Authors

• Kinnunen, Taina (Student Research Foundation (Otus))

Keywords

employment, foreigners, higher education institutions, immigrants, living abroad, social adjustment, social integration, students (college), tertiary education

Abstract

This qualitative dataset is part of a study charting the integration of foreign university and university of applied sciences students into the Finnish society. In the individual semi-structured interviews, the interviewees were asked whether they had visited Finland before starting their studies and the reason for choosing Finland and their university. Satisfaction with teaching, guidance, services, and the progression of their studies were canvassed, as well as the funding of the studies and experiences in the Finnish labour market. In addition, the respondents answered questions on housing, leisure time, studies, work, and cultural differences. They were also asked whether they considered it possible to stay in Finland permanently, what were the advantages or disadvantages of being a foreigner in Finland, and how they experienced Finnish culture and society compared to their home country and other countries where they had lived in.

The archived data contain anonymised transcriptions of eight interviews, six in English and two in Finnish.