It’s been about 5 weeks now in Manchester, and the vibe is great. People are welcoming, and time is flying so fast. My studies here have been valuable, especially for deepening my English skills, but also for enhancing my cultural awareness and overall cooperation skills. I have been on courses about international trade and entrepreneurship, and I also have one course about economics. This is all very new, and I like the challenge.
Probably the hardest course so far has been international trade, because it includes a lot of economics and finance terminology which is new to me even in my native language. Many times during class I translate something from English to Finnish, and when I see the word in Finnish, it’s still new to me as in English. Well, I’m lucky to have a very helpful lecturer.
On the entrepreneurship course, our mission is to start an actual startup and take part in the Young Entrepreneurs 2025 competition. This is great for building connections and getting a job after school. The university also has great facilities for building prototypes and even personal projects. This has been very inspiring to see.
In my spare time, I’ve been meeting with friends and going to the gym and swimming. I joined a local swimming club, and this has been a great activity to socialise and improve my swimming. To be honest, in Finland I haven’t been much into parties, but here the vibe is so different. There are so many new people and activities, and therefore so many opportunities to learn and meet others, that I’ve been trying to get out there as much as I can beyond school and other duties. One reason for this might also be that my Finnish flatmate is always picking on me and calling me antisocial if I don’t. xd
English education has a way more practical and application-based approach to learning, at least according to my experience. I’m not the best person to compare studying cultures because in Finland I’m a blended learning student, so most of my classes are online. However, especially in the entrepreneurship course, we actually make real plans, prototypes, and take part in competitions and try to get funding for our startup, which is more practical than any course in Finland that I’ve been on. Also, the seminars in England have been very group activity–based and open conversation–style. This has been much more challenging than Finnish lectures, which have been more passive, but also more exciting.
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