Festival of Cultures and Study Abroad Fair 2023

The Festival of Cultures is one of Oulu’s biggest international events! First organised in 2017 at the University of Oulu’s Linnanmaa campus, the event offers a unique possibility to experience dozens of cultures, meet people from all over the world and learn about your study abroad opportunities, all without travelling abroad.

The Festival of Cultures celebrates our university's diversity, multiculturalism, and wide partnership network by bringing hundreds of members of our academic community – domestic and international – together. The event highlights the importance of human connection, global awareness, and tolerance. During the event, the teams represent their native cultures in their own unique and authentic way.

Want to check out how the former Festivals looked like?

Festival of Cultures 2018 video on YouTube

Festival of Cultures 2020 was organized online. All the episodes (minus live workshops) are available on YouTube.

The Study Abroad Fair offers the possibility to learn how to go on student/staff exchange, and how to do an internship abroad. In addition to getting information from our in-house experts who will be present at the event, you can meet exchange students from all over the world. Additionally, you can learn about and discuss the first-hand staff exchange experiences from our international guests who are doing their own staff exchange at the University of Oulu right now.

Short info sessions, interviews and one on one talks will make it easy for anyone to start planning an exchange abroad. Come and learn how to apply for the experience of a lifetime which will make all the difference in an internationalised and globalised world. Our experts make it fun and easy for you!

Studying abroad broadens your horizons in many ways. You get to know new people, new cultures, learn about yourself, gain unforgettable memories, and get valuable international experiences which are highly appreciated in today’s working life.

The Study Abroad Fair gives you the chance to explore the unique opportunities which the University of Oulu offers you.

The importance of the Festival of Cultures and Study Abroad Fair stretches way beyond having fun, planning your exchange studies, learning languages, and trying food from other countries. The event is one of our key Internationalisation at Home (IaH) efforts. IaH can be defined as the purposeful integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students within domestic learning environments (Beelen & Jones, 2015). Providing all the members of our academic community with equal opportunities to develop international and intercultural competencies and offering global perspectives, IaH practices contribute to the general awareness that both the work and the studies at the University of Oulu happen in a multicultural environment. The beneficiaries of IaH practices are all students and staff of the University regardless of whether they participate in mobility opportunities or not.

The experience is integrated into our curriculum. The students who represent their cultures and/or home universities at the event will receive a certificate as proof of participation. Every student at the University of Oulu has the possibility to receive 1 ECTS for active participation in the event from their own faculties. Please note that your faculty and/or home institution makes the final decision on awarding credits and the “Festival of Cultures and Study Abroad Fair” organizing team can’t promise 1 ECTS on your faculty’s behalf. For more info, please contact your course coordinators of the "Activities in university and student organizations” course at your faculty.

Photography
Photographing and filming is taking place at Festival of Cultures and Study Abroad Fair. If you enter the event area, you may be filmed and/or have your picture taken.
Data protection notice - University of Oulu events

Accessibility
The Linnanmaa campus area of the University of Oulu is accessible. There is an unobstructed passage through main door 2T to the event. Accessible toilets can be found e.g. near the R entrance. For more info, see the campus map (pdf).

First aid
The first aid point is in room PR125 (Prosessinkatu at the northern end of the main lobby).
General emergency number: 112.

Contact information
festivalofcultures@oulu.fi

2T is the closest entrance to the event area.

The bus stop is located on Erkki Koiso-Kanttilan katu in front of entrance 2T. The bus stop at Linnanmaa's main entrance 2T is called “University”. Bus schedules on the website of public transport in Oulu.

There is plenty of room in our bicycle parking areas around the campus.

You can park at Erkki Koiso-Kanttilan katu and Yliopistokatu (P1 and P2) on the day of the event. Please note that parking is subject to charge. Map of Linnanmaa (pdf)

Lost on campus? Download the Oulu Campus Navigator in the Play Store or App Store. Search for Tellus to find the event area quickly and easily.