Letter Home, University of the Highlands and Islands

Assignment 1

Q1. In what country and University are you studying? /

Where are you doing your internship?

A1. Scotland, University of the Highlands and Islands.

Q2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?

A2. Electrical and automation engineering.

Q3. What are the courses like at the host University? or What has your work placement been like?

A3. Some of them are really tied together and require ”so and so” courses to be completed before attending that said course. This has been an issue for us in someways, due to the lack of past experience.

Q4. Describe the study culture? / What is the corporate culture like?

A4. A great portion of the studying is done at home, our outside of class. For example we’re doing this course called ”Dynamics” for 2 hours per week and it’s basically a new subject every time and calculations related to that, that means we have to get familiar with the subject before the next class by ourselves and that can be tricky sometimes.

Q5. What is your study group like?

A5. In a few courses we are a group of 5-8 people, the teacher has more time to focus on helping each and every individual if something comes up during the class.

Q6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?

A6. Basically i try to live my everyday life here like i would do back in Finland by going to the gym and doing sports, that helps me focus in my studies. Scotland is the perfect example for ”peace of mind” when i need a break from studying or just feel like doing something completely different I just go outside and walk around in this beautiful landscape, there’s so much history in this place and so much to see and so, exploring has become a part of our everyday life here.

Q7. What has been challenging? Why?

A7. I was hoping all the paperwork and fighting with bureaucracy would become less by the time we got here and began our studies. Im of course speaking for myself, i find it very distracting to fill in any other types of assignments with deadlines, while also studying something new and difficult in our courses.

Q8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?

A8. Even before i got here i checked online to see if there’s any good bands touring the UK, because there are many bands that announce an European tour but never visit Finland. One of my favourite bands called ”All Them Witches” started touring around the UK in october and so i bought my tickets online, booked a bus to Glasgow and went for the gig! It was really worth all the waiting and to be honest, it wasnt all that expensive, one night in a decent 3/5 star hotel, tickets to the show and buses to Glasgow and back set me back only a 100 pounds in total! This has been the highlight of this trip so far.