I am in Europe for almost 8 months as a part of ERASMUS MUNDUS scholarship program; I experienced several things from professional aspects to social life in European countries. I would like to begin with my internship experience that I gained from a research institute in Europe. As a part of this Master program (Master of European Forestry); I had a valuable opportunity to do my internship at the Laboratory of Forest Policy in the French Institution of Forestry, Agriculture and Environmental Engineering (ENGREF) for three months (October-December 2008). This internship program offered me the chance to work at European research institution and enhance my knowledge about the forest sectors in European Union. I had a nice working time dealing with European forestry policies in some countries.
After finishing internship in France, I returned in Finland to continue my course at University of Joensuu. Up on my arrival in Finland for the first day, I found the weather was extremely cold (- 9 Co to - 25 Co) and it took me few weeks to adapt. Because Erasmus Mundus is an international program, I met with a lot of friends from different countries and experience wide range of cultures. Furthermore, I was offered a basic Finnish Language Course too and with a basic phrase like “Hello (Moi) and Thank you (Kiitos)” which I always use to speak to Finnish people, I felt quite close to this society although most Finns are a little bit reserve and shy.
Regarding the university itself, the learning environments and facilities are well equipped such as internet access, library, and expertise of the professors. In the university, lectures, seminars, independent work and exams have traditionally been the main study methods. Students have a freedom to take any courses that they want since there are no limitations for students in selecting the study courses.
Anyway, this is the last month here in Finland and in May, I will have a long European Field Trip in Spain, France, Germany, The Netherlands and finally Austria. In this meantime I will finish my first year study and then I am going to continue my second year study at University of Wageningen in the Netherlands from September 2009.
