Students from around the world joined the Aalto Bachelor’s Programme in Science and Technology – meet Dylan, Anna and Ishaan

The Aalto Bachelor’s Programme in Science and Technology received its first students in September 2018. Altogether 39 students began their studies in the Data Science and Digital Systems and Design majors to complete their bachelor’s degree entirely in English. About one third of the new students in this programme are from Finland, while the rest are from countries like Vietnam, South Korea, India, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Russia, Italy and the USA.

We had the pleasure of talking to three of them to know more about their background and the reasons for choosing this English-medium Science and Technology programme and Aalto University for their studies.

Ishaan Sameer Saral is originally from India and moved to Finland three years ago with his family after his father got an international job transfer. He studied in the IB Diploma Programme in Ressu high school in Helsinki and graduated last summer. When considering options for continuing his studies at university level, Ishaan compared available study options in Finland and some other European countries, and decided to apply for the Digital Systems and Design major at Aalto University. “This major felt different, as it provided studies in design, programming, entrepreneurship and management, automation, and electrical engineering,” Ishaan describes. He also preferred to stay in Finland and wanted to study in English. Regarding expectations related to his studies, Ishaan says that he expects to learn more mathematics, electronics and programming, and new things about entrepreneurship and management, as well as more Finnish language at some point.

Dylan Nguyen came to FinlandfromHanoi, Vietnam four years ago to study International Business in the bachelor’s program at Joensuu University of Applied Sciences. After graduation, he decided that he wanted to do something different, something that would have to do with computer science. His friend told him about the English-medium bachelor’s program at Aalto University, and Dylan decided to apply for the Data Science major. He was intrigued by the interesting course offering of the programme, and the reputation of Aalto University as one of the best universities in Finland, as well as the student life that seemed quite active. When applying, Dylan was also interested in the exchange studies programme at Aalto, which offers a wide network of partner universities. “I would like go for exchange to an English-speaking country,” Dylan says about his plans. In his studies, Dylan expects to deepen his basic knowledge of data science and to strengthen his knowledge in mathematics and statistics. As he already knows some programming, Dylan is working in a programming related role in a company aside his studies.

Following her brother, Anna Lebedeff moved from Finland to North Field near Boston in the US to pursue her studies in high school. She graduated last spring, and as it felt natural to continue her studies in English she considered applying to universities in the US or Canada, but finally chose Aalto University because she was already familiar with it and it was known as an innovative university. “There are not that many universities offering Data Science as a major, and as a Finnish-speaker I can choose courses both in English and Finnish, and in this programme, it’s also easy to choose minors and interesting courses, “ Anna lists the things that affected her choice. She considers Data Science a wide subject where students can combine computer science and mathematics with for example economics, entrepreneurship or business studies. It is also interesting that the studies in data science develop as the technology itself develops. Anna expects the studies to be a strong combination of computer science, mathematics and statistics. She would like to choose a minor in industrial engineering and management or business. Anna thinks that it is nice that the small group of students in the Data Science major is so close but looks forward to getting new students to the major and the group next year.

This year, there are a total of five study options available in the programme:
Chemical Engineering
Computational Engineering
Data Science
Digital Systems and Design
Quantum Technology

The application period for the programme is 7-20 January 2021. More information on applying and selection criteria is available on the Admission Services pages.

Text and photos: Silja Kaurala