Meet Samah, a Saudi Arabian student in Finland at Helsinki School of Business. She has enjoyed her time in Finland tremendously, and is happy to share her story about how she ended up in Finland.
Samah has studied in the bachelor’s degree program in Business and Management for about 2 years already and will be graduating this spring with a diploma from the University of Northampton.
A new life ahead
Choosing HELBUS was no accidental decision for Samah.
“This is actually my third degree. I have a bachelor’s degree in IT. After my bachelor’s studies, I went to work with a company with digital marketing and later pursued a master’s degree in marketing, but I quickly realized that studying master’s degree without any background in business or marketing is very difficult.”
Coming from Saudi Arabia, Samah was looking for a new place for her and her family. “I have three children, so it was important to me to find a good place to study and live in.” She did plenty of research on Northern Europe and the possibilities to study a bachelor’s degree in business and came across HELBUS. “I wanted to move to a country that is safe and stable and provides high-quality education also for my children. That’s why my focus was on the Nordic countries and once I found HELBUS the decision was clear for me – my family and I would move to Helsinki, Finland.”
Moving to another country is always stressful and there are many things to take care of, and especially with children, the move can become challenging. Thankfully, according to Samah everything eventually went well. “When I decided that I would study in Finland I didn’t know anyone in Finland! Luckily, people were extremely helpful, and I got great support from HELBUS throughout the process from applying to moving to Finland.”
Helsinki – a great place for family
Living in Finland has turned out great for Samah and her family. “Helsinki is a great place to live and study! When I arrived, the city was a bit smaller than I had imagined but to be honest it doesn’t bother me at all. You can get everywhere in the city by public transportation and the city itself is really convenient.” Living in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, has some cons to it too as the living costs are usually higher than in the rest of the country. “Yes, it is true but there are also areas in Helsinki were the living costs are cheaper. It all depends on how close to the city center you want to live in.”
Full-time student, full-time mother
Studying at HELBUS is just what Samah was looking for. “The focus in the studies is on business – there are no unnecessary courses which is great.” The courses are intensive but the teachers are just amazing. For Samah, the best part of studies has been the teachers at HELBUS. “We have teachers from all over the world who are professionals in their own field. You can learn so much from them.” Samah appreciates also the short degree time. “I have been studying for about a year and a half and will graduate this June, it is great that I can get the degree so quickly.” HELBUS’s weekly schedules are also Samah’s favorite as it helps her to plan her life with her children better.
After graduation
So, what does Samah think of the Finnish language? “Finnish is a difficult language.” Samah laughs. But according to her this should not discourage anyone. “Everyone speaks good English here and you can easily manage with only English.”
In Finland, she has worked part-time with digital marketing in a Finnish company. She emphasizes the importance of networking and presence on social media. “There are several groups, for example, on Facebook in which you can find suitable jobs for foreigners regularly. That was where I found my job as well.” After her graduation, she wants to find a permanent job in the Helsinki area.
In the future, she wants to start her own business which was partly inspired by HELBUS. “I’ve had many business ideas, but it wasn’t until I started to study at HELBUS that I was able to create proper business plans for my ideas. The courses have provided me with everything I would need to know about starting my own business”
We wish Samah the best of luck with her studies and future career!
Would you like to study at HELBUS and get a bachelor’s degree in two years or master’s degree in less than in a year?
