Studying higher education in Finland vs Belgium

There is a big difference between higher education systems in Finland and Belgium.

In Finland the students can choose the courses they are taking and besides that they do have some compulsory lessons everyone need to take. They writing and choosing their own education story and knowledge they want to acquire during their studies. In my opinion Finnish students are more free in making their choices and having more responsibilities, which is good in my opinion. The students here seem more responsible and I think it’s because in Finland independence is an important thing. Talking about independence is really important in Finland and people go live quite soon on their own, where in Belgium people tend to stay longer living with their parents after their studies, probably to save some money.

In Belgium everyone who is attending the same studies, for example in the healthcare department, has  the same course so everyone will have the same knowledge at the end of the studies. In Belgium we receive a lot of structure, a weekly schedule and a lot of compulsory lessons.

The hierarchical system here in Finland is really different from Belgium. In Belgium hierarchy is needed  and people who are placed higher than you in the hierarchy should be addressed differently (teacher vs student or students vs mentor for example). In Belgium it is important to have in mind that the teacher is higher in the hierarchy and the students has to be really formal to them during contact. In Belgium we would write a formal mail and always say mister or miss. However the teachers here in Finland are really easy in contact and the fact that the student can phone them or send an Whatsapp-message when needed is something really weird and informal for me. However it makes the relationship between the teacher and the student more open and less tensed.

Another thing in the school system is that in Finland you need to apply for the direction and need to be chosen in Belgium you can start nearly any study without a test or application. The model here below show the education system in Finland in big lines: