STUDY IN LAPLAND
H E A LT H C A R E S T U D I E S I N K E M I ANNIINA PÖYSKÖ is a first-year nursing student at Lapland University of Applied Sciences in the city of Kemi. As a Finn, she could have sent an application to any of the Finnish-taught degrees. However, she applied for the English-taught nursing programme. The reason behind this was her love for travel: Anniina had already completed a year-long journey around the world and visited Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, South America, New Zealand and the USA. According to Anniina, health care is her calling. “The desire to help other people is what drives me, and doing that can be a positive challenge for me,” says Anniina. In August 2018, Anniina started her second year of studying in the Bachelor of Health Care Degree Programme. The studies will last for 3.5 years. The degree is accessible to foreign students as well, but those who come from outside of the EU are required to pay tuition fees. Anniina’s class is quite small, only 11 students. Apart from Anniina, the students come from the Philippines, Nepal, various African countries and Spain. Anniina says that her classmates are all incredible people, and their group is very tight-knit. Nursing studies consist of courses that vary from professional ethics to resuscitation. There is a lot of room for practical training, and the school usually helps the students in finding suitable training places. All the courses in the programme are taught in English, with the exception of Finnish for foreigners courses. All teachers are Finnish, but they are proficient in English. According to
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ALL ABOUT LAPLAND | SUMMER SUMMER 2018 2019
Anniina, there is a benefit in studying in a small group: the students get a chance to take everything they are taught and try it out in practice, such as taking blood tests or insert catheters. Their classrooms are equipped with the latest technology, such as medical teaching dolls. Although studying in Kemi, Anniina still lives in her home city of Oulu that is over 100 km away. In order to get to school in time, she sometimes needs to get up at 5 am to catch a bus to Kemi. Her fellow students love Finland and are looking forward to staying and working here. Finland indeed has a deficit of labour force in the health care sector, and well-trained health care professionals are very welcome here.
WA N T TO ST U DY I N L A P L A N D ?
Here’s what you need to know! There are English-taught degrees programs offered by the University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences. You will be asked to present English proficiency test (TOEFL or IELTS). Non-EU residents are required to pay the tuition fee of 8.000€ per academic year, but can receive 25–100% tution based on their merit. The applications to the University of Lapland are accepted in December 2019 – January 2020. The applications to the Lapland University of Applied Sciences are underway in January 2020. More info about degree programs and applications: studyinlapland.com, studyinfo.fi