems like they are not doing that anymore though I am not 100% sure. But the student who told me the news about her interview said that there was no article attached in the email; so I guess there’s no more written test. However, anything can happen. Just be prepared to do whatever assigned to you. 

Update 10th March 2015, I received an updated email from a prospective student who had been informed that she would also go through a written test like I did in 2012. So, be prepared to answer 1-2 questions based on an article which will be sent to you before the interview. 

The possibility is that you will be interviewed by a lecturer from the program and a lecturer or professor from the major that you chose in your application. So, if you have a background on the major, go back to read some materials of that major to revive your memories on some certain important subjects. 

For example, if you chose political science major, you might want to look at some classic debates or authors in political science such as Michel Foucault, Karl Marx, then Marxism of course, capitalism, nationalism, neo-liberalism, colonialism, power theories, international relations theory, dependency theory (is this a political science theory or development theory? I’m not so sure), etc. Sorry, I come from a communist country so my choices are quite obvious. Haha : )). Anyway, the point is: get a hold of some basic knowledge that you can improvise during the interviews because God knows what they are going to ask you. Other than that, you can connect these debates to the context of your own countries so you can provide a lively example for the theory you are talking about. Believe me, if you can talk about any theory with memorable demonstrations for 5 minutes, you’ll be accepted right then and there. Ha, kidding! But seriously, knowing some sort of academic theories will do you some favor. Place your trust in me! Haha : )) joking, again, PLACE YOUR TRUST IN YOURSELF! while listening responsibly to me, of course ;)

Also, it helps to pick out favorite debate or topic and make a stand for it. I’m sorry I can’t give you an example in political science because my brain now is full of development theories as I am writing my thesis. So, I’ll give you an example on making a stand for your favorite debate in development theories. 

My favorite debate in development theories is about post-development; some people also call it anti-development and criticize it as inhumane, backward and impractical. However, that is absolutely incorrect. Anti-development basically means going back to the primitive age, while the core argument of post-development is so much more sophisticated than that. Post-development school of thoughts is basically against the concept of Post-World War II development, which is taken advantages of by the West to impose another type of colonization on countries they categorized as “Third World” in the post-colonial period. They claimed themselves that Third World countries were underdeveloped and needed to be developed to catch up with other developed countries in the world. Consequently, they have done more damages than helping poor countries. Richard Peet (2009), Joseph Stiglitz (2005) and David Harvey (2005) point out what seems to be a conspiracy backed up by the most powerful global institutions to jeopardize the development of poor countries; so that they become more and more dependent on the rich countries. This is why post-development thinkers call for abandonment of development and a search for alternatives to development (Escobar 1985, 87, 88, 91, 92, 95, 2000, 06).

See, basic stuff, you make your argument and back it up with literature from recognized authors. It is a bit shallow, isn’t it? I know, but it’s just for the academic sake. Remember to keep the language as academic and formal as you can manage. Finnish people in general do not do shallow and pointless small talks. Therefore, if you have been reading somewhere about doing some small talks during interviews so that you can appear to be a friendly person or something like that, drop it! Don’t beat around the push but go straight to the point! This is one of my most favorite things about Fins, to be honest; I hope they will never change!

Next, shortly before the interview, read again what you have written in your motivation letter. The most asked question during this kind of interview is: “Why do you want to study in this program?” or “Why did you apply for this program?” And the answer is what you wrote in your motivation letter when you filled in the application online. Be consistent with the ideas in your answer, elaborate from that motivation letter if you think it’s necessary. 

Be absolutely on time. Check the time conversion as many times as you need to make sure the time you have agreed with the interviewer is correct in your country. Remember that March is a tricky month because in Finland they change from winter time to day light saving time or something like that. Finnish are very punctual and you will not make a good impression if you do not show up on time. Do not use technical difficulties as an excuse! Prepare your computer, Skype and whatever needed well before the time for the interview. 

Alright, it is all I can think of now. I hope it helps you somehow. Buckle up and best of lucks to all of you!

