Five students participate in the interview.

Patrick Coe - Patrick Coe - USA/Chile, 1st year MSc

How did you make your way to Helsinki and the Department of Computer science?

• I came to Finland two years ago as an exchange student in Pori and made many friends in Tampere as well. Since the economy is now going down in the US, I decide to try my luck here, following a friends' suggestion. Due to visa issues when looking for work, I start with the Master's programme.

From where did you got attracted here? Where else did you apply to?

• For my exchange year I had two options, Spain and Finland. Because I thought that the experience in Finland will be unique, I made my decision to come here and enjoyed it. Besides UH, I also applied to other universities in Finland, f.ex. Turku and Tampere.

What is your first impression of this department?

• I am impressed. There are lots of facilities and computer equipment, even compared with the US., and the hardware is superb. The open access to the library and the 24-hour room for students are very good.

Which programme are you studying in?

• CBU.

What courses are you planing to take?

• I plan to take the courses Distributed systems, Interactive technology, C programming, and of course the orientation. Most of the courses are in English, except C programming which will be given in Finnish, but all the materials of the C course are in English and a dedicated exercise group is organized in English.

Do you get any help after you arrive?

• I actually arrived 2 months earlier. Tiina Niklander helped me a lot. There are also tutors at the department who are approachable. Nothing is missing at present.

Do you plan to stay in Finland in long term?

• Yes, I would like to. It depends on some factors such as a decent job. It's early to decide whether to take a PhD or industrial job but I am open to both.

Any other comments?

• Since I've been seeking jobs, language is essential. I find self-study is quite challenging and plan to attend courses in the future. I also got a Finnish roommate. For the CBU programme, this year there are 3 members. We met each other earlier and I met other students also via Facebook. I would like to make friends here, both international and Finnish.

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Mohsen Koolaji - Iran (Ghazvin City), 1st year MSc

How did you make your way to Helsinki and the Department of Computer science?

• Actually, I have planned two and a half years ago to apply for the so-called course because the University of Helsinki has a strong tradition of excellence production of high-quality education and advanced sciences. I knew that this university is one of the well-known largest, oldest, and leading universities throughout the world in the field of technology and research, which specifically the Department of Computer Science has been nominated as a centre of excellence in education, and have many connections with industry, pioneers in design, assess and develop complex networked systems. Furthermore, I wanted to study in Finland which has been famous for being secure, innovative and open-minded, and with great scenery.

From where did you got attracted here? Where else did you apply to?

• I have finished my bachelor degree in the Philippines. My spouse, Zinat Rasooli Mavini and I, have applied for the University of Tartu in Estonia as well as Aalto University, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Tampere University of Technology and the University of Oulu in Finland simultaneously. And surprisingly we have been accepted to all of them for pursuing our MSc Degree in different fields. Gladly, after doing some more research and considering the theoretical and scientific background of all these well-known universities we have chosen the University of Helsinki.

What is your first impression of this department?

• A fully equipped research university with appealing staff and amazing facilities.

What courses are you planing to take?

• My MSc Degree is in Computer Science Major in Networking and Services, therefore I will take up as much as possible closely related courses which will somehow lead me to my probable Master's thesis.

Do you get any help after you arrive?

• In my case, I have came to Finland to settle my life since I have a small family with me by Aug. 21, 2011 and until Sept. 1, 2011 I needed to get lots of stuff done before the classes start. During that time I needed someone to help or assist me through dealing with these loads, but unfortunately until the 1st of September there were no tutors or Orientation. However, the Orientation and tutoring was great, although it started too late. If I could have known my tutor one month earlier and attain some practical information from him, I guess it could be more efficient for both me as a student and the faculties and staff.

Do you plan to stay in Finland in long term?

• Yes, I do. I would like to pursue a PhD Degree here in Finland and the University of Helsinki in particular.

Any other comments?

• My suggestion to newcomers or prospective students, If you would like to come to Finland, be prepared for cold weather, to take responsibilities, to learn fast, and to apply faster what you have learnt. Welcome to Finland!

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Yonghao Li - China, 2nd year MSc

How did you make your way to Helsinki and the Department of Computer science?

• The University of Helsinki is the most famous university in Finland, and Helsinki is a very good place to study. Also, Linux is very famous and was invented at UH. I did my Bachelor on Networking in Turku. By checking the CS website, I got lots of information and a friend of mine who was studying at the department provided more information as well.

From where did you got attracted here? Where else did you apply to?

• I also applied to and got accepted at Aalto university and some other universities in Sweden (f.ex. KTH, Stockholm).

Which programme are you studying in?

