Every year, we organise several summer courses in Finnish language and culture and often one specialist course (in contemporary Finnish literature or in Finnish language and translation). The courses are intended for students of Finnish language in universities outside Finland.

Due to the Russian war of aggression, students at Russian and Belarusian universities cannot be admitted to summer courses in Finnish language and culture.

Youngsters hanging out on a beach
Photo: Johanna Kokkonen

 

 

You can apply for a place on a summer course in Finnish language and culture if

  • you study Finnish language in a university outside Finland, and
  • you have completed Finnish studies during the academic year prior to the course, and 
  • you are at least 18 years old.

You can also apply in case you have graduated during the academic year prior to the course.

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Courses are available from level A1 to B2/C1 (students' starting level). Completing the course will give you 10 ECTS credits.

The courses help you activate and develop your language skills in a Finnish-speaking environment. It is especially important to practise speaking during the course. You will also practise listening, reading and writing.

Tuition, study materials and free-time activities arranged as part of the course are free of charge for you. You don’t need to pay for your accommodation either.

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We award a travel grant to everyone who is accepted to a summer course in Finland.

The size of the travel grant, based on the country of study

  • Near-by areas (Baltic and Nordic countries): € 300 
  • Other European countries: € 400 
  • Other countries: € 500
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The deadline for applications to the summer courses is 1 March, 23.59 Finnish time (+2 UTC). After that it is not possible to send an application.

Filling in the application form

Fill in the online application form in Finnish. Fill in the  form with precision. The fields marked with an asterisk (*) are compulsory.

Assessing your language level and applying for a course

Make use of the European language levels – self-assessment grid when assessing your knowledge of Finnish. You can use Kieliopo to help you in the assessment: https://www.kielibuusti.fi/en/learn-finnish/plan-your-language-learnging/assess-your-language-skills.

In the application form, you can select one or two courses that you apply for. Pay attention that you apply for a course that is on the right level for you.

Motivation

Answer the questions under the heading Motivation with care. Motivation is an important selection criterion.

Introduce yourself

Tell us something about yourself in Finnish in the application form:
You can write the text beforehand and copy it here. To write this text, you can use aids such as a dictionary or a grammar book. However, do not translate the whole text with a translation programme or write it with AI.

Saving the form when not finished

After every page in the form, you can save what you have filled in and continue filling in the form later.

  • Click Tallenna ja jatka myöhemmin. After this you receive a link which takes you back to the form.
  • Please note! Remember to copy the link so that you can continue filling in the form.
  • You can also send the link to your email. Write your email address and click Lähetä.
     

Sending the application form

When you have finished the form, click Lähetä. After this you see a summary page (Yhteenvetosivu) of your answers. Save the page: you can save it in the pdf format, print it or send it to your email.

Attachments

Tell your teacher that you are applying to a summer course. The teacher will send us a statement about your Finnish language skills and the text that you have written.

Writing the text

Unlike in previous years, all applicants to summer courses will write only one text. Your teacher will give you more detailed instructions.

  • The teacher will reserve a time when all students write the texts.
  • You will write the text either at the university or remotely at home.
  • You will have a maximum of 60 minutes to write the text.
  • Write the text on a computer and send it to the teacher according to the instructions given by the teacher.
  • You may use a dictionary but not a translation programme, AI or other aids. You must not ask other people to help you or copy a text written by other people.
  • It is important that you write the text yourself, so we can select you to a course at the correct level. The aim is not to write a text that is as good as possible. Instead, the text should show your real level of proficiency. 
  • If your text is far too good compared to the number of years you have studied Finnish and to the teacher’s assessment, you will not be selected to the course.

We will keep the application forms for two years. We need your personal information for the selection process of the summer courses and for course arrangements. The information will only be given to the course organiser.

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Selection criteria

If possible, we select students from all universities outside Finland offering studies in Finnish. That is why we cannot select many students from the same university to the same course.

If students have not applied for a course that corresponds to their level of proficiency, we can select them to another course, with a more suitable level.

When selecting students on summer courses we pay particular attention to these matters in the application:

  • What is the applicants’ motivation to learn Finnish language and culture and to use their knowledge in practice.
  • Whether the applicant has earlier been in Finland with funding from EDUFI (attending a summer course, Suomea Suomessa training or a scholarship programme).
  • Whether this is the applicant’s last chance to attend a summer course.

Ultimately, selection to the course is also affected by the number of applicants and places available for the course.

Information on selection

We will send email to all applicants by 30 April at the latest to inform if they have been selected on a course. 

There are three types of results:

  • you are selected on a course
  • you are on a reserve list, or
  • you were not selected on a course.

If you are on the reserve list, you may still get on a course if somebody else cancels their participation. You will be informed about this during May.

Please let your teacher know if you were selected or not. We do not automatically inform teachers.

If you are admitted to a summer course in Finland, you will need a travel insurance. It is also highly recommended to take out a liability insurance. It covers damage that you have caused (e.g. in the dormitory).


Principles of a safe place

We require that all students selected for the course follow the principles of a safe space:

  • Respect everyone's personal space, both physical and mental.
  • Respect everyone, accept the differences between people.
  • Do not mock or humiliate anyone with your words or actions.
  • Give everyone space to participate in discussions.
  • Listen to others and be open-minded about new perspectives.
  • Be prepared to receive feedback on your actions and apologise if you have intentionally or unintentionally offended someone.
     
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You will get more detailed information about the summer courses and about supervision of the texts to be written by students and a link to the teacher's statement form through the mailing list suomi-opettajat.

Send the statements about the applicants from your university and the texts written by the students by 1 March. The texts are sent to the email address suomenkesakurssit [at] oph.fi. Name each text file according to the student (Surname First name text.)

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Contact person

Leena Kärnä
Send your inquiries to skk [at] oph.fi

 

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EDUFI and Finnish Literature Exchange FILI arrange every other year a course for beginning translators. It is intended for those who are at the end of their studies or have recently graduated.

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