References:
Escobar, Arturo, 1985, ‘Discourse and Power in Development: Michel Foucault and the Relevance of his Work to the Third World’, Alternatives, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 377-400.
Escobar, Arturo, 1987, Power and Visibility: The Invention and Management of Development in the Third World, Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation Services.
Escobar, Arturo, 1988, ‘Power and Visibility: The Invention and Management of Development in the Third World’, Cultural Anthropology, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 428-443. 
Escobar, Arturo, 1991, ‘Anthropology and the development encounter: the making and marketing of development anthropology’, American Ethnologist, 18 (4), pp 659–682.
Escobar, Arturo, 1992, ‘Imagining a Post-development era? Critical thought, development, and social movements’, Social Test, 31/32, pp. 20-56.
Escobar, Arturo, 1995, Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Escobar, Arturo, 2000, ‘Beyond the Search for a Paradigm? Post-Development and Beyond’, Development, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 11-14.
Escobar, Arturo, 2006, ‘Post-development’, in The Elgar Companion to Development Studies, 2006, pp. 447-451, edited by David Clark, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar.
Harvey, David, 2005, A brief history of Neoliberalism, New York: Oxford University Press.
Peet, Richard, 2009, Unholy Trinity: the IMF, World Bank and WTO, London: Zed Book.
Stiglitz, Joseph, 2005, Making Globalization Work, New York and London: W. W. Norton and Company.

Internationality series - Employment in Finland during/after your study

So, going to Jyväskylä to study, many international students have asked me about the possibilities of looking for jobs or settling down in Finland. Here is one of many answers to your concern.  

This course is one of the example of many ways you can explore your opportunities of employment here in Jyväskylä or Finland. You can start a business here if you want to.

PLACE: Jyväskylän Yritystehdas, Vapaudenkatu 25 (Vanha Juomatehdas), 40100 Jyväskylä 

COURSE SCHEDULE
The ABC of starting a business I Thursday, February 26, 15:00 pm – 18:00 pm
The ABC of starting a business II Thursday, March 5, 15:00 pm – 18:00 pm
Course conclusion Thursday, March 12, 15:00 pm – 18:00 pm 

COURSE PROGRAMME
We will meet three times to talk about entrepreneurship in general and go through the basics of founding a company, including business planning, funding, different forms of enterprise, taxation, and marketing.
This course is free of charge. It is organised by Tuhansien Järvien Uusyrityskeskus ry (TJUYK). The course will be held in Finnish or in English, depending which language the group desides, but if in Finnish, the necessary topics will be discussed and all the course material will be available in English. 

REGISTRATION
The maximum group size is 12 participants. We give priority to unemployed immigrants. If you'd like to come to the course, please register by February 20, 2015. Send an email to the following address: iina.puikkonen@jykes.fi Include the following details in your email: your name, email address, phone number, mother tongue, and your business idea, if you already have one. Please register only if you are sure that you will attend the course. You will get a diploma from the course if you participate to all the three sessions.

Aside from courses like this, there is a Career Service available inside the University of Jyväskylä where you can come for advice concerning employment, click here for more information. This is also free of charge for you. 

Below is one of the examples of activities that the Career Service is trying to organize: 

Day at Work for International Degree Students Friday 20.03.2015

The purpose of the Day at Work is to introduce international degree students from the University of Jyväskylä and JAMK University of Applied Sciences and companies in Central Finland to each other. In practice, this means that you , as a student, will make a one day visit (10.00-15.00) to the company. 

By participating, you can showcase your own skills and share the day's experiences on social media. The day may include different activities according to the wishes of the company, for example:
• Small talk in a foreign language
• Sharing information about your culture
• Commenting on brochure materials and web page 

We hope to get enough companies to be able to offer this opportunity to all the registered students, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee that. Please note that all the companies may not be situated in the city of Jyväskylä. You will get details about the company you were chosen to visit in the beginning of March. Day at Work -company participants will donate money through Taksvärkki Ry for international charity work. 

