New language and study options with hard work ‒ TAMK prepares immigrants for higher education studies

Alla Kovalchuk was one of those who fled Ukraine to Finland in the spring of 2022 in the early stages of the war started by Russia. Kovalchuk and her two children ended up living in a reception centre in Tampere. 

‒ I am really happy that we lived in a reception centre for the first year. The officers helped a lot, and there were many women in the same situation. We helped each other, Kovalchuk says. 

Finnish language lessons twice a week helped Kovalchuk integrate to the new country. On the advice of an employee at the reception centre, Kovalchuk also decided to apply for the Finnish language and culture courses organised by Tredu, as well as the TUVA training that prepares students for general upper secondary education and vocational school. 

Kovalchuk, who graduated as a teacher of the Ukrainian language in her home country, was realistic and goal-oriented about studying Finnish. 

‒ Learning any new language is difficult for an adult, Kovalchuk sums up. 

As Kovalchuk’s Finnish skills improved, she started to hope to find a new career path in Finland.

Immigrants are important to reach

Tampere University of Applied Sciences is a member of the national Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education (SIMHE) network, which supports immigrants access to higher education in Finland. A particularly important part of the Preparatory Programme for Higher Education Studies offered by TAMK is to deepen the participants’ Finnish language proficiency to the level where they can successfully study and work in Finnish. 

Tiina Miikkulainen, a teacher of the Preparatory Programme, emphasises the importance of Finnish language skills for studying and finding employment in Finland. In fact, there is lots of demand for Finnish language courses at a more advanced level. 

Many immigrants would like to study at a higher education institution in Finland, and fortunately more and more possibilities have been developed in recent years to support this. 

‒ Finland will waste a lot of talent if it doesn’t invest in identifying the skills of immigrants and supporting their access to higher education, Miikkulainen says. 

According to Miikkulainen, it would be important for highly educated immigrants to have permanent paths and guidance available to pursue a career in Finland. 

Preparing for studies

The Preparatory Programme for Higher Education Studies, which began at TAMK in October 2023, was aimed especially at Ukrainians who were receiving temporary protection and had progressed to level B1 in the Finnish language. A total of 19 students were selected, Kovalchuk among them. 

In addition to language skills, the programme introduces students to necessary study skills and tools, such as different learning platforms. For Kovalchuk, the transition to distance learning in Finnish was a small shock at first. 

‒ The first two weeks with distance learning were difficult. I had to adapt to a lot of new platforms like Teams and Moodle, and all this was in Finnish, Kovalchuk says. 

Becoming assistant teacher

Kovalchuk says that she initially produced the Finnish language so that she thought in Ukrainian and translated the ideas into Finnish on paper. This is what Kovalchuk calls ‘Finnish in Ukrainian’. Kovalchuk says she watched a lot of TV and read magazines to learn the different sentence structures of the Finnish language. 

Six months of the Preparatory Programme allows the students to dive quite deep into the new language. Towards the end of the programme, students practice, among other things, argumentation, referencing texts, and writing an article in Finnish. 

Teacher Miikkulainen asks if Kovalchuk expected the training to be so laborious. 

‒ I thought the training was going to be challenging, but I didn't know it would be so challenging, Kovalchuk replies with a laugh. 

In the spring of 2024, teacher Miikkulainen heard that there was a demand for a basic Finnish course for Ukrainians in Tampere. She had to find an assistant teacher for the course, and Kovalchuk got the job. As an assistant teacher, Kovalchuk interpreted, explained words, phrases and grammar, and taught Finnish partly independently.

Dream of new studies came true

The Preparatory Programme supports students in identifying their own strengths. Kovalchuk, who had worked as a marketing expert in a private hospital in Ukraine, began to take an interest in studying to become a nurse, as she had been able to see the role in practice in her previous job. 

‒ Nursing requires patience, and that is what I have. I get along with people well, and I am punctual, Kovalchuk reflects her own strengths. 

Teacher Miikkulainen hopes that the special skills of immigrants could be utilised in work communities. For instance, when the war broke out, many older people arrived in Finland from Ukraine. To them, getting service in their own language could increase the sense of security in encounters with the nursing staff. 

In the autumn of 2024, Kovalchuk will start nursing studies at TAMK. Although starting a new degree is exciting, she is happy about the opportunity. 

‒ From the very beginning, all I've said is: Let's move on.