Blog | Arcada

Burnt rice, big lessons: growing into confidence at Arcada

MSE student Aqib arrived in Finland with one suitcase and zero cooking skills, facing a new country, new studies, and total uncertainty. This is the story of how small failures turned into confidence—and how Arcada became more than just a place to study.

Category: Blog

How I started studying IT by mistake

Some people carefully plan their future. Arcada IT student Annika didn’t—she stumbled into hers by accident. A late-night mistake during course registration led her away from biology and into programming, setting her on an unexpected path toward a new life in a different country.

Category: Blog

From classroom learning to real projects: reflections on studying Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering at Arcada

Hussein expected equations and theory—but instead found himself testing materials, building prototypes, and solving real engineering problems from the start. Studying Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering at Arcada quickly turned out to be far more hands-on than anticipated, shaping his skills through practical experience with labs, projects, and engineering tools rather than textbooks alone.

Category: Blog

From dashboards to decisions: why practical data skills are becoming essential in modern Finnish business education

Finnish business life is becoming increasingly data-driven, and future professionals need more than theoretical knowledge about digital transformation. Practical Power BI work can help students connect data, sustainability, customer behaviour and managerial decision-making in a modern business learning environment.

Category: Publication

A small campus with a big impact: why Arcada feels like home

From first impressions of a compact campus to discovering a thriving, supportive community, International Business student Jiali Liu reflects on two transformative years at Arcada—sharing how practical learning, flexibility, and everyday wellbeing shaped her journey.

Category: Blog

From teacher to IT student: Starting over at 30

Sometimes the hardest part of starting over isn’t the change—it’s believing you’re allowed to try. At 30, in a new country, Arcada IT student Ilia Kaishev decided to find out anyway.

Category: Blog

I chose International Business because I wanted to become an entrepreneur

For Shenali Mullegama, the idea of becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t a sudden dream—it was something that had been quietly growing since childhood. What began as curiosity in Sri Lanka led her all the way to Finland, where studying International Business at Arcada is helping her turn ambition into something real.

Category: Blog

I came for orientation—but found my people

Starting your studies is a mix of excitement, uncertainty, and endless questions—especially when it’s in a new country. In this post, Arcada IT student Roman Kravchenko shares his honest first impressions of the introduction days, revealing how those first few moments on campus can turn nervous anticipation into a sense of belonging.

Category: Blog

Gamebadges, hidden competences, and why the friction matters

We presented Arcada's Gamebadges work at Supercell in April. Badges helped us spot hidden competences students were building but couldn't name. Proving individual work in team projects is hard, but that friction is the point. AI can help scale this without replacing real ownership or teacher judgment.

Category: Publication