Registration: http://www.lyyti.in/Day_at_Work_6174
Dead-line for registration 6.3.2015.
More information:
Muru Linjala
Career Specialist
Career Services, University of Jyväskylä
muru.linjala@jyu.fi

Even though I have not been very lucky myself in looking for well-paid part-time jobs, I delivered newspapers and advertisements for Jyväkylän Jakelut for a year. This job is quite hard work for girls especially during winter but I know a Mexican girl who is as small as an average Asian girl and she has been doing this job for several years already. I stopped working because I had to go to Nepal for my internship as some of you might know. You can register for the job here. When a position opened, they will contact you on the phone or via email. So, remember to provide correct phone number and email address. Basically, there are two kinds of distributors: the single/double-area one and the multi-area one. If you distribute ads by bicycle or walking, you can only distribute maximum 2 areas. But if you have a car, you can ask for 5 or more areas and go distributing with your car. The petrol fee is covered by the company.

Several students I know succeeded in looking for quite good part-time jobs at agencies like SOL or OPTeam. You register on their sites and they'll contact you if there's anything available. But the chances are slim for those without experiences, even cleaning or dish washing.

For those who have IT background, your chance is higher since Finland has high demand for IT experts. You can subscribe to international students mailing list here, IT companies send their recruit announcements to this mailing list from time to time.

Documents:
- In order to sign any contract, you need a tax card which you can get for free in the tax office. Click here for more information. 

- In order to work in a kitchen where you have contact with food, you need a hygiene pass which you have to take an exam to obtain it. Click here for more information. 

Good news for international students who want to stay in Finland to look for jobs after graduation is that instead of only having 6 months like before, now, you can apply for 1 year residence permit to look for jobs. More information here. 

It might be hard at first for international students to find a job here in Jyväskylä because after all, it's a university city, lots of students want to find part-time jobs and most of the jobs require speaking Finnish. However, like anywhere else in the world, you have to be active in looking jobs and know where to go to get help. 

So, be prepared financially before coming to study here, you won't be pressured to find a job. It will take some time. It'd be best if you can find a job in your home country (translation for example) that you can work online or something like that before coming here. 

Alright, good luck!

Internationality series - Restaurant day in Finland (Ravintolapäivä)

This is the first entry attempting to promote the diversity and internationality we have here in University of Jyväskylä and the city of Jyväskylä. In this series, I hope to point out for all of you international students who are looking for a good place to receive both free high-quality education and experiences of international diversity in your living and studying environments, Jyväskylä has the best of both world. 

Restaurant day is an initiative originated in Finland and has become a popular celebrated carnival around Europe. There are several restaurant days every year. You can check it out here. On these days, anyone can open a restaurant of their own and serve any food they want at any place of their desire, with any price they would like to charge for the food. You can open your own restaurant at your house, office, campus, along the street or around a lake. You can serve exotic food from your own countries or of any cuisines that suit your interests. Know what the best part is? You are charged nothing from the authority, which means you get to keep all the profit you earn. If you are looking into settling down in Finland with a permanent restaurant of your own after your graduation, this event is your chance for practicing your business management. This is a big plus for those with business mind. 

A pancake pop-up restaurant on RD 15th Feb, 2015. Photo by Sandi Hipke

For the foodies, you will also have your share of benefits too, in a city with such diversity of nationality like Jyväskylä, when it is Restaurant day; you bet there are restaurants of food from around the world. Among the popular ones around my living area, I would say, is Indian food. It’s hard to resist Indian curry once you can smell it from afar. Also, there are plenty of Chinese food pop-up restaurants, due to the large population of Chinese students here. Just the other day, I saw an ad of a “Cook it yourself - traditional Chinese Hot pot” restaurant. That was interesting. Japanese sushi restaurants seem to be quite popular on demand too. Vegetarians or vegans? There will be restaurant for you too. Apparently, being a vegetarian has become a popular trend in Finland. 

Side note: there are always options for vegetarians in the university’s cafeterias. 

Last year, I went to a Filipino pop-up restaurant in the Multicultural Center. I used to live in the Philippines for a year so I also love Filipino food. Italian ones are also common, I think. Who doesn’t love a homemade pizza? Especially for desserts freaks, pastry restaurants are everywhere with all kinds of baking goods imaginable. 

Filipino food, Multicultural Center, Autumn 2013

This is me devouring the food, hehe

And of course, Vietnamese students have set up their restaurants several times as well with really exotic food that is not for the fainted hearts. Haha, kidding! But seriously, if you come across a Vietnamese pop-up restaurant, go for it no matter what! You know why? I’ll reveal a secret for you. Many of these restaurants are set up by students who often come home to visit at least twice a year. And when they come back to Finland, they bring with them a lot of food that can only be found in Vietnam. If it’s your lucky day, it might be the only time in your life you get to taste something that unique. And this could also be true for other Asian restaurants set up by students as well. 

