Tutoring in a Nutshell and Why Should You Get Involved!

As tutors, it is our job to help new incoming students (both exchange and degree) with practical matters when settling in. Tutoring includes assisting new students to adapt to the Finnish culture, giving insights about how Finnish educational system works, sharing our experiences about student life, familiarising them with UTU campus and, most importantly, serving as a contact person whenever help may be needed (especially during the first months). And the list goes on and on, depending on how active you are and how much help your tutees may need.

All tutors work on a voluntary basis, and they have been trained for the task. While the International Office is mainly responsible for coordinating the tutor programme for exchange students, the Faculties are responsible for choosing tutors for different degree programmes. Furthermore, it is the task of the Student Union in cooperation with the University to train all the new tutors. In fact, the Student Union is renewing its brochure called Guide for International Tutors each academic year, thereby ensuring that tutors are always up to speed with the most relevant information to follow. The brochure is visually appealing and full of useful guidelines that tutors can follow in order to successfully execute their job by welcoming new students.

From tutee to tutor

Kristaps chose to serve as a tutor for international degree students because he was eager to share his personal experiences, and thus wanted to ensure that new students feel welcome and can successfully start their studies in Turku. A big advantage for Kristaps before getting in touch with his tutees was his rich experiences as both an exchange and degree student at the University of Turku. He even points out that he himself has had three tutors in the past, so this was a great way how to combine and put in good use everything he had learned before.  In addition, he became the first international student to work as a tutor for his degree programme.

“As a student pursing his Master’s degree entirely in Finnish, people often forget that I’m an international student. MDP in Finnish and Other Finno-Ugric Languages has always had Finnish students working as tutors; and while their help has unquestionably been crucial, they could never fully understand all the struggle and difficulties an international student may be facing. So that’s why I wanted to make a change.”

Also, Maria has first been a tutee when she first started studying in the Master’s Degree Programme in East Asian Studies, before becoming a tutor. While she considered herself a fairly independent person before moving to Finland, she was happy to learn that a student tutor has been assigned to her. The wonderful job her tutor did later inspired Maria to become a tutor as well. She felt like it was her calling to return this feeling of support and guidance to other students. Maria points out that she wanted to make sure that students get reminders of important tasks and events and that they also feel welcomed.

“Having a tutor to address my questions helped ease the slight anxiety that was mixed in with all the excitement of moving to the unknown. It is important to keep in mind that there is always someone you can turn to in case of need.“

What kind of help may be needed by a tutee?

First and foremost, tutors ensure that new incoming students have found a housing for themselves. Students should come to Finland only if they are able to secure a roof over their head well in advance (more about the housing situation in Turku here and at the University webpage here). Since students may arrive to Turku in different times throughout the working week or even the weekend, tutors have the possibility of picking up their apartment keys well in advance. That way, when a new student arrives, the tutor can meet him/her and then go visit the apartment together. Communication is important; hence the student can avoid spending an extra night in a hotel because of not being able to pick up the apartment key himself/herself in time.

You are never alone!

Last year, the International Office together with UTU Ambassadors created several group chats in Telegram where newly accepted students had the possibility of discussing practical matters even before accepting their study places. All tutors were more than welcome to take part in these group discussions. Group chats were created in different languages, including English, Finnish, Vietnamese, Persian, Hindi/Urdu and Spanish. Activity was high and the project was considered a success, hence it possible that group chats will be activated once again later this year.

Furthermore, if for some reason you are unable to meet your tutee/tutees on his/her arrival day, you can always reach out to other tutors and ask for help. In our experience, everyone is eager to help each other! Tutors can communicate with each other using Facebook or Microsoft Teams.

Regular meetings between tutor and tutee

Tutors are encouraged to regularly meet with their tutees and discuss whatever issues they may be experiencing. Meetings can be organised as one-on-one sessions or sometimes even the whole group meets together. It’s up you! In fact, some tutors even go beyond what is expected and thus encourage their tutees to give them a call whenever help may be needed. Often tutees become close friends with their tutors. As Kristaps points out:

“My tutees often used the possibility of calling me. Sometimes explaining how sauna or the laundry room works or how to register for a specific course is much easier over the phone.“

Moreover, being very active during the first weeks is crucial. That way, we can ensure that our tutees are always informed about various events and opportunities to get to know other students. Also, our experience shows that tutees always appreciate the opportunity of meeting their classmates even before they start their studies.

Why should you become a tutor?

Moving to a new country can be challenging, exhausting and stressful. We all have been there, so why not help others? Working as a tutor helps to build character and expand your personal networks, and it is also a good addition to your CV. Moreover, being a tutor is a rewarding experience that allows you to ensure that there is a person to turn to, if new students feel lost in the sea of duties that awaits them.

Tutor trainings are great opportunities to meet new people, gain new insights and even find out about some well-kept student secrets. Being a tutor naturally comes with some responsibilities, but there is also lots of fun while having the opportunity to be helpful to someone else. Happy tutoring!

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