From September 2019 to end of June 2020 the Master
course student of the Institute of Thermal and Nuclear Power Engineering, MPEI,
completed her education in Finland on the Double-Degree program of MPEI and
Lappeenranta University of Technology.
This is what she has to share:
My goal was to carry out the Double-Degree program at
LUT in Finland. The program included the disciplines of the MPEI study plan and
the LUT courses that I chose from the list. The requirements for the LUT study
plan was the completion of the compulsory subjects like the Bioenergy Systems
and supplementary courses by my choice with the weight of 120 ECTD, comprising
30 ECTS for Master thesis, 50 ECTS for MPEI disciplines and 40 ECTS for LUT
ones. ECTS is an equivalent of the Russian credits, and means European Credit
Transfer and Accumulation System.
Examination
The education process is divided into semesters and,
subsequently, into periods. The study year consists of 4 periods. At the end of
each period there is an examination week when the week courses and exams are
conducted in an intense way. However, the exam can occur in any pre- or
post-examination week. For example, if the student wants to retake the exam, he
would probably do it not in the examination week. Two exams are possible to be
taken in one day: from 8:15 to 12:15 and from 16:15 to 19:15. The exams can be
held in three different forms: written,
oral or electronic. The latter is taken in two hours, it is carried out in the
special room with video and audio recording, you can go to the washroom only
once and the entrance is made only with a personal magnetic key. You have 1,5
months to sign for the exam you need, it must be done at least in a week before
the start and, once planned, it can be cancelled in 2 days before its date
without losing a try. You have three attempts and the best one of them goes
into your diploma. But if you fail three times you need to pay for the extra
one or to wait until the next exam date. Usually all the dates are known before
the end of the course.
The written exam lasts for 3 hours, it is impossible to copy or crib it because
in the examination room there are 5-10 supervisors from the assistant staff
that control the legality. Students must give away all the telephones and
watches, even analogue ones. The cribbing is strictly prohibited.
The electronic exam differs from the written one only
in its format, as in the electronic one, the tests are given besides the
written questions. After the exam, the teacher has a month to check the work.
The results are sent by e-mail and uploaded to the
study platform in a list. The teachers are present only at the oral exam.
Generally it happens as a presentation of the diploma that is conducted in a
friendly ambience.
Courses
All the courses are individual and depend on the
fantasy of the teacher. After each course a letter is sent for assessment of
the course quality. If you respond to the questionnaire, the teacher can listen
to you and is likely to change something. The teachers upload tasks and
lectures to the platform and students submit there their work. In the
platform’s functioning the anti-plagiate system is implemented that can be used
by teachers. You can take as much courses as you want and receive ECTS for
every one of them even if you collected 1 point.
Study room
Student’s
life and study process
The students’ life at the University is always in
blossom, every week the Campus or Lappeenranta city hosts some events of
different kind and importance, varying from the club revelry to the visit of
the Minister of Finland. Inside the University there are many student
associations, from the University level to the level of faculty. The program
for acquaintance of the newcomers with the Campus territory and structure is
finely organized as well.
The study process differs greatly from the Russian
one. It is not better or worse, simply different. These are some of the
distinctive traits of it:
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MPEI
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LUT
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The lectures are written down for making a conspectus
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Lectures are comprehended audibly and are disponible online on the
special platform
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Lectures are detailed and structured
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Lectures have a general character and require additional research
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All the work is submitted in print or handwriting and require a
defense
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All the work is submitted in electronic form with no defense
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Passing grade is at least satisfactory (3 from 5)
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Passing grade starts
from 1 point
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In some disciplines the electronic or written tests are mandatory
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The online tests are mandatory for the majority of disciplines but
their income in the final grade is minimal
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Teachers give more information during the study, many care for the
understanding of the students and control the fulfillment of the tasks
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The student’s success is the student’s concern, and all the
misunderstandings are as well, because teachers give less information and you
need to ask questions
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The personal communication between teachers and students is developed
through the structure of the exam and the defense. Many teachers spend much
time with students during the retake of work and debts.
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The communication between the teachers and the students is carried out
on the lectures or via e-mail. All the debts are declined because of the
rigid deadlines. Sometimes you can submit the work after the deadline with a
decrease of the grade, sometimes not, no defense means no retakes, and the
non-submitted work is 0 points. All the work is submitted in written
electronic form and is checked for 1-8 weeks after the deadline.
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Any discipline should be passed with at least the satisfactory mark
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The disciplines that are not compulsory could be abandoned without the
ECTS income, which might result in non-receiving of the diploma due to lack
of credits
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The study program is planned and confirmed by the University
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The study program is partially planned by the student and confirmed by
the University
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Usually the work upon the course project continues for a half of or a
full semester
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The projects are more light-weight and take from two weeks to month to
complete
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It is worth especially speaking of the library: it is a place of work
and leisure, being fully filled by students during the working time. In the
evening and at night you can always find somebody at the computer or with a
book. The particular time at the library starts in November, after the 2nd
period of education and in the last week of the period, in the examination
weeks.
Library on Friday’s night, December 2019.
At the University and in Finland in general, the sport
is very developed. You can try almost every kind of sport at the Campus. At the
University itself there is a small gym hall for a reasonable price. The sports
are free, all of them football, volleyball, basketball etc. In winter, the
skating rinks and the ski tracks are made. Moreover, there are different clubs:
chess, board games, equitation, skiing, computer clubs. A few times the
expositions of playstations were held, where you could play modern and retro
games.
It is hard to fully remember all the events happened
during the education, there are simply too many of them: the visits of
different delegations from different countries occured, as well as the job
fairs, open doors days of partner universities, victorines, presentations of
science and business projects worth taking part.