From far away across the seaWhen Bineet Panda was offered the position as an early-stage-researcher in Helsinki he had to Google where the place was. Finland can be a tough place to arrive to, but international students also find positive aspects in our country. In the 30th of October, 1996, Shahnaj Begum, 24, a law student from Bangladesh, arrived in Helsinki to do her master’s degree. It was not a smooth arrival. — Because of the visa processes I came late and missed some courses, so I had to start from the middle, Begum reminisces. The climate and the atmosphere were also a huge shock. In Bangladesh she had a large community around her and a lot of friends. At the start, it was not easy to meet her own community people in Helsinki. — It was dark and cold, and I felt very upset. After five months Begum decided to go back home. And so she flew back home. Studying in Finland can be a lonely experience, Nadia Nava Contreras agrees. Nava arrived in Helsinki in 2009. The main reason for moving in Finland was that she had a Finnish partner, but she also had a grant from CIMO. One year later, she started to work on her doctoral thesis with a grant from Mexico. The topic was the political relations between Finland and Mexico in the 20th century. For the first two years, she did not have an office at the university, and did not interact too much with other PhD students. — For me it was a bit strange that after the seminars nobody hung out together, Nava tells. Also the postgraduate teaching methods seemed a bit odd at times. — I was quite surprised that we actually had exams. In Mexico I had not done exams for a long time. And some lectures were just 90 minutes of professors talking. But were there any positive aspects that would go along with the fact that Helsinki is among the top 100 universities? — The contacts the University has have been very helpful. The library and archives have also been fantastic- if I need a book, they can usually order it for me. In her third year, she was also provided a working space in the department. In the fourth year, Nava also got a grant from a Finnish foundation. — These were a big improvements. It gave me the sense that my work actually interests people, even though the majority of political history concentrates on internal affairs. As already stated, when the Indian Bineet Panda was offered a PhD position in Helsinki, he first had to google where Helsinki was. Most of his friends were aiming to continue studies in the US or UK, but Panda thought somewhere in Europe would be better. — Less competition, I guess. I thought only the very best could make it in the US. Also the project – the selective fishing of migratory white fish– was a very interesting one. Unfortunately, the funding of the project was not secure. — There was money for one year. After that it was up to me to apply for more. This was very stressful and time consuming, as the funding could only be applied for a short period at a time. Socialising in Helsinki also took some time, despite the large research group. — When I first arrived in Finland I did not drink alcohol. But soon I realised it was the main way of social interaction. So, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. In two years the funding situation had deteriorated to the extent that Panda had already booked tickets back to India. Only then was he told of another opening in Turku. He applied and got the position. Looking back he thinks he made the right decision, despite the fact that he had to start the work from a scratch. — On the very first day in Turku I felt I was in a good place. The atmosphere in the University is much more relaxed than in Helsinki. On the positive side was also the fact that the funding was for four years. Even Shahnaj Begum eventually returned to Finland in 1999. This was because her husband was doing his licentiate at the University of Helsinki. Shahnaj herself did not continue her studies on law, but became a geronom instead. The experience of Helsinki was much better this time. — There were more international people and the Bangladeshi community had grown. The fact that she moved in during the summer may also have helped. Nowadays, Begums are living in Rovaniemi, where Shahnaj is doing a PhD on the human rights of the elderly people of the Arctic. Her Husband is a docent at the university and is working as a researcher in the University’s Arctic Centre. In 20 years, Shahnaj's view on life in Finland has turned around completely. — Our three children have all been born in Finland and we would like to raise them here. Scientific career in Finland is not likely to make us rich, but in Finland one can live a good life even with a a smaller income. ?x3 - How do we get more international Ph.D. students?
text Juha Merimaa
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