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"Tampere perfectly merges nature with urban life. You get the best of both worlds"-a student ambassador story

Published on 25.10.2022
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updated on 12.1.2024
Tampere University
Student Ambassador Alil enjoys living in Tampere and likes the peace and quiet he gets around nature

How long have you been in Tampere and what brought you here?

I have been in Tampere for just several months. I arrived last August 2022 to start my first semester of master's degree studies and it is actually my first time in Finland. I got accepted for the master's degree in Computing Sciences, Human-Technology Interaction, and that is the reason why I moved here in Tampere all the way from the Philippines. I come from an electronics engineering background and wanted to shift into the user experience design industry. That's why I applied for the Human-Technology Interaction program.

What subject(s) do you study and what made you choose them?

I study in the Human-Technology Interaction program and there are various interesting courses I am taking in this semester, including one in psychology. I wanted to go into the field of user experience design, which is a career that I just recently found out. I am genuinely interested in human behaviors and understanding them, even as I was taking my engineering program back then, but to find out that there is a career out there that utilizes all my interests together, from human behaviors to technology and even design, it immediately got my attention. This is the major reason why I quit my job as an engineer and pursued a degree that would get me knowledge in user experience design. Thankfully, I was accepted in the HTI program at Tampere University and now I'm here.

What do you like most about Tampere and Finland? What has been the most surprising or different thing about living here?

The abundance of nature everywhere, even in cities, really made me more excited to live in the city. The city effectively merges nature and urban life. My apartment is near the lake and at the same time it is really peaceful. Some people may find quiet and lack of activity really lonely, but for me, this is where I thrive. I enjoy a lot of peace and quiet and Tampere is exactly that. Although, you could find activities in the city centre if you really wanted to, but there are always nearby places where you can just enjoy the quiet and reflect, may it be a park, a lake or a forest. It is the cold that is difficult to get used to, and it is not even winter as of the time I am writing this. I came from a tropical country and I have never gone to a cold country before, so this is my first time, and that probably is another reason why I have a hard time getting used to the cold, but I am now starting to slowly adapt. Another thing I should say is public transport is really good here, which is totally different from my country. For the few months I've been here, I haven't experienced issues with riding trams and buses, and it's also rare for the transports to get too crowded, which is again, totally opposite in my home country.

What are your hobbies in Tampere? Have you tried out any new hobbies since coming here?

I walk a lot here in Tampere. Although I have said that public transport is really efficient, I mostly choose to just walk around the city as long as I have the time and I am not late for my classes or events. I mostly walk around forests and just enjoy the environment. This has become quite a routine for me, and I set some time of my day, around 30 min at minimum to just walk around. Sometimes I look for nice places in google maps and walk towards there, but sometimes I just start walking with no end goal in mind, and when I get tired, I ride the bus home

What would you say to someone who's trying to decide whether Tampere is the right place to come to study and live?

I would say if you enjoy nature and peace, while still being able to easily access a lot of fun urban activities, then Tampere is a good place for that. In the city centre there are the usual city structures like malls, concerts, bars and other fun activity stuff, but forests, lakes and parks are also just a few walks away and if you don't like walking you can always ride the bus or tram. Like I said earlier, it's a good mix of nature and urban life, and you get the best of both worlds in Tampere.

What is your favourite thing about the student culture in Finland?

I really enjoy the freedom they give to students here in the university. You get to plan your own study structure and you even have free choice studies, where you can take whatever course you like to earn the required credits for your degree. In my program, we also have these workshops in addition to lectures, where we get to group together with fellow students and discuss and put into practice the things we learn from the lectures, which is something I really like as well, since communication and the ability share idea is a really useful skill not just in the working industry, but in life as well.

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