Big and small Oulu (Business School)

Gloria Deetjen came to Oulu Business School for an exchange during her Bachelor studies in 2015. She was fascinated by the Finnish nature and culture, which was the main reason for her to come in Oulu. She liked it here so much that when applying for the master’s studies, she applied also to Oulu Business School, and was accepted.

Before coming to Oulu Business School Gloria studied International Business in Paderborn University, Germany. She had already taken some economics courses in her bachelor studies, so choosing the major of economics in her Master’s was quite an easy decision to her. “It’s something that really interests me, and also it doesn’t close any doors. In the future, I could see myself working for government or for some international organizations, or I could work in many other fields, too. That’s why I chose it.”

Personal atmosphere matters

Gloria has enjoyed her studies in Finland so far. “I like the system that you have quite intense courses, four study periods and only two or three exams at the same time, so you can really focus on all the courses you are taking”, she says. From learning perspective, Gloria also thinks it is good to have three chances to do an exam – if you are not happy with your grade, you can go and try to raise it, which means that you learn more.

In addition to the study system, Gloria also prefers the personal atmosphere of Oulu Business School. All the teachers and professors are reachable and happy to answer questions. The same applies for the programme coordinators and other students: “I know most of the other students and my coordinator, and they know me. In Germany, at least in the Bachelor’s studies, most professors might not know you in person.”

Oulu <3 students

Oulu is not so huge city in size but it offers many kinds of activities. You can engage in University’s activities, like mentoring programs and different projects, or in different student organizations’ activities, as well as parties, sports events, and so on. Although Oulu is not as international as, for example, Helsinki, it’s easy to be an international student in here. “Most people speak English, no matter where you go,” confirms Gloria. She was interested in the Finnish culture when she first came to Oulu, and for getting to know the culture, she thinks Oulu was even better place to come than a bit more international Helsinki.

Tips for those applying

Gloria recommends Oulu for those who are curious and want to go to a place where they can improve their English, learn to know a different culture, can study with other international students, and that is not so huge in size. “For Europeans there is also very little bureaucracy in the process, so it’s considerably easy to come here. And the total living costs that I have here are comparable to Germany”, Gloria points out.

For the application process Gloria has one tip: “Just watch all the videos and information provided by the University of Oulu. Then you are pretty much ready to apply.”