Engaging in problem-based and project-based learning

Before coming to Oulu, Beatriz graduated with a bachelor's degree in Education. Studying abroad was a big dream, and she decided to pursue her bachelor's in Portugal. She enjoyed being overseas and decided to go even further, doing an exchange semester in Finland.

I often say this was my best experience during my bachelor studies - I loved my time in Finland and decided that I wanted to come back to the country to pursue a master's degree.

"As I had already been in Finland before, I knew about Oulu and the university, but I had never been here," Beatriz says. Then she decided that she wanted to study something related to Education and Technology, and during her search, she discovered the LET programme.

"At first, I was a bit concerned about coming so up north, but the LET programme seemed to be the one for me," she explains. "I really like the student life here - I think I adjusted well to the rhythm and the autonomy."

I am very happy about my choice to come to the University of Oulu - the campus is incredible, and the university's infrastructure is great, which is an important aspect to people who study something related to technology.

"To be completely honest, when I started my Bachelor studies, I wasn't that interested in studying education and technology." Beatriz mentions. However, that changed as soon as the pandemic hit, as this topic was brought to the spotlight. That made her get more and more interested in it. She wanted a programme that could combine both, and she wanted the opportunity to learn in practice as well. Therefore, LET was on the top of her list.

In the programme, we have the chance to engage in problem-based and project-based learning, which I value a lot. We also do a lot of collaborative work and learning, and in a programme that has students from many different backgrounds, this is highly interesting, as we get to learn a lot from our classmates.

"For one of our courses, we had a series of different workshops, and one of them was about robotics and programming. I had no prior experience with these topics, so I was scared at first. However, it was nice to see my colleagues and me overcoming challenges we faced." Beatriz further explains.

As the classes went by, Beatriz and her classmates could notice that they were learning more and more, and they had fun with the robotics tools they got to use. "The classes were hands-on, so we got to learn a lot with the help of each other."

Beatriz is from Rio de Janeiro, a big city with a fast pace and a laid-back lifestyle. It is a city with warm weather, and in Rio, 18° C is often considered cold. Before coming to Finland, Beatriz was scared of the cold, the darkness, and the peaceful culture. But when she arrived, she was positively surprised - the things she heard of are true.

I was very surprised by how pretty Finland is and also by how helpful and friendly some Finns can be.

"Being a university student, you also get to experience the cultural diversity and make friends from all over the world - more than I thought I would." Beatriz comments.

The first months after moving can be challenging, as adapting is not always easy, and there's a lot to do. But overall, her experience has been very positive. She has a very international group of friends, and spending time with them was a great way to survive the short and cold winter days!

"Making friends wasn't hard - as most people have just moved to the city, they're open to meeting new people and creating bonds." Beatriz adds, "I also love the fact that Finland has very different and unique seasons because that makes me feel excited to experience each one of them - there's always something to enjoy right now and something to look forward to."

As a person who likes to live each day at a time, Beatriz is open to new opportunities and experiences. She will soon start her internship, which is part of her studies. She believes it will be a great chance to acquire new skills in practice. "I still don't have a concrete plan for after I graduate - at the moment, I can say I am open to different opportunities, and I believe the LET programme can open very interesting paths for me. But before graduating, there is certainly still a lot to learn, and I'm looking forward to all of it."