I was anxious before arriving to Helsinki in the beginning of September, because I couldn’t join the orientation and was afraid of being left behind. Once I arrived, the study coordinator from the school of ARTS, Naoko Nakagawa of Creative Sustainability (CS), provided great assistance to help me start my study in Aalto. Ms. Nakagawa scheduled a special session to explain the study structure of the CS program and helped me decide what courses to take the first period.
Creative Sustainability Program is an international joint master’s degree program of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, the School of Business and the School of Engineering. It is a very unique program for students from various backgrounds to receive multidisciplinary trainings and get inspired from each other in the field of sustainability. In the second week, CS program organized a kick-off day to introduce the courses and projects from the different schools. All the courses and projects were so good, and the professors were devoted and charismatic. I felt very excited about my future study and wished to take all the courses! I was so grateful to have the chance to know more about the courses, projects and professors in the beginning of the program, this was something I never had in the schools of my home country Taiwan. A kick-off day was a brilliant idea to show students what to expect for the CS program in next two years and helping us put together our own personal study plan.