Would you like to get to know new people from different cultures or offer a window into local culture? Sign in for Friend Programme!

The Friend Programme is both for…

International students

The Finnish Friend Programme does not only offer you an opportunity to experience everyday Finnish life and culture but also helps to adapt to new surroundings by connecting with a welcoming Finnish friend. You will be matched with a local from the Rovaniemi region to then share your culture with each other and spend time together.

And local friends

Being a friend of an international student is a great, low-threshold, opportunity for local students, families and friends alike to get to know and learn about foreign culture and language. Activities through Friend Programme enable e.g. an informal and individual way to practice speaking of a foreign language and getting to know each other's culture.
As your new international friend has just arrived to Finland and Rovaniemi, he/she is currently trying to build his local network and getting used to living in Rovaniemi. Therefore, it would be important that you start your meetings right in the beginning of the semester after the Friend Programme has started.

Why to participate?

As an international student get the chance to:

• make new (local!) friends;
• expand your horizons;
• get to see life from the perspective of locals;
• learn more about the Finnish everyday life and culture;
• learn Finnish or other language;
• be an ambassador of your home country;
• have lots of fun.
  

"I am totally satisfied with my friend family programme and would not hesitate to recommend my friend to join this programme hoping that they are lucky enough to meet a very nice family as I was." - former exchange student

As a local friend you:

• can strengthen the local culture by introducing it to a foreign/international student. Finnish and local customs can appear in a whole new light;
• practice or strengthen your language skills;
• learn new things about a foreign culture;
• might already know a local guide when visiting your friend´s home country.

Who can join?

All international students coming to the University of Lapland for an Exchange or a degree are welcome to join the program.

The Friend programme is suitable for families, individuals or friends who are willing to spend time with an international student, invite them (once in a while) to participate to ordinary, everyday life in Finland and to keep contact with the international student according to their own resources and interests.

Being a (local) friend requires nothing more than an open mind and interest in other cultures! 

Get involved!

Sign up to the programme by filling out the electronic form, the application period is in January and in August, now open until 2nd of February 2025.

The application form for local friends is HERE. 

The application form for international students is HERE.

Contact information:

Helmi Kuusisto
Events / Projects coordinator
ESN Lapland
projects@esnlapland.eu

Matching and first meeting

You will be matched with a local friend or international student by the project leaders. friends can be of different ages and at different stages of life. When matching the participants, interests, hobbies, language skills and more are considered.

After you are matched, there will be a first collective meeting organized by ESN Lapland in which you get to know your friend, arrange a follow up meeting and enjoy each other’s company. You will be informed by ESN Lapland once you are registered. 

Good practices

You are completely free to choose the free-time activities that you want to do. Usually there are many activities organized to get to know the Finnish way of life. During the activities it is completely up to agree upon the language or languages you use and which specific activities you will do.

Some suggestions from previous years include:

• meeting for a coffee/tea
• cooking
• playing games
• watching movies
• hiking trips, bond fire, going to cottage together
• ice fishing, skiing, ice skating, sledding, cycling, etc.
• visiting museums, going to ice-hockey matches etc.
• ...

Communication

During the first meeting it is important to agree on a common way of communication, whether it's WhatsApp, Telegram, texts, phone or email. It is also advisable to plan the next meeting and what will you do already in advance right after the previous one. In addition, make sure that everyone knows what to do if they cannot make it to the meeting(s) agreed.

Keep in mind

The Friend Programme is meant to create new friendships and learn all kind of things from each other. Your local friend can be a support in all kinds of situations, but is not a travel agency, bank, taxi or accommodation provider. Enjoy your get-togethers jointly and keep the fun up for all involved.

Challenges

As in life in general, things do not always go as planned. If something unexpected happens, make sure to inform your new friend about it. In case you are planning to drop out of the friend programme, please contact the programme leaders. Spending time with a new friend is lots of fun but sometimes feelings of hesitation emerge. This is very normal and will usually pass with some time and patience, much like a culture shock does. ¨

Be aware some of these challenges may occur:

• language barriers
• long distances
• Only one person in the family is seemingly excited and willing to use the foreign language in the beginning.
• sudden lack of time: You might realize that there are lot of things you need to do and that you have a limited amount of time. In these moments try to remember your friend and initiate to do something together.

Do not forget - challenges exist to be overcome and there is no adventure without a little dare! :)

Helpful information for local friends

If your life situation changes and you cannot act as a local friend anymore, please let your international student friend know about it and inform your situation to ESN friend programme coordinator as well. We can try to find a new friend to this international student to replace you.

Sometimes communication with a foreign language can be challenging. Don't be intimidated by it, instead keep asking as many times as needed to make sure there are no misunderstandings. It's always worth of asking and making sure that everyone has the same understanding on what has been agreed. Today, there are also numerous of applications and translator programmes that can be used as a help to communicate.

Who´s behind all this?

The university of Lapland and Lapland UAS are coordinating the Friend Programme together with Erasmus Student Network (ESN) Lapland. However, the actual implementation is solely carried out by ESN Lapland. Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is a non-profit international student organization and pone of their mission is to represent international students and enhance cultural understanding. 

 With the support of the University and UAS, ESN organizes two meetings along the semester, of which the other one is always the very first meeting (in the beginning of the semester) where you get to know your international friend. Time for these meetings organized by ESN will be communicated separately.