More Than the Degree

Students of Aalto – Saad from Pakistan, Building Technology program

Hello/Moi/Salam/Namaste/Bonjour/Ni hao/Sup/Hola/Ciao. My name is Saad Azhar and I study master’s in building technology at Aalto and this is my second year here at Aalto and in Finland. I am from Pakistan and I did my bachelor’s in Civil engineering from there as well. I always wanted to go abroad and study and for me studying here has been a dream come true.

Initially, I came to know about Aalto when one of my friends came here to study, I became intrigued and started my application process. It was one of the greatest moments in my life when not only I got accepted but also got a full waiver for my studies. Finland had always been on my radar whether it be Finnish education being one of the best in the world or Finland being declared one of the happiest countries in the world.

The biggest difference that I experienced here in terms of studies is the flexibility that Aalto provides in promoting interdisciplinary learning. One can choose to study any course from any department and to me that is one of the most key points that Aalto takes edge over other universities from around the globe. I have utilized this tremendously by taking many IT courses that I always wanted to study. One example is I learned how to code and now I am taking courses such as machine learning with python to advance that skillset. Moreover, Aalto is very research-oriented and provides students to take up paid research assistantship positions during studies. This blends your studies with work in a perfect balance.

Talking more about my life here at campus many places can easily be called favorite depending on the activity such as for food A-bloc and to study the student hub. However, my favorite thing about the campus is its location overall. I come from a place not privy to sea view or forest trails. Aalto being surrounded by beautiful seawater and forest trails is why I relish my life here. One can easily sit for hours reading a book near the sea in warmth of summer, take a jog in the beautiful trails or go to bird watchtower and if nothing else simply get a boat and kayaking.