From the university’s perspective, Timo Santala’s study record is, well, challenging. The Master’s degree in five years did not exactly work out for him. He has chosen all kinds of interesting courses and ended up abandoning many of them. Santala moved from subject to subject following his interests without thinking about completing his degree.

– I followed my work. There are fields where a higher education degree is essential for employment and for a decent salary. In a situation like that, even I would be interested in completing a degree. I am part of the generation of students that have been able to keep their right to study.

For students who are currently studying at the Faculty of Arts, Santala’s advice is to think about different ways of studying. He is not convinced about courses where students attend lectures, listen passively, take notes and then go home.

– Afterwards I realised that I could well have started a learning group. I had no idea it was possible and no one told me that.

Santala has many memories from his time at the university, for example a course on city planning in the Soviet Union.

– My best memories are from the North American studies courses of an American lecturer about the 1960’s and civil rights. I loved the visual elements that were used, the videos and newspaper articles. The courses were interactive and I felt like I was learning more.

There is a twinkle in Santala’s eye when he thinks back to the university.

– There really are an insane amount of choices at the Faculty of Arts. Where else could I have studied that many different languages and cultures? It is really exceptional to have that many options to civilise yourself.