aalto university
Helsinki, Finland
Aalto University - where business and technology meet science and art! The mission of Aalto, created from the unique merger of three renowned Finnish universities in 2010, is to work towards a better world and create solutions to meet the greatest challenges facing society through top-quality research and pioneering education.
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With experience spanning more than a century and acknowledged with the exceptional triple crown of AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS, the Aalto University School of Business has both the passion and the skills to educate the influential leaders of tomorrow.
LOCATION
Otakaari 1 B, Espoo, Finland
USEFUL LINKS
student feedback
workload
ACADEMICS
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Pedro (Spring 2020): Good quality of courses. Classes are usually small which enable a better learning experience. Downside was the limited availability of different CEMS courses.
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Tomás (Spring 2018): Very interesting Business Projects, with deep insights on the companies we were working with. Classes are overall great, but very academic and theoretically-focused.
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Bernardo (Spring 2014): It is a more academic research-based learning (i.e. less practical). The companies selected for the Business Project were quite interesting; the teams were selected by the academic directors to ensure different skills and capabilities.
WORKLOAD
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Pedro (Spring 2020): Just right.
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Tomás (Spring 2018): Light to medium, some class preparation and group projects.
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Bernardo (Spring 2014): Reasonable amount. Not too much, not too little.
CITY LIFE
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Pedro (Spring 2020): Social life is expensive in Helsinki, however, as a student there are plenty of student discounts and activities for you to get involved.
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Tomás (Spring 2018): A bit sleepy over the winter, improves a lot with the spring/summer season. Local student culture is pretty intensive, so being involved on it is key.
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Bernardo (Spring 2014): It is a quite cool city with many things to do, on the cultural side, Erasmus/exchange activities, bars and clubs, etc. In the winter months it is not always easy to do things, as the cold weather offers less motivation to leave the house, but as it starts getting warmer the city fully comes back to life.
CEMS Life
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Pedro (Spring 2020): Lots of social gatherings, the semester was cut in half due to COVID outbreak, but the cabin trip was definitely a highlight of the semester. Also, the CEMS class is small enough for you to create a cohesive group during all the acitvities, especially when compared to the large cohort a Nova.
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Tomás (Spring 2018): Great cohort and very active once the heavy part of the semester was over. Usually a small cohort, usually you know all the CEMS class and there are activities every 2 weeks. Cultural adaptation might be challenging, but people are great and very approachable.
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Bernardo (Spring 2014): There are always many activities organized by the CEMS Club and, being a small class, it is easy to make plans. They will be different from what most are used to (sauna, weekends in the countryside, curling, etc) but that makes it more fun.
HOUSing
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Pedro (Spring 2020): Good and affordable as a student.
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Tomás (Spring 2018): Easy to find and several student housing options available (Top tip: try to sublet from a CEMSie who is going abroad that very same semester). On private market, dont have much info, but it is expensive.
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Bernardo (Spring 2014): We were allocated to different student residences by the university. Some are relatively central (e.g. Pasila) others less so. In general it is fun, because other students and exchange students live there too.
PRICES
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Pedro (Spring 2020): Nighlife is expensive. Living cost is affordable as a student (discounts for everything that a students does such as transportantion, school meals, etc).
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Tomás (Spring 2018): High (average beer price of EUR 6), but student prices/offers usually compensate this cost. Public transport is great and affordable (for students), as well as student food courts. Culture and museums are free, so you can end up not spending much at all.
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Bernardo (Spring 2014): There are a lot of discounts for students, for instance on transports, gyms and cantine meals across town (which are actually pretty good). Otherwise, eating and drinking out is relatively expensive but the activities organized for exchange students and CEMS are usually organized carefully to control costs. it is worthwhile taking the ferry boat to Tallin a couple of times throughout the semestre to get cheaper alcool (most people do this).
testimonies
Pedro (Spring 2020)
The learning environment at Aalto is great.
Tomás (Spring 2018)
Great, small cohort was great and provided an excellent experience within the Finnish society and fun with Finnish heavy-drinkers.
Bernardo (Spring 2014)
It is overall a quite different experience from what you have in Lisbon (which makes it interesting). Helsinki is a great city but it is hard to do a lot of things outside of the exchange student bubble if you're on a budget.