Robin DeWan is a student, musician, writer and conceptual artist living on Suomenlinna. He holds a degree in literature from the University of California.

According to a popular saying, being born in Finland is like winning the lottery. From my experience, studying at an institute of higher education here is also pretty much like hitting the jackpot. Attending the University of Helsinki has been a real eye-opener and has prompted a lot of thought about how societies could ideally be organised. Rather than facing a multitude of obstacles, students in Finland are encouraged and supported in pursuing their studies.

Starting with the obvious, the financial burden placed on the graduate student here is miniscule in comparison to much of the rest of the world. In the US, for example, individuals often shell out tens of thousands of dollars going after a degree, whereas in Finland, tuition is free and living expenses are supplemented. In addition, there are excellent student benefits such as more or less free health care, discounts on public transport, and honourable mention goes out to the UniCafe, whose meals are extremely cheap, convenient, and every bit as tasty as what you find in most restaurants in town.

While the infrastructure and the perks in studying at the University of Helsinki are great, the level of education itself is somewhat below what I received at the University of California. This is probably due to the fact that here in my department (English Philology) English is not most students’ native language. The curriculum is tailored to take this fact into account, and therefore the work load is lighter. But there is more to it than just that. The University environment is much more relaxed and the course standards, such as attendance and adherence to deadlines, less strict. The good side to this less formal style is that students face less stress. I appreciate this relaxed atmosphere. Students are often on a first name basis with their teachers, whereas in the States it was always “professor.”

Some might suspect that this more casual study approach leads to lower academic performance. Not so, if the Shanghai Jiao Tong rankings are to be taken into account. Five Finnish institutions made it onto its 2009 list of the world’s top 500 universities with the University of Helsinki charting in at 72nd. It’s no wonder that the rest of the world is taking note of Finnish education methods.

One aspect that could be improved upon is that of creating a more multicultural atmosphere on campus. Everyone benefits from the unique ideas that different cultures bring to the table. There has been much debate about this recently and in my opinion there is no need to cut back on free tuition for foreign students, as has been proposed. Although the initial desired effect of attracting educated individuals to settle in Finland may not be proving successful (although some do stay), an even more important factor is that visiting students enrich the learning environment. This is a win-win situation. With less than five per cent of students at the University of Helsinki coming from abroad, the notion that everyone and their brother and sister is going to flock here and take advantage of the great university system in this country is unfounded.

While there is always room for improvement, all things considered, studying in Finland has been an exceptional experience. For Finnish students, winning the lottery and hitting the jackpot all at once is quite a feat. Perhaps the North Star is, in the end, the lucky star.