Sometimes big life changes are even better when shared with someone. Egypt-native Aya Abdelsalam applied to the Master’s degree program in Medical Physics together with her spouse Eslam. Regardless of their different research orientations, both have been able to pursue their special interest in medical physics – thanks to the flexibility of studies at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF).
Freedom to choose courses
Before applying to the UEF, Aya graduated from the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Department at Alexandria University in 2016. After graduation, she worked as a teacher assistant at the Physics department of Zewail City for Science and Technology – and planned her next move.
The desire to help people with the means of science is deeply rooted in her.
–I’m interested in Medical Physics because in this new field I can apply my knowledge in various applications that closely touches peoples' health and lives.
However, the next move included making the interests, dreams and aspirations of two people meet – as Aya and her husband Eslam had been together since undergraduate studies and applying to two different universities was not really an ideal solution.
–Our research orientations differ a little bit, as Eslam is more oriented to computational work and I'm oriented to experimental work. We had been looking at the University of Eastern Finland as an option, and when our friend – who is a student here from last year – told us about the courses and research topics in the Medical Physics department and how the staff is very flexible with the students’ choice of research points, it sealed our decision to apply.
Luckily, the flexibility has realized during their studies.
–The program coordinator Siru always tells us “You are totally free to choose courses from other departments too, as long as they contribute to achieving your goals and you finish the mandatory ones. We finished the technical programming course in our first period. Eslam got the highest score in the course, and I got the third-best after him.
On the way to PhD
Even though Aya has done well with computations, her true passion lies in hands-on work.
–I like programming but I constantly seek working with my hands. I read about different research areas and ended up talking to a professor in the Biophysics of Bone and Cartilage (BBC) group which I will join to start my research.
The department of Medical Physics at UEF seems to have convinced her with the versatile research options.
I'm excited about all the research fields in our department. When I read any paper that tackles a specific medical problem, I can relate to people I know with similar issues, and how their quality of life can change due to this kind of research.
Related to research, Aya has one piece of advice to give for students who are aiming to apply to the Medical Physics program.
–You really should read about the program and familiarise yourself with the course description, to make sure this truly is your passion and something you want to study. Besides, you should check out the research groups to see if you like to spend your time doing such research or not.
Whatsapp & cold weather
When asked about any problems regarding the application stage, Aya said she didn’t encounter any. It sounds almost too easy:
–I found all the information easily on the website. The application process is super easy and clear, in contrast to many other universities’ applications. Everything is done online and I didn’t have to send any paper copies.
Life in Kuopio has also found its way.
–It’s very peaceful here, and the people are decent, friendly and helpful. Everything is organized. I haven’t encountered any downsides so far, except waiting for buses in very cold weather. All in all, I am so excited about being in such a beautiful country like Finland, because nature here is amazing.
The multicultural study group also offers a lot of peer support.
–We are all are from different cultures: Egypt, Poland, Iran, Nigeria, Bahrain, and Bangladesh. I like this versatility, but since we are at the beginning of the semester, we are all settling down and we haven’t had that much time to catch up. However, we chat in our WhatsApp group to help each other with any issues related to studies.
The passion for helping still exists.
–I am excited to study here. I truly hope that during my study and my career I can do something valuable that can help humanity and make people's lives better.
