Supporting an International Student Starting DIB Studies
Rajaniemi, Sanni (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052214632
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025052214632
Tiivistelmä
This thesis was made as a commission work for Oulu University of Applied Sciences. The aim of this thesis was to understand the challenges and experiences of international students who are studying in the DIB program at OUAS. It was also discovered what kind of support they need and receive. International student in this thesis refers to a student who has moved to Finland to study from outside of the European Union.
In the theoretical background, the topics of customer experience and expat case studies were explored. Customer experience was chosen as a topic for the theoretical background, since students in universities can be referred to as their customers. Expats are people who have moved to a country, in this case Finland, from abroad. The term immigrant can also be used, as international students may be categorised as either.
Five international students were interviewed by semi-structured interviews to gather the data for this thesis. The interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams during November 2024.
The results implied that international students need most support with finding jobs and internships. This proves to be the most significant challenge that international students face in Finland. They also face challenges with the Finnish language, and it might be beneficial for OUAS to organise some Finnish language study groups. The new VIP student (Valuable International Peer) model at OUAS proves to be working, and it should be continued as it helps new international students. All in all, the experience at OUAS and in Finland has been positive for the interviewees.
In the theoretical background, the topics of customer experience and expat case studies were explored. Customer experience was chosen as a topic for the theoretical background, since students in universities can be referred to as their customers. Expats are people who have moved to a country, in this case Finland, from abroad. The term immigrant can also be used, as international students may be categorised as either.
Five international students were interviewed by semi-structured interviews to gather the data for this thesis. The interviews were conducted via Microsoft Teams during November 2024.
The results implied that international students need most support with finding jobs and internships. This proves to be the most significant challenge that international students face in Finland. They also face challenges with the Finnish language, and it might be beneficial for OUAS to organise some Finnish language study groups. The new VIP student (Valuable International Peer) model at OUAS proves to be working, and it should be continued as it helps new international students. All in all, the experience at OUAS and in Finland has been positive for the interviewees.