The students of Business English and English for Public Relations participated in a Nordplus Nordic Languages project “Multilingualism as a Key to Enhance Students’ Employability NR NRPLA-2019/10035 IP”, and attended an intensive Finnish language course in Haaga-Helia UAS, Finland. The faculty is located in the second oldest city of  Finland – Porvoo.

During the intensive week, the students completed an online A1 Finnish language course of 2 ECTS, participated in different activities, got acquainted with the Finnish culture and history, explored the old town of Porvoo, Finland’s capital Helsinki, and visited the National Museum of Finland. On the last day, Haaga-Helia UAS students prepared dinner and presented traditional food of Finland. The evening was full of conversations and laughs.

Students who attended the course say that Finnish people might seem quite cold at first sight, but as the conversations flow, you realize that silence is just as important as a usual conversation. That does not mean that Finnish people are unfriendly – it’s a part of their culture. Those who are not used to long silence pauses might feel uncomfortable during the conversation, but it is natural for Finnish people.

The students claim that participation in the project was very beneficial since they had an opportunity to learn the basics of the Finnish language, it encouraged them to learn more about the country’s culture. It also expanded students’ outlook and might also enhance career chances in the future.