Erasmus students' experiences at the Police University College in Tampere, Finland
Interesting studies, expert lecturers, a modern campus – this is what the Police University College in Tampere offers for international Erasmus+ students. Meet new friends, get wonderful experiences and see the Finnish winter with snow and frost!
On this page you will find Erasmus students' stories about their student exchange at the Police University College.
Mirče Milenkov, University of Maribor, Slovenia:
The start of my studies at the Police University College was as smooth as it could be, thanks to the support from our Erasmus coordinator and from the student tutors, who were there to help us adjust to our new environment and get all the necessary documents in order.
I was rather pleased with the curriculum the school offered for Erasmus students. I was also very pleasantly surprised that Finnish students and students from Tampere University were able to take part in some of the courses we had available, so there were not only Erasmus students in the classroom, which made the discussions so much more interesting.
The lecturers were very helpful, approachable, open-minded and experts in their fields.
The study schedule was not so bad either, as it gave me plenty of free time to have fun and try out new adventures.
I am very glad I decided to go to Tampere for my Erasmus exchange! Everything worked out perfectly and I had an amazing experience where I got the chance to meet some very kind and interesting people, see some spectacularly beautiful places and enjoy life.
Tereza Pokorná, Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague:
With all my heart I must say I fell in love with Finland and its people and nature. So much happened during my four months in Finland that I can’t even describe it all! I visited a lot of saunas, swam in freaking cold lakes, ate munkki doughnuts and went to museums.
I also took a train to Lapland where I saw reindeers and enjoyed the snow. We had an awesome weather there (if we don’t count the -20°C).
Of course, I had a lot of school stuff, so you wouldn’t think it was just a vacation. Especially the course about Operational Police Education was super interesting with all the practical activities. For example, we participated in First Aid training with the Swedish-speaking police students. We also visited the Police Dog Training Centre, and participated in a Practice Day for the future police officers.
Nicola Petráková, Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague:
The whole campus literally charmed me. Suddenly I felt like I was in an FBI training centre from an American action movie.
The school building is modern, there is a shooting range, gym, sports hall, tatami, swimming pool and a special training city that looks like a real city.
I signed up for many classes. Some of them were only for exchange students (like Survival Finnish course) and some classes were also for students from other universities in Tampere. I had many new subjects, met new people, and didn't understand a word of Finnish at first. But everything went well beyond expectations. All the teachers and students were friendly and kind to us. It was a great life experience!
Matěj Kocourek, Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague:
I attended many interesting lectures, saw much of police work, and was on many trips all over Finland and I can say that I enjoyed all of it.
In Finland the connection between theory from classrooms and practise in the tatami gym or training city is great. I like the idea that education is not focused only on the theory but it is also focused on practise. In the training city there are many buildings made as a street, fake shops with equipment and many more. Future police officers can experience what is it like to patrol in the cities and what to do in case of emergency.
The whole school is in one large area with all the facilities you can imagine. I was surprised about the sports complex. It contains a swimming pool, a sports hall, an indoor shooting range, a tatami gym and a gym, which is massive and you can workout in it.
Most important of all is that I met so many interesting and kind people and made nice friendships!
Tereza Becharová, Police Academy of the Czech Republic in Prague:
I chose six courses, and each was focused on a different theme. Some were more theoretical and others more practical. For example I had a change to be a target person in police operations practice. Survival Finnish Course was a course where I learned the necessary basic vocabulary. The course in police English was very useful for me.
We had a lot of activities outside of studies. We tried a typical Finnish sauna, of course and a barbeque in the woods with a local student at the Police University College. We had a trip to the historical city of Turku and watched a hockey match at Nokia Arena. But if someone would ask me what was the best experience in Finland I would say Lapland.
I would definitely recommend to go for a student exchange.
Nowadays I feel comfortable speaking English, I gained a lot of new experiences related to policing, met so many new friends, and have seen beautiful places in the cold and dark North!