Guests from Latvia
Now that the new academic year has begun, life at UTU campus is busier than ever. The city of Turku is full of students and there are different events happening every single day. In fact, summer was quite the opposite: it was very quiet, and streets of Turku seemed empty, as most students had returned to their home countries, travelled or worked somewhere other than Turku. During the last days of August, from 28.-29.8., I was hosting guests from Rīga Stradiņš University Student Union. What a fun and learning experience that was! They traveled all the way from Latvia to come and visit members of the Student Union of the University of Turku.
During many workshops, we learned about the importance of strategic planning in higher education, budgeting and student feedback system, as well as discussed topics like research focus, study support and welfare services. We also visited the Student Village Foundation of Turku to hear about communication strategies and customer satisfaction. A pleasant surprise for everyone was visiting housing locations Aitiopaikka and Ikituuri.
Guests from Latvia were surprised by the variety of services provided by the CampusSport for both students and staff members. As we all know, physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits. In fact, CampusSport had around 6000 users during the academic year of 2018-2019, and it is believed that this number will only keep increasing. If you haven’t already, look at CampusSport’s new video!
(Psst! If you want to know more about CampusSport, read our blog posts about their services!)
My fellow students from Latvia were also eager to hear about the importance of different student organizations and student traditions here in Finland. Did you know that there are 144 various student organizations at the University of Turku? From sports to culture and politics to international affairs, there is something for everyone! Student overalls, discounts at cafeterias, and even health services designed solely for students made Latvians slightly jealous, and they seemed motivated to apply some of these practices also at their university. Indeed, a diverse student body is crucial, well represented and supported here at UTU (and Finland in general).
Moreover, Finnish law states that all students undertaking Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees must be members of a student union. Doctorate level students and exchange students can join the union if they wish to do so. As a result, Student Union of the University of Turku is a student organization with around 14 000 members. In Latvia, however, joining the student union is voluntary at all study levels.
To sum up, international cooperation between Finnish and Latvian universities is a sign that both countries can learn from each other. Rīga Stradiņš University Student Union made a positive impression and even surprised Finns with their activity and well-prepared questions. Personally, it was amazing to finally hear other people speak Latvian here on campus.
Special thanks to Satu Nurmi, Specialist in International Affairs, for inviting me!
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Last updated 8 August 2022
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