Why Study in Finland

Finland is a technology superpower and remains one of the most technologically innovative and advanced countries in the world. Nokia, Finland's largest company is the number one maker of mobile phones worldwide. Furthermore, Finland boasts the most internet connections in the world. So if technology and communications interest you, there's no better place than Finland. In August 2010, Newsweek declared that Finland is the best country on the basis of five criteria health, economic dynamism, education, political environment and quality of life.

Highlights

• Finland had the most advanced education systems in the world and as a result of innovative mind set and investing in education Finland are blessed with high standard of education and quality of life.
• Literacy rate in Finland is highest among the world.
• Majority of International Master’s programmes in Finland still carry no tuition fee.
• Some of the Master’s might carry tuition fee on rotation basis during the five trial period from 2010-2014 but plenty of scholarships covering fee waivers are offered by Finnish Universities.
• According to a recent survey by International student Barometer, 89 % of the international students are happy to study in Finland and very happy with their Finnish institution of higher education.
• For an international student Finland is both an exotic and a safe target country.
• Finland has 20 university level institutions and 29 polytechnics and about 200 Master’s programmes are exclusively offered in English.
• International students constitute about 5% of the total student enrolment at the above institutions.
• 63% of Finland population speak fluent English.
• Finland has 7 universities featuring in the 2010 QS World University Rankings, including the University of Helsinki which ranks 75.
• Finland is also identified as one of the safest and socially stable countries in the world.
• In Finland, measures are taken to promote equal opportunity in all sectors of society. Women have been a majority in university admissions since the 1970s.
• Finland is a global leader in information technology and also enjoys gender equality and low levels of corruption. The key aims in Finland’s education policy are quality, efficiency, equity and internationalisation.

Features

• International students are endowed with the world-class material facilities of the Finnish institutions such as libraries, lecture rooms, laboratories, computer facilities, IT services and support services.
• The Finnish institutions score higher than average for services at arrival and are duly commended for these arrangements.
• The staff members at the international offices and at accommodation services are recognised for their excellent levels of service.
• Student is asked to show the proof of 6000 Euro towards living expenses while applying to Finnish student visa which is the lowest compared to any other visa procedure followed by a foreign country.
• Almost every student applies to Finnish visa succeed to secure visa provided that the submitted documents are authentic.
• There is long-term cooperation between academia and industry in Finland.
• Foreign students get a work permit automatically which allows them to work up to 20 hours per week during terms and full time in holidays.
• Many Finnish companies offer students the chance to participate in paid trainee programme.
• After graduation International students can apply for a residence permit extension for the duration of 6 months for the purpose of looking for a job.

Research & Development

• Similarly, the number of women in R&D posts has grown steadily. In 2006, about 35% of research personnel in general and 48% of university research personnel were women, and the proportion of women professors in Finland is among the highest in the EU.
• The total funding of research and development goes up to EUR 2,065 million in the 2011 Government Budget.
• Relative to population and GDP, Finland is one of the world’s biggest publishers, ahead of such traditionally strong countries in scientific research as the UK and Germany.
• In 2005, Finnish researchers produced 8,300 publications, the highest figure on record. The number of publications by Finnish researchers in international esteemed scientific journals has increased 2.5-fold during the past 20 years.

Economy & Job Market

• Finland has a highly industrialized mixed economy with a per capita output equal to that of other European economies such as France, Germany, Belgium or the UK.
• According to World Economic Forum (WEF), Finland was the 7th most competitive country in the world in 2010.
• Few Billion dollar Finnish companies are Nokia, Fortum, Sampo, Stora Enso, UPM-Kymmene, Kone, Metso, Wartsila, Neste Oil, Pohjola Bank, Kesko, Kemira.
• The employment rate in Finland was best in the fields of medical and health sciences (93%), engineering and technology (90%), humanities (83%), natural sciences (85%) and agricultural sciences (86%).
• Finland has high level of innovation and a total of 47 per cent of all enterprises have innovation activity.