And think about it for one second, how often would you be hosted and cooked for by locals from where you are traveling too? Not very common unless you have a friend there, right? But on Restaurant Day in Jyväskylä, you’ll get to taste authentic homemade food from around the world without traveling anywhere. 

Friendship family, Restaurant day winter 2013

For those with friendship families (which will be discussed very soon in another entry), it is possible that your Finnish friendship families will take you to an awesome pop-up Finnish-styled restaurants where you’ll get to taste authentic, hearty Finnish food that often accompanied with warm and cozy ambiance somewhere deep in the woods. I've been once with my flat mate’s friendship family. All the money they earned for the day was to be donated to charity, I believe. And the food was delicious! It will definitely break your skeptic about real Finnish food. 

If you become members of some popular Facebook groups such as Foreigners in Jyväskylä or Second-hand items in Jyväskylä, you’ll probably see lots of announcements for restaurants when the day comes. 

FAQs about studying and living in Jyväskylä (Part 4) - Grants/Scholarships

Click here for part 1 - How to start and living expenses

Click here for part 2 - Admission

Click here for part 3 - Admission - English language proficiency

Alright, in this entry, I will cover the matter of GRANTS and SCHOLARSHIP (and also why studying here in the University of Jyväskylä is rather awesome regarding financial issues!).

As you all might know, (I’m sure not everyone knows), as of now, when you are accepted into the Master’s Degree Programs here, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY TUITION FEE. Isn’t it awesome??!! Well, it is the same all over Finland, but … still pretty cool, right?

However, when you enroll though, you need to pay an amount of nearly 100 euros Student Union fee for the whole academic year; or you can choose to pay for one semester only, and that would be 50 euros. This is compulsory though, you need a receipt from the Student Union to complete your application for enrolling into the program. But don’t you worry, this money will go back to you in various forms such as printing, photocopying, activities organized by Student Union, free use of the gyms and many more.

Technically, there is no scholarship offered by the university because the tuition is already free. However, for international students, after one year studying here, you can apply for a scholarship of 1500 euros which, if you are staying in student housing, should cover roughly 7 months of your rent. Pretty good deal, isn’t it? However, in order to be granted the scholarship, you need to get good academic results. And also, just to be sure, try to earn as many credits as you possibly can during the first year. This is according to the information I have gathered from friends who got the scholarship last year, not really official from the university. But it’s quite obvious that you need you prove to be a worthy student for any scholarship, right?

So, do try your best during the first year. How? You might ask. Well, for example, when you are invited to a party, you will have to spend some money on buying your own drinks or contributing some sort of snacks/food … consider if it is worth it if after the party, you’ll get a hang-over and less time and energy to finish that assignment which dues in a few days. Then you’ll rush it, and you’ll get a 2 instead of a 4, and there goes your chance for the scholarship. Any tiny things count, you know. Just saying. Sort out your priorities.

Nonetheless, as scholarships go for international students, that’s the only one I know of. Besides, if your program requires you to conduct your practical training or internship abroad, you can apply for quite a few grants.

First one is the TRAVEL GRANT, click here for more information. I got this grant for my internship in Nepal. It covered my return tickets from Helsinki to Kathmandu and 3 months of rent in Kathmandu. I had to take care of the expenses on food by myself, which was obvious but it was inexpensive in Nepal, so that was not a problem.

For those who want to do their internships in Europe, you can apply for Erasmus funding. Click here for more information. Do read the requirements carefully before you apply. The requirements are tricky sometimes.

I do believe that each department in the university has their own grants as well, for example: Department of Social Science and Philosophy, Department of Education, Department of History and Ethnology, … and occasionally, grants are interchangeable at a certain level for students from different programs and cases vary, so when you are already here in the university, ask the contact person of your program, they should know about the availability of the grants.

If you are worried about expense on accommodation, transportation or food, check out my other entry about these matters. FAQs on living expenses

View from the cafeteria in Agora building during a sunny winter afternoon