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International student housing

Index

1. Welcome to the world of multicultural student housing! >>>

  • 1.1 Multicultural student housing - say what?
  • 1.2. Student housing in Finland
  • 1.2.2 Lease contract, deposit, the equipment of the flat

2. Who comes to Finland to study? >>>

  • 2.1. From which countries do the students come?
  • 2.2. Customs and manners of living vary

3. Culture, culture of living and the process of adaptation >>>

  • 3.1. In the chaos of changes
  • 3.2. Adaptation to a culture is a process
  • 3.3. The process of adaptation to living and to the culture

4. Rules and guidelines >>>

  • 4.1. Rules to dormitory living - agreed upon together
  • 4.2. Cooking
  • 4.3. Cleaning and hygiene
  • 4.4. Smoking, alcohol and drugs
  • 4.5. Greetings
  • 4.6. Rules for visiting and partying
  • 4.7. Position of women

5. Hints >>>

  • - For Finnish students
  • - For foreign students

Pirjo Lipponen-Vaitomaa,
Manager of Housing Affairs
Turku Student Village Foundation

Esko Koponen,
Programme Coordinator, CIMO

Ulla-Mari Karhu,
Managing director,
Finnish Student Housing Ltd

2. Who comes to Finland to study?

2.1. From which countries do the students come?

The Finnish higher education is no longer monocultural. People come to Finland both to study for shorter terms and for a whole degree. Foreign students come from every part of the world. Thus also student housing has become rather multicultural.

Exchange students

There were nearly 5,500 foreign exchange students in Finland in 2001, who stayed between three and twelve months. About 2,000 of them studied at polytechnic schools and 3,500 at universities. Nearly all the exchange students were Europeans: Germans (806), French (547), Italians (356), British (299), Russians (287) and Dutch (262).

The average stay in Finland was less than five months, so usually one term only. Added to these compiled stays of 3-12 months hundreds of students visited Finnish colleges for shorter periods. (Source: Aalto, Pirjo. 2002. Kansainvälinen liikkuvuus yliopistoissa ja ammattikorkeakouluissa 2001. CIMO Publications 3/02.)

Students studying for a degree

In addition to the exchange students colleges receive foreign students studying for a degree. There were nearly 6,400 of them in Finland in 2000. The majority of the foreign students studying for a degree were Chinese (1,029), Russians (800) and Swedes (248). (Source: KOTA and Statistics Finland.)

Finland gets most foreign students from China, Russia and Germany when both exchange students and the students studying for a degree are added together. All in all, at least 12,000 foreign students enrich Finnish college life annually.

2.2. Customs and manners of living vary

Customs and manners of student housing vary in different countries. The foreign students who come to Finland have varying experiences with student housing; some have already lived in a student dormitory, for others it is the first time living outside the family home. Also the expectations on Finnish student housing depend on where the student comes from, what he/she is used
to, and what has been promised to him/her.

There are many customs and practices related to interaction and living together which are not the same in different cultures and communities. What are our opinions on guests? Do we dine together or alone? Are the personal cooking and eating utensils in the shared kitchens to be used by all tenants and can they be borrowed? How do we settle common issues? Customs vary both culturally and personally; not all Finns live and lead their lives in the same way! The varying personal and communal habits of people from different cultures result in an interesting mixture.

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Student Housing in Finland

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