News
News
ISB: International students satisfied with Estonian universities
Thursday, February 23
89% satisfied with living quality
Estonia got the best results in living quality – 89% of all the international students are satisfied with their living quality, compared to the European average (85%). 93% of the students said that Estonia is a safe country – the general opinion was that Estonia is a good country to live in. Students also value highly the host culture and social acitivities, but the biggest satisfaction was in the fields of living and accommodation costs. 84% of the students are satisfied with the living costs (European average 59%) and 80% are satisfied with their accommodation costs (European average 55%).
Surprsingly, compared to the European average results, students in Estonia say that the country has some improvements to make in the eco-friendly attitude. Besides that students in Estonia are concerned with the opportunities of earning money during their studies.
Students are satisfied with the support they get from their university
The support system in Estonia is again better than the European average. Estonia’s biggest advantage is the good work of the international student organizations (with the amazing satisfaction rate 97%) and the universities’ international offices (satisfaction rate 95%).
Compared to the European average results the international students in Estonia rated highly the financial support systems and the help with accommodation, but they think Estonia could improve in the fields of careers service and health centres.
When it comes to studying
International students say that Estonian universities are more multicultural than the European ones, besides that they like here more the learning spaces and the language support. But students are concerned with career advice, managing research, employability and work experience in Estonia.
Although the students are interested in getting a quality education in a small country like Estonia, then the feedback also says that students would be ready to work after their studies in Estonia.
To recommend or not to recommend?
Estonian universities outclass the European average when it comes to arrival services – 90% of international students are happy with the arrival in Estonia compared to the European average (83%).
Students are especially satisfied when it comes to bank accounts, financial services and internet access.
83% of the international students would recommend Estonia for studying – the average European figure is 80%.
„Compared to the ISB survey in 2009, Estonia is basically on the same level or has slightly improved. Three years ago we were compared with United Kingdom, Netherlands, Spain and Belgium – this time we were compared with 15 countries in Europe,“ said Mariann Lugus, higher education international marketing manager from Archimedes Foundation.
International students in Estonia
In the academic year 2011/2012 almost 1600 international degree students study in Estonian institutions of higher education. Besides that there are around 900 Erasmus students in Estonia every year. The biggest amount of international degree students come from Finland and Russia while the biggest numbers of exchange students come from Spain, Italy, Turkey, Germany and France.
More than 700 international students studying in Estonia participated in the International Student Barometer 2011 survey.
The International Student Barometer tracks decision-making, expectations, perceptions and intentions of international students from application to graduation. With feedback from over one million students and benchmarks drawn from hundreds of the world’s leading universities, the ISB helps universities to make decisions to improve the whole student experience. ISB measures the student satisfaction in the areas of learning, support services, living and accommodation and services at arrival.
Archimedes Foundation is an independent body established by the Estonian government with the objective to coordinate and implement different international and national programmes and projects in the field of training, education and research.
Additional information:
ESTONIA AS THE BEST-PERFORMING ECONOMY IN EUROPE
ESTONIA IN TOP3 IN WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS SAY ESTONIA IS THE BEST COUNTRY FOR STAY
Estophilus scholarships for foreign researchers
Friday, February 17
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| Estonian language & culture |
TUT scholarship for international students worth 7200 euros
Monday, February 13
Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) has a new scholarship for international students who want to study Technology Governance. All foreign students are encouraged to apply for the Ragnar Nurkse scholarship, named after one of the most internationally recognized Estonian scientist of the 20th century.
The scholarship is worth 7200 euros and it will be financed through the budget of Tallinn University of Technology Department of Public Administration. The scholarship will be awarded to a student who will start his/her studies at the MA in Technology Governance programme in the academic year 2012/2013.
All prospective students - please find the most detailed information about the scholarship HERE on the web page of Tallinn University of Technology.
Ragnar Nurkse (1907, Rapla County, Estonia - 1959, near Lake Geneva, Switzerland) was an Estonian international economist and policy maker mostly in the fields of international finance and economic development. Ragnar Nurkse is also one of the founding fathers of Classical Development Economics.
