I hope that this blog will be useful for someone who's planning an international exchange period so here is a checklist for things I had to do before leaving Finland. Of course procedures can be a bit different with every school but at least this was the case with Laurea University of Applied Sciences and De Montfort University (DMU).
- International exchange or training application for home school (Kansainväliset opiskelija- ja harjoittelijavaihdot Laureasta)
- Funding application (Apuraha-anomus vaihdon ajalle - ulkomaiset opinnot)
- ECTS Learning Agreement
- My Exchange Experience form for Laurea, section Before the Exchange
- The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, KELA (toimeentulotuen muutosilmoitus)
- Exchange Program Application Form for DMU
- Accommodation Preference Form for DMU
- Accident Insurance application for Laurea
- Personal insurances, for example traveller's insurance
- Signing up for International Welcome Week at DMU
- Signing up for Coach Pick Up Service at DMU
- E-induction for accommodation at DMU
Other things to remember:
- Make sure you have someone at your home school AND at the host school to take care of your exchange period arrangements. Otherwise you'll be bounced from person to person without anything real to be done. Of course you are the one who is responsible that everything is taking care of but it helps if you have someone named at the both ends who represents the schools. If there appears some problems with the arrangements you can then turn to these persons.
- Be active. Ask questions and make sure you get the answers too. Always be polite but be precise and even strict too.
- Make sure you get the official approval for your exchange period as soon as possible. Without it you can't apply for accommodation.
I may have forgotten half of the important things but I'll add more later.
