Transitioning to Masters Studies at Aalto University

Moikka, I’m Owein, a first year Collaborative and Industrial Design (CoID) student in the school of Art, Design and Architecture here at Aalto. I have just graduated the Bachelor of Design at Aalto and after 3 years of being at the university, its time to reflect back and think ahead providing my experiences transitioning from the Bachelor of Design to CoID.

Summer this year was a little different to my previous two years... No studies. In the previous two years I have completed several study courses or the Aaltoes Ignite program in 2023. This year after finishing my BA Thesis (link) I decided to stop and take a break, I explored Finland with my friends, took a cruise to Stockholm and visited family in my home country.

Returning to Finland in Mid-August, I had two priorities in my mind, 1. Moving to a new student apartment with AYY, 2. Starting CoID and my new job.

Starting CoID coming from the BA was easier than I imagined, I already knew most of the teachers/lecturers and the campus itself, this allowed me to have a more relaxed orientation week compared to my classmates who had to adjust to the campus. Nevertheless, it was time to meet new faces and friends.

Completing the 1CR mandatory course “Intro” helped adjust to a master’s frame of mind. As of writing I’m only two weeks into my master’s studies so I’m expecting more of a step up soon. However, the transition was smooth and comfortable, coupled with working in a job too. When talking to my classmates from around the world the consensus is like my views, just without knowing campus entirely.

Therefore, to help with learning the campus here are some super useful links to help you step into Aalto campus life, if you are planning on studying here or if you’d like to check out our fantastic campus.

Aalto Space: https://www.aalto.fi/en/services/aalto-space-mobile-application

Aalto Space is an application which is your best friend for the first few weeks being on campus, tailor made to university buildings you can search rooms and lecture halls so you can easily find the spaces on campus. You can also book study spaces on this app when logged in with your Aalto ID. Its a must have!

Virtual Campus Tour: https://virtualtour.aalto.fi/

Developed in house, this is our campus on your device anywhere in the world. Checkout our campus easily and try to picture it when you arrive. But do note, there are new developments on campus such as our brand new welcome centre MARSIO and a light rail system Jokeri.

I believe that these links above will definitely help going forward and help you understand our campus easier meaning you can focus more on meeting new people and planning studies.

Some other important links are:

Student Housing:

AYY DOMO: https://domo.ayy.fi/

HOAS: https://hoas.fi/

Student systems:

MYCOURSES: https://mycourses.aalto.fi/

SISU: https://sisu.aalto.fi/

Thanks for reading, if you want to know more contact us on Unibuddy, listen to our new “Squadcast” podcast and how about joining a online coffee session with student ambassidors?! Check out the link belown

https://www.aalto.fi/en/study-at-aalto/aalto-squad-student-ambassadors

See you on campus! Nähdään kampuksella!

-Owein