Bismoy Jahan came from Bangladesh to study Automation and Electrical Engineering at Aalto University. She thinks that the courses at Aalto were practical and related to real-life problems. From Finland, she especially remembers the high-quality education system and the beautiful nature.
Why did you choose the Master’s Programme in Automation and Electrical Engineering?
After I completed my bachelor’s in electrical and electronics, I went working for Siemens for four years. While I was working there, I realised that very soon many fields, like the energy section, medical section, and industry, will be heavily dependent on automation. So, I chose this programme because I thought would be nice to learn more about the topic.
I chose Aalto University because I’ve always wanted to study in Europe and when I was doing my background research about different universities, almost everywhere was a mention that Finland has one of the best education systems in the world.
What was the best part of your studies?
The programme taught me things that were realistic and practical. The things we learned were very much related to real problems we face in the world. For example, on one course called Electricity Market and Distribution, our team was assigned to plan an electrical distribution network for our neighbourhood. We had to think about the optimisation of energy consumption, economic cost, and environmental factors. It made me feel like I’m really doing something that is really going to benefit the present and future systems.
I did my master’s thesis in a Smart Building Technology research group. The work environment and work-life balance were really good. The thing I loved most was that the team was very cooperative. If you ran into a problem, others were interested to solve the problem with me.
After graduating and moving back to Bangladesh, I’m interested to work in research. I want to work with the distributed power systems and reflect the things I learned from Aalto to my country’s power system.
What was the best part of student life?
Aalto is much more than just a place to study, there are so many activities going on all the time! At the very beginning of my studies, I went for a mushroom picking tour and a trip to Nuuksio national park, and I liked them so much. Unfortunately, the corona pandemic affected my student life quite a lot. But still, what I loved the most was that Aalto is really caring about its students. I never felt alone even during the lockdown period.
How does the future of the field look like?
Automation will be a big part of a regular person’s life. Whatever field you will be working in the future, automation will be part of it. For example, when you are coming to your home in the future, you are no longer using a mechanical lock and key, you open the door with your smartphone.
What kind of tips would you give to those starting their master’s studies?
The first year is crucial and it might feel challenging to plan your studies in the beginning. But you must be interactive with teachers, professors, and your study coordinator. If you keep in contact with them, you’ll never be clueless! For example, in summer break 2020 I was searching for a summer job and I didn’t have any luck with that. I decided to contact my professors and I’m happy I did because one professor took me into work in his research group.
What do you want to say to international students who are considering applying to Aalto?
Go for it! At Aalto, there are world-class laboratories, and the professors are very friendly, and I would definitely encourage international students to apply.
Finland is the most beautiful country I know. The education system is really good and Finland is a very equal country. And the lifestyle is very safe for women, too. People are compassionate, humble, and polite. But at the beginning, the weather can be challenging at least for people who are coming from Asia and other Southern parts of the world.
