A peaceful view.
I’ve always wanted to study in a beautiful campus with well-designed buildings and big green area. That dream came true when Arts school moved to Otaniemi. Moreover, it sits right next to one of the most stunning bay area. It’s much more than I ever dreamed of.
The campus is huge with beautiful buildings.
In the main campus of Aalto University, Otaniemi, there are over 20 restaurants. Among them are subway (sub of the day for students – 2.60€, for others – 5-7€), fafa’s (popular chain of Israeli fast food) and a sushi restaurant. But I am going to tell you about the student restaurants. There are around 10 student restaurants on the campus and they are very cheap! Lunch only costs 2.60€ for students. For especially lazy students, it is also possible to have dinners for 2.60€. All-you-can-eat style or more like all-you-can-fit-in-one-plate 😀
I took pictures of my lunches for a week and I am happy to present them to you.
MONDAY.
lunch at restaurant Valimo, 2.60€
Gautam is a talented game designer. In the interview, he shared his journey of becoming a game designer in Aalto University. We met in the studio course ‘Design for Government’ last year. He is funny, humble and versatile. We had a great time working together in the team project.
Now he is finishing his master thesis, which is dedicated to fight stage fright with virtual reality. In the research, he found the limitations of AI technology. Instead of building a real-life scenario that fails to give normal feedback, he opted for a different strategy. There are different scenarios to help users battle stage fright. I tried the game last week, when I thought I was a human surrounding by the aliens, I looked down and found out that I was a green alien creature. Wow! Gautam has an impeccable sense of humor, which makes his game design full of fun and surprises. Moreover, the game is highly practical, users can upload their own speech or presentation script into the game and practice it with VR.
Frank Martela started to teach a new course ‘Designing Life’ this spring for the first time in Aalto University. Aalto conducts annual AllWell? questionnaire and works on how to improve the well-beings of all the students. The course is one of the outcomes. Designing Life is one of the most unique courses I’ve ever taken, which addressed the life issues and challenges we face when we are 20 somethings. These issues usually bring stress and anxiety to the young people when they are trying to figure out about their own life and future.
(This article mainly reviews the studies in Aalto and work after graduation)
Civil engineering day is annual alumni gathering to know what is happening in the program. An opportunity to discuss master’s programmes in Building Technology and in Geoengineering, their present and future, and to meet the students and colleagues. The target group of the event is partners of the Department of Civil Engineering and the Bachelor’s students at the School of Engineering.
I know today’s program should be in Finnish, but I can only give this speech in English, I still haven’t given up on Finnish language, but it seems that Finnish language almost gave up on me.
First of all, thanks to the invitation from Prof Puttonen and Prof Hostikka, I am really humble, honored and happy today to share my story, my thoughts and my journey in the program.
In the beginning of this speech, allow me to shortly introduce myself. I am Yiwei, graduated from the building technology program last year. During my years in the industry, my main focus is the structural calculation and structural analysis. I have the luck to be involved in the structural design of very well-known Finnish projects like Keskustakirjasto Oodi, Tripla as well as many large international projects.
In the woodcut course, the teacher Antti Tanttu demonstrated how to print colorful background.
One of my study goals in the school of Arts, Design and Architecture is to try out all kinds of materials in the workshops. I’ve done ceramics and absolutely love it. Then I went on to take the woodcut course.
The importance of the Finnish matriculation examination has increased, because of the quota for first-time applicants. For many, entrance exams are another option to get a degree place in a university. Still, there are a limited number of places available and competition is hard when trying to get into the best universities.
Motivation is in a key role when you are trying to succeed in exams. You can find plenty of information about how to prepare for the matriculation examinations or entrance exams from the internet, but those things come as second on the list. I think nothing is more important than inner motivation, which gives you the energy to work hard and achieve your dream degree place.
Here are three points, which I thought were the best to find my motivation when applying to Aalto University. Disclaimer; These may not work for everyone, but at least I hope it will give you some ideas on how to find your own motivation.
Approaching Santa’s hometown Rovaniemi. The landscape sealed by the snow makes a natural black and white scene.
This week is the ski holiday in the southern Finland. I took a chance to visit Lapland for the second time after three years. In the winter, Finland is like a wonderland. The nature is stunning! In a 4-day trip, luckily I saw the northern lights, nailed the snowboarding for the first time, and hiked in the beautiful Pyhä-Luosto National Park.
It is no secret that the choice of university affects your future. Will you blend in the community? WIll finding work be easy after graduation? Will you earn enough? There are so many factors to consider when choosing a university!
Here are my reasons why you should choose Aalto.
Since my first year of studying in Finland, I wanted to go study abroad for a semester or two. I looked at the big list of Aalto’s partner universities and could not decide where to go. Aalto had partner universities in Japan, Canada, all over Europe, Australia… I started narrowing down.
They need IELTS/TOEFL?
– I have no time to pass those.
Need knowledge of German/French language?
– Germany and France were out.
Do they have courses similar to those in my study plan?
– Almost everything was out.
Do not repeat my mistakes. Leave the elective studies blank. Then it will be easier to find an exchange place for you to go. I was left with two options: KTH in Stockholm and POLIMI in Milan. Going to Sweden did not feel like enough of a change and Milan sounded cool! I applied, got accepted, got a 1500€ grant and was set to go.
San Marino. January but still T-shirt weather! The best thing about Italy.
