From Tampere to Saskatchewan: A Student Testimonial
Tampere University's Esa Savola spent a semester on exchange at the University of Saskatchewan in the autumn of 2025 as part of UArctic's north2north program.
I spent fall semester in University of Saskatchewan (USASK) in Saskatoon at central Canada. Exchange studies marked the end of my Master studies and were additional to my studies back in Finland. My studies in Saskatoon focused on process engineering, further deepening my knowledge and giving me more international view. Addition to that I also had a course about community energy plan creation which focused on framework of indigenous people as a part of the project.
That community energy plan course really opened my eyes how important the role of the indigenous groups is especially in Canada. Indigenous groups like First Nations play a large part in the society and especially in preserving traditions and cultural heritage of the land. That is something special through traditions from a cultural perspective that especially include rural heritage of the northern areas.
My exchange in Canada and especially in Saskatoon also increased my appreciation to Finland and Finnish nature. Central and southern parts of Saskatchewan are extremely flat prairies, which was a little shocking when you are used to forests and lakes. However, while travelling around Canada, you understand why Canada is known for its nature and nature parks. Going west from Saskatchewan through Alberta, you end up in the Rocky Mountains that offer beautiful snowy mountain ranges with gorgeous coniferous forests.
On the other hand, while visiting Northern parts of Ontario and city of Sudbury, the similarities for Finland are clear. Nature in that part of the Canada is extremely similar to some areas in Finland, making it really feel like home. When you add the large Finnish heritage community of Sudbury to that it almost actually feels like that you are in the Finland when even some of the street names are traditional Finnish last names.
Another interesting part of the exchange was getting to know so many people. Canada and especially Canadian English-speaking universities are known for having large number of students with different cultural backgrounds. Meeting people from different cultures was extremely interesting and offered an opportunity to widen my world view even more while also learning about traditional Canadian culture. Focusing on Canadian culture, Canadian people are known for their friendliness as well as from small talk culture. Coming from Finland, small talk culture of Canada felt weird but after some time and in the end, I actually realized that I really enjoyed how people engage with each other in those short moments even though sometimes it might feel forced. At the same time coming back home, I need to again get use to that if you are asking someone how they are doing, it’s a really personal question and they will tell you half of their life story and not just polite “Good” like in Canada.
Overall, my exchange in Canada taught me a lot about people and Canadian culture. At the same time getting valuable academic experience from different universities will help in my professional career. But in the end, the biggest lesson I got, is the appreciation that I should feel being Finnish and living in Finland. Even though being in Canada kind of felt like home, another country cannot really fulfill the feeling you get when you are home. And that is why sometimes you need to go far, to understand what is most important for you. So be ready to experience but remember that sometimes the best feeling isn’t the trip but the coming back to the place you call home.
Story by Tampere University student Esa Savola.