Ten years of the Double Degree Program of SPbGASU and Saimaa University of Applied Sciences (Finland)

Ten years of the Double Degree Program of SPbGASU and Saimaa University of Applied Sciences (Finland)

2019 is a jubilee year for the double degree program in civil engineering with Saimaa University of Applied Sciences. It’s been ten years that SPbGASU students, who pass the selection, go to study to the Finnish city of Lappeenranta.

We asked those who studied at Saimaa University to tell what the education in Finland meant to them.

WHAT STUDENTS AND GRADUATES THINK ABOUT SAIMAA UNIVERSITY?

Sergey Tyotushkin, first-year Master’s degree student shared his impressions:

“I studied at Saimaa University of Applied Sciences last academic year. The education is free and you only pay for the accommodation. Classes were of a team nature. We were divided into groups; each group was assigned individual design tasks. Teachers were always smiling, friendly, though strict and no-nonsense at the exams. We had quite a few field trips, got a large amount of applied knowledge. The university is pretty international. I studied with guys from Poland, the Netherlands, and Germany. It was cool, I recommend it!”

A graduate of SPbGASU Ivan Krylov, currently a Gazprom Projecting employee, shared his opinion on the benefits of studying at a Finnish partner university: “I have improved my English and acquired new business contacts, learned how the industry is organized abroad.”

Andrey Golenkin, a graduate of SPbGASU and presently chief specialist of the Renaissance Construction agrees with him: “We were given a lot of useful practical knowledge. The theoretical part was always accompanied by practical work. Most disciplines were directly related to our specialty.”

Useful details

Dean of the Faculty of Civil Engineering Alexander Panin outlined cooperation of SPbGASU with Saimaa University of Applied Sciences.

The curriculum is agreed between the administrations of the two universities. We chose the disciplines very carefully, provided for the study of BIM-technology, which is essential now. Our Bachelor’s degree students not only master the theory but get practical training as well. They gain useful experience, make contacts with foreign organizations. After the training, they enroll the Master’s degree program a lot easier, some continue their education abroad.

.

According to Irina Lugovskaya, Vice-Rector for External Relations of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, 86 students studied in the double degree program over the decade. Moreover, cooperation is aimed not only at ensuring that students study abroad, receive the necessary skills, and get acquainted with a different context and education philosophy. This also is an experience for teachers who organize lectures and hold round tables. The parties intend to expand the horizons of cooperation, increase the number of programs, look for new projects that will accompany the educational process and be useful in scientific research from both theoretical and practical points of view.

Saimaa University is one of our main long-term partners. The partner is absolutely reliable, highly competent and has utmost social responsibility to students.

Text: Tatyana Petrova

✔ Join the double-degree program to get training in Finland.