Technology Governance is an approach and a set of policies undertaken by the public and private sector and society actors in a given space in time to develop a knowledge base, social cohesion and competitiveness at the same time. So far, both in academic research and in policy advice, these aspects have tended to be separated. The Technology Governance program at Tallinn University of Technology is designed to bridge these gaps and to focus on research, teaching, and advice in an interrelated way.
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| Tallinn University of Technology new library. Photo: Study in Estonia |
Tallinn University of Technology (TUT), founded in 1918, is the oldest and the biggest public university in Tallinn and the second largest in enrollment in Estonia. TUT is a university with a long academic history - in 2013 Tallinn University of Technology will celebrate its 95th anniversary. TUT is a modern, international university sharing with students the knowledge and skills necessary for today’s international marketplace.
Additional information:
Tallinn University of Technology
TUT Technology Governance web page
Estonian Business School student is the new Miss Finland 2012!
Monday, January 30
This weekend Finland chose a new Miss Finland and the winner is Sara Chafak. Sara studies in Estonia – she is a student in the Estonian Business School (EBS). Sara entered the university in the autumn semester 2011.
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| Sara Chafak is the new Miss Suomi 2012. Photo: Lehtikuva (Finland) |
In EBS Sara studies international marketing (economics). She is 21 years old and her home town is the capital of Finland, Helsinki. Her hobbies are singing, films, soccer, track, and she likes different kinds of cuisines.
Sara's motto is: "All or nothing!"
Miss Suomi (in English: Miss Finland) is the main annual beauty contest of Finland that selects the official representative to the Miss Universe contest. The first Miss Suomi was chosen in 1919. This year the election too place in the city of Hämeenlinna.
The Estonian Business School (EBS) is the oldest private university in the Baltic States to offer business education. The school provides active and enterprising students with the academic basis for success. Business studies at EBS focus on the modern business environment in Europe considering the latest innovations and developments in the international business environment. Studies at EBS are conducted in Estonian, English and Russian and offer an opportunity to build an international network of contacts. About 1,500 students currently study at EBS and the business school has partnership contracts with over 70 universities in Europe, America, Australia and Asia, enabling extensive student and lecturer exchange.
Miss Finland 2012 semifinalists. Photo: Livewireworld
Additional information:
The original article in Finnish - Iltalehti
Estonian Business School opens its doors in Helsinki
EBS has accepted the first students to study in the Helsinki branch
Estonia in TOP3 in World Press Freedom Index
Thursday, January 26
Reporters Without Borders published its annual Press Freedom Index and has placed Estonia in the 3rd place. Estonia has been in top10 during the last 5 years of the Press Freedom Index.
The list has 179 countries in the list with Finland and Norway sharing the first place. The third place belongs to Estonia sharing it with the Netherlands.
Estonia is one of the few countries that has enjoyed
the top10 position five years in a row. Photo: Study in Estonia
Estonia is one of the very few countries that has steadily been amongst the ten best performing countries in the world.
The highest non-European country in the index is an African one - it is Cape Verde and placed in the top 10. Canada follows Cape Verde being the best country from the Americas.
New Zealand is the best country from Oceania (position 13), Czech Republic (position 14) is the second best country from the Eastern part of Europe. Japan (position 22) is the best performing country in Asia and Surinam (sharing position 22 with Japan) is the best South American country in the index.
Estonian neighbours Latvia (position 50), Lithuania (position 30) and Sweden (position 12) are all in the top50, while Russia has dropped to position 142.
The bottom 6 positions in the ranking belong to China (174), Iran (175), Syria (176), Turkmenistan (177), North Korea (178) and Eritrea (179).
| Ranking |
Country |
|
1 |
Finland |
|
- |
Norway |
|
3 |
Estonia |
|
- |
The Netherlands |
|
5 |
Austria |
|
6 |
Iceland |
|
- |
Luxembourg |
|
8 |
Switzerland |
|
9 |
Cape Verde |
|
10 |
Canada |
|
- |
Denmark |
Reporters Without Borders promotes and defends the freedom to be informed and to inform others throughout the world. Based in Paris, it has ten international offices (Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Madrid, Montreal, New York, Stockholm, Tunis, Vienna and Washington DC) and more than 150 correspondents in all five continents.
The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders based upon the organization's assessment of their press freedom records.
Additional information:
Press Freedom Index 2011 ranking
