The first application round for the new Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Information Technology begins in January 2023.
The University of Eastern Finland will launch a new ICT degree programme in English year 2023. The application round for the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Information Technology starts in January 2023, and the first 40 students selected for the programme will start their studies at the Joensuu campus in the autumn of 2023.
The School of Computing of the University of Eastern Finland has been training experts in the ICT field in international Master’s programmes for over 20 years. The new Bachelor’s degree programme partly meets the global demand for software experts.
“The need for a new degree programme originates from the needs of the software industry. There is a huge shortage of software experts in Finland and throughout the world. We need international students for the increasing number of jobs in the ICT sector in companies and training positions in all Finnish universities. At the University of Eastern Finland, we have more than 20 years of experience with international Master’s programmes in the field of ICT. The new Bachelor’s degree programme is a natural step for us,” says Professor Markku Tukiainen, Head of the School of Computing.
The school’s degree programmes have students from around forty countries in total. English is a natural working language among staff and students. Even in degree programmes instructed in Finnish, students have wished to be taught in English.
“The field of computer science is global. Even in Finnish ICT companies, the working language is starting to be English. When the working language is English, integration into the community is easier for international experts,” emphasises Tukiainen.
The new programme can be tried online
Student selection for the new Bachelor’s programme is challenged by the fact that degrees are very different in various countries. That’s why the degree programme includes a course, which allows for an online trial of the applicability of the studies. The course is free of charge for applicants, and for selected students the course is counted as part of their Bachelor’s studies. In addition, video interviews with the applicants are conducted.
The annual fee for the new degree programme is 10,000 euros for students from outside the EU and EEA, for which it is possible to receive a 70-percent scholarship. In addition to this, with the early bird benefit, the academic year fee can be around 2,600 euros.
The first students selected for the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Information Technology will begin their studies at the Joensuu campus in the autumn of 2023. Students in the next application round of the degree programme are to study at the Kuopio campus accordingly. This is how international education is distributed at the School of Computing to both campuses of the university.
Within the programme, the University of Eastern Finland cooperates with the Karelia University of Applied Sciences. Over there, ICT engineering education in English will start in autumn 2023, which enables the sharing of teaching resources between the university and the university of applied sciences.
The majority of graduates find employment in Finland and Europe
The new Bachelor’s programme can serve as a route to Master’s studies. The Master’s Degree Programme in Information Technology (IMPIT) of the University of Eastern Finland, taught in in English, is one of the most popular ones among international students.
“The Master’s degree programme has a good reputation due to its long operation, and the reputation has spread internationally. It is known around the world that the University of Eastern Finland provides good teaching, and that after that you get a job. All in all, a Finnish Master’s degree is a good merit abroad,” says Tukiainen.
Students who have graduated from the IMPIT Master’s programme are the best advertisement for the bachelor’s programme as well. Alumni actively spread the message about the new educational opportunity in their home countries.
“The feedback from students who graduated from the Master’s programme has been positive in 90 percent. More than half of them have stayed to work in Finland and also in the Joensuu region. This is very important to us. ICT companies in the Joensuu area are happy to take on international students for internships, and several have even changed their working language to English,” continues Tukiainen.
Read about the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Information Technology on the website.