• Networking and Services.

Are/were you affiliated with a research group at the department (f.ex. internship)?

• Yes, I'm in NODES, Wireless Internet (lead by Markku Kojo). I did an internship in this group in summer and also plan to write my Master's thesis in the group.

Which courses/seminars did you take and would recommend to the new students?

• Everyone should just try to find the courses which sound most interesting to oneself. I can recommend to take part in the software factory. It is a good experience, especially if a student has no or little work experience. It is a good chance to see and do software development in a group and also a good place to find projects. It is intensive but worth doing.

Do you plan to stay in Finland/the Department in long term?

• I have no idea yet. It depends on finding a job.

Do you have any practical comment/information for newcomers?

• Try to learn from your tutor, (s)he has very useful information on the whole process of coming to Finland. For information on visa and accommodation just check for example the immigration website and if some information is not complete or unclear, simply call there. As a new student lots of things have to be taken care of in the beginning. But don't worry too much about it and just do it one by one. Also take the chance to ask previous/senior students for advice.

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Huibin Shen - China, 2nd year MSc

How did you make your way to Helsinki and the Department of Computer science?

• I heard from a friend who studied in Helsinki (in a different department) about the university and the country.

From where did you got attracted here? Where else did you apply to?

• I did my Bachelor at the "East China Normal University". I also applied to and got accepted in Aalto University and Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. I chose UH because of its good reputation, especially in data bases and data mining, and because of recommendation from the Chinese professors.

Which programme are you studying in?

• Machine Learning and Algorithms.

Are/were you affiliated with a research group at the department (f.ex. internship)?

• Yes, I'm affiliated with Juho Rousu's group, CSBB (Computational Systems Biology and Bioinformatics), and got in through a summer internship. I am still part of the research group and am now writing my Master's thesis in this group.

Which courses/seminars did you take and would recommend to the new students?

• I can recommend the two courses unsupervised machine learning and supervised machine learning. They both are tough but very good courses.

Do you plan to stay in Finland/the Department in long term?

• I don't know yet.

Do you have any practical comment/information for newcomers?

• Take care of housing early enough, f.ex. check out HOAS (one needs confirmation that you are a student, contact the department for advice). Prepare for the cold winter. Don't take too many courses in one period, 5-6 courses are too much (possible to pass all of them but not with as good grades), 3-4 courses per period is a good amount. If you are Chinese, there is a big Chinese community at the department and also a Chinese student organization, so it is easy to meet more people.

Any other comments?

• Coming to the CS department is a very good choice, you won't be disappointed.

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Miraj Tafsir - Bangladesh, 2nd year MSc

How did you make your way to Helsinki and the Department of Computer science?

• I started my Master's at the University of Turku in 2009 on Electronic Engineering. Because I am interested in computer science, I applied at UH and transferred my credits to the computer science department.

From where did you got attracted here? Where else did you apply to?

• I am very interested and excited about the Linux operating system. Because it's from this department, I decided to come here to study. Concerning my application, I applied for Finnish universities only. The main reason is that the tuition is covered. This is important to me since even from my undergraduate school, I was awarded a scholarship to cover all the expenses on study. It's a good support.

Which programme are you studying in?

• Networking and Services.

Are/were you affiliated with a research group at the department (f.ex. internship)?

• No, I am not affiliated with any research group. I am currently working as a software developer for Ericsson, and start my Master's thesis supervised by Prof. Sasu Tarkoma.

Which courses/seminars did you take and would recommend to the new students?

• There are many interesting courses such as middleware, distributed systems, AI, etc.

Do you plan to stay in Finland/the Department in long term?

• Yes, I am planing to stay for the long term since I'm working here and I also plan to do my PhD degree here.

Do you have any practical comment/information for newcomers?

• At the University of Helsinki, there is a student organization BAFFU which is supporting students from Bangladesh. For writing the Master's thesis, there is a list of topics online. Before talking to a professor I would recommend to read about the topic and the research group. Writing the thesis is a commitment and strong motivation is needed, especially for students who are working at the same time. For new students, the courses here are very demanding, even compared with previous universities I was in. Be prepared to study hard. Visa issues may make some students struggle when they are seeking a job at the same time. Just try the best to work hard. The cost of living is very high here.

Any other comments?

• Because the tuition fee is going to happen soon, scholarships become a key issue. Compared with the US, there are not so many scholarships for talented students from abroad. Within Europe, Germany and the Netherlands also offer good support via industrial funded positions, in which students are working for the companies and complete their degree at the same time. This can be a challenge for Finnish universities to get good candidates from the global talent pool.

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