”I was in Finland for five months, and it is now the end of my amazing stay in Lappeenranta, this small town by the Russian border. I saw the whole landscape filled with snow, and I wasn’t disappointed discovering the real Finnish winter. Ice skating, cross-country skiing, sledging, walking on the frozen Saimaa Lake...such great activities!

Trust me, this will not be the last time I enjoy Finland!”

Flore Lacroix from France

“If I had to make an assessment about my experience during this last semester, I would start by saying that it was a really new and amazing experience. The first day when I arrived in Lappeenranta, it was minus 35°C. The weather is completely different when compared with France, but I discovered a new culture, which was the main idea of this experience.

Teaching is also very different, because here you have more practical work, and you have to be autonomous. In addition to the courses, Lappeenranta has a really nice geographical position. It was wasy to discover cities like Helsinki, Tallinn, Saint-Petersburg, Moscow and Stockholm, and not only are these travels interesting, they correspond to the idea of the Erasmus system, which aims to teach through new experiences with different cultures.”

Thomas Lahitte from France

“The main reason why I chose to come to Finland was that Lappeenranta is situated close to Russia. Moreover, from here it is not too far away to Stockholm and Tallinn. I could use all of these possibilities with my new friends which I met here. These trips not only allowed me to get to know better the friends whom I encountered on a daily basis at the university, but also increased my desire to travel, meet new cultures and new people.

Even though my stay was relatively short – five months – it still allowed me to make friends with people from many different countries and learn about various cultural differences. Furthermore, working in groups, shared learning, and spending evenings with friends and many other activities which were prepared by our tutors will always remind me about the great time I spent here.

I can say that I am richer for the experience, I have a suitcase full of experiences, unforgettable feelings and wonderful memories of Lappeenranta. “

Kasia Araszewska from Poland

“Saimaa University of Applied Science helped me to attain not only practical knowledge in the fields of economics and management, but also taught me how to apply my knowledge in practice. Visiting Finnish companies, meeting with interesting people like companies' CEOs, HR department managers, and logistics managers made the study process not only useful, but also interesting. I am sure that the experience I gained in this university will certainly help me as a future economist.”

Ksenia Semenova from Russia