Testimonial of Åbo Akademi University

A spring in the old capital of Finland

It is 01:00 o’clock, and I step out of my train onto a sheet of snow and ice, with two suitcases quick to follow. Minus 25 degrees Celsius in a city I had never heard of and a country I never visited before choosing to go there. Some would call it a less-than-ideal start to the second semester of my CHARM master’s degree; I would now call it an extraordinary adventure in the making. I arrived in Turku/Åbo in Finland to study at Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU), after spending my first semester at Trinity College Dublin – going from national capital to student city of 200.000 in the blink of an eye.

To give everyone unfamiliar with the program a brief overview of how and why this works, here a quick introduction: My name is Finnegan, and I am a master’s student of the CHARM-EU Global Challenges for Sustainability degree. The concept of the CHARM degree is easiest to describe as four consecutive Erasmus Exchanges as part of one nine University alliance – with four different tracks to choose from covering different angles of sustainability and each University bringing its own unique insights in one program.

Discovering Finnish-Swedish student life at ÅAU

I chose ÅA as my second location as part of the Energy and Sustainability Track academically, but also because it promised to give me insights into student life I had never heard about while growing up in Germany. Additionally, with ÅA being a FinSwe University, I was potentially even going to get a look at a second culture at the same time.

Luckily for me, my expectations of Finnish (and FinSwe) Student Life were blown out of the water: Accessible, good quality, and inexpensive student infrastructure – basically outstanding housing, food, and activities at every corner – were the norm. At the same time, ÅAU staff and teachers were incredibly considerate and supportive, open to interactive dialogues to dig deeper on lecture contents or even guiding lessons away from the lecture plan and towards areas of interest that arose throughout the semester – something unthinkable in the German university setting of my bachelor. And furthermore, Student Traditions were the highlight that tied it all together; no matter if Fastlaskiainen, Åilers Icehockey game, or even Student Overalls! All of it super accessible through organisations like the ESN, or just the goodwill of the locals explaining to a group of foreigners why everyone puts on white high school graduation caps on the same day every year (who knew?!).

From dark winter days to warm memories

Of course, not everything was sunshine and rainbows. Going from Irelands rainy days to Finland’s dark winter days of January might not seem like a lot but did affect the mood much more than a small bottle of Vitamin D tablets would hint at. The same applied to learning how to leave silence in conversations, or to properly löyly in the public saunas – eliciting more than some confused stares on both sides.

Lastly, Åbo shined for me, where it might have fallen flat for others. I loved the size and vibe of the student city, exactly because it made it accessible, but fully understand why it might be too small for someone else. Being a small city that was walkable (or bikeable) from the get-go, and even through the coldest weather, while offering enough local stores, history, and traditions to keep me interested, made it the perfect combination for the short one semester window I had. It allowed me to get a deep enough picture into the original Finish capital, with and due to enthusiastic teachers, students, and locals at my side, while still fitting into the CHARM and Erasmus format – offering a great contrast to the city I had experienced just before.

It made a city that was previously a complete mystery to me, a city I grew close to in a short period, and one I will fondly remember for the times to come. And, most importantly, it showed me a different slice of life in Europe and connected me with our EU family like only an Erasmus style exchange can – turning an initial cold hello into a warm bond of solidarity and my time there into one of personal and academic growth.

Finnegan Jackson-Klönther
Master’s student
CHARM-EU Global Challenges for Sustainability