Blog | Arcada

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

Marine biomass and circular value chains in the Baltic Sea

Marine biomass is gaining attention as a resource for circular and bio-based economies. In the Baltic Sea, biomass are often linked to eutrophication and environmental challenges. Despite abundant availability, much of this biomass remains underutilised due to technical, logistical, and economic barriers.

Category: Publication

Guardians of patient safety: The importance of healthcare students’ research and AI literacy

Healthcare students need research and AI literacy to navigate low-quality studies, fake citations, and AI-generated misinformation. Higher education must systematically embed these skills in curricula, preparing graduates to critically evaluate evidence and AI tools, and safeguard patient safety.

Category: Publication

Arcada – a space for experiencing new things

When Musawir arrived at Arcada to study in the Mechanical and Sustainable Engineering programme, he carried with him the confidence of someone who thought he knew what to expect. It didn’t take long for that certainty to shift. His first year unfolded like a slow recalibration, revealing just how much he still had to rethink, revisit, and rebuild.

Category: Blog

Self-awareness as the missing link in psychological safety: how leadership awareness connects behaviour, emotions, and team voice in healthcare.

Healthcare teams work in environments of constant pressure, time pressure, emotional pressure, and responsibility for human lives, with far too little space to pause (Kadović et al., 2022). In such settings, psychological safety has become a widely discussed concept. We know it matters.

Category: Publication