International student! Would you like to meet more Finnish people and get in touch with the Finnish way of life during your stay in Turku?

Citizen of the Turku area! Would you like to meet international people, improve your language skills and learn from other cultures without leaving Finland? If your answer is yes, participate in the Friendship Programme!

The Friendship Programme

The Friendship Programme connects international students with locals in the Turku area and offers a chance for mutual cultural exchange and new experiences. For international students arriving in Turku, the academic world naturally becomes a part of their everyday life. However, there might be a lack of contact with locals and daily local life.

Shared activities with a local friend could mean cooking together, going for a walk or to the gym, or e.g. taking a trip to a museum to enjoy some art.

Who can participate?

Every international student (exchange, degree, doctoral) in the higher education institutions in Turku is warmly welcome to apply for the programme. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that everyone can be matched with a local friend but we will do our best.

Locals can be almost anyone: families, students, pensioners… anyone living in the Turku area and interested in making international friends.

More information

More information and the application link can be found on the webpage of The Friendship Programme. Applications for spring 2025 will open in the autumn of 2024.

The Friendship Programme is organised by the city of Turku and the higher education institutions in Turku under the Study in Turku -network.

Contact:

Programme coordinators Amanda Viitanen & Sanna Suoranta
friendshipprogramme@utu.fi 
tel. +358 294503142

At Åbo Akademi University you can also contact the International Office
exchange@abo.fi