Welcome to helsinki

First of all, I’d like to wish you a warm welcome to Helsinki and the ninth annual Helsinki Summer School!

The international Helsinki Summer School, introduced in 2000 as a part of Helsinki’s European cultural city programme, has established itself as a highly regarded academic summer event. Year after year, HSS alumni rave about their Helsinki Summer School experience, citing high-quality instruction, the wide range of interesting fully-credited courses, the great atmosphere, beautiful surroundings and light summer nights.

Helsinki is not only the vibrant and exciting capital of Finland, it’s also an internationally renowned hub of higher education. There are currently some 35,000 students pursuing degrees at the University of Helsinki - HSS’s main organiser. The eight other members of the Helsinki Summer School consortium add over 25,000 students to the region’s rich and diverse academic community.

University life in Helsinki has become dramatically more diverse and international. As the number of courses and degree programmes offered in English has grown over the past decade, so has the number of foreign students, researchers and lecturers in all academic fields. Helsinki Summer School is just one of the many examples of this exciting trend. We expect this trend to continue with the many new opportunities for foreign exchange created by the introduction of the Bologna model in Finland in 2005.

Helsinki Summer School is an excellent opportunity to spend time in Helsinki exploring the wide range of international advanced degree programmes offered by the universities in the Helsinki region. It is also the perfect chance to learn, make new friends and experience everything the city of Helsinki has to offer.

Welcome!

Hannele Niemi
Vice Rector for International Affairs
University of Helsinki