During your studies at Lapin AMK, you have a great opportunity to go abroad for exchange studies. It can be for the period of one semester or for the whole year.

Going on exchange is a perfect opportunity to make some of your dreams come true! You can choose from many educational institutions all over the world, where you would like to go. The opportunities can be checked here: Link to Solemove.

Before applying for the exchange, some planning must be done. Make sure that all the stages are settled before the actual application period starts – the dates together with the necessary steps before, during and after application period are mentioned here, but do not hesitate to ask for help if something seems unclear for you.

For me one of the important parts during preparation was to make sure that my future studies abroad are accepted to my current degree at home University; two courses were not covered by the exchange program, but we went through it with study counselor and the problem was solved.

There are different types of exchange programs (depends on the chosen University) with a possibility to apply for the grant. However, the grant does not cover all expenses, thus make sure that you have enough sufficient funds to support you. The description of the programs can be found under the “Studying Abroad” section. Often the partner Universities has the necessary info (for example accommodation prices) at their website – browse it. Take a close look at language requirements, in my case we had one university in Spain, where 2 courses were held in Spanish, thus it required at least basic knowledge of Spanish language.

Before picking the University, check its location, what does it offer apart from your main studies and other opportunities such as extra courses/ sport events/ possibilities for leisure/ traveling around. When I was choosing my destination, the crucial point for me was the language. I wanted to go to the country, where English is the native language. It was quite a challenge, as of course teachers in my university speaking very good English, but no one speaks as good as native speakers. It ended up being a great idea for me, as language skills increased rapidly.

During my exchange period I was a part of the volleyball team at university, traveled around, made good friends and found a practical training place for myself, as you can see the time was not wasted

Apart from language skills, exchange provides you with the chance to dive into atmosphere and culture of a chosen country. You can go to the place, which is completely opposite from your home country and/or the country where you are studying. Maybe, it is the country, where you always wanted to travel!

Hence, do not miss a great chance to expand your horizon, meet different people and open new possibilities for yourself!

-Kseniia-