Almost half of the international students pursuing a degree at universities of Finland plan to remain in the country after they take their degree, a survey revealed.
The International Student Barometer conducts an annual survey in different countries of the world to evaluate exchange and full degree international students’ opinions of the country where they are studying. In this year, 6,650 overseas students enrolled at 15 universities of Finland, including two applied science universities, participated in this survey.
One-fourth of respondents said they plan to stay and work in Finland for more than two years, while one-tenth of them aim to stay for less than two years. Similarly, 14 % of surveyed students said they plan to pursue a higher degree in the current university following the completion of their actual course. This means that almost half of international students in Finland have future plans that are somehow linked to the option of remaining in the country after their graduation.
International students were mostly satisfied with the quality of academic staff, high quality of learning environment and facilities and the opportunity to get to know a diverse student community.
Also, a majority of students (90%) highly valued the support they have received when settled for the first time in the country. This satisfaction is reflected in their recommendation too. Overall, 83% of respondents would highly recommend Finland as a study destination.
Finland higher education did badly on the opportunities for employment while studying. A portion of 38% said they didn’t know how to access career and recruitment services. Meanwhile, opening a bank account was the biggest problem most of these students faced at the beginning of their studies in Finland.
Seemingly the introduction of tuition fees last autumn for non-EU students didn’t hurt Finland reputation on international education. Non-EU students still find universities in Finland very attractive and now they share 77% of the entire foreign student population.