Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
On Friday 2nd October 2020, Edunation hosted an online webinar on the topic ‘Interesting Facts About Finland That You May Not Have Known Of’. Besides the interesting topic, the most special thing about this webinar must be the fact that it is the first Vietnamese-language-only livestream ever on Edunation’s social media channels.
Vietnamese student community has always been one of the largest international student groups in Finland. With this in mind, Edunation is planning to launch this webinar series only in Vietnamese for Vietnamese students (and of course anyone who understands the language!) for sharing experiences of living and studying in Finland. Audience can also interact, discuss, and ask questions by leaving comments. The speakers are more than happy to answer questions relating to the topic, and sometimes questions regarding Edunation’s services such as the Pathway Diploma and the degree programs.
Our co-hosts of the first Vietnamese webinar were Helen Phi – graduate from Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences and Sophie Nguyen – graduate from Tampere University.
Table of contents
Some interesting facts about Finland that were mentioned in the webinar:
Land of a thousand lakes
In fact, there are a total of 188 000 lakes in Finland.
For Sophie, the lakes not only bring peacefulness but also act as a beneficial environmental factor to the Finnish healthiness and well-being.
Personal space is important
Finn really respect the personal space of each other. On the bus if there are still free seats people prefer to take a free seat instead of sitting next to someone.
Incredible healthcare system
Public healthcare in Finland is not free, however charges are very reasonable, especially if you are a student.
During her time at university, Helen once had to unfortunately be taken to the emergency room and hospitalized. As a student at that time, she was concerned about the hospital fee she would have to pay afterwards. When the bill came, Helen was shocked that all she had to pay was 27 EUR, thanks to her healthcare insurance.
Vitamin D is essential, especially in the winter
In Finland, where sunlight is elusive in the winter, vitamin D supplements have been recommended by doctors for decades and certain milk products have been enriched by the vitamin.
Life-long learning
One of the things which amazed Sophie the most when she first came to Finland was the nation’s priority for education. The Finnish education system supports life-long learning in various ways. The education system in Finland does not have an end, Finnish citizens can always continue their studies on an upper level of education not depending on their previous choices.
You can follow Edunation’s main Facebook page and Edunation Vietnamese Facebook page to be notified of upcoming webinars and events. You can also read more of our student stories in Finland here.
Written by Sophie Nguyen, Coordinator at Edunation.