Driven and motivated to fight stagnation, Fasidah Alimuddin is determined to make a change
My choice - University of Oulu
Coming from Indonesia, Fasidah has spent 12 years of her professional life teaching in a public middle school in a remote mountainous region. She is also the mother of two children. She says that this dual role has been on the one hand a stumbling block, but also a huge motivation for her.
“After witnessing the local education system for so long, I was awakened to take immediate action to make a change for the better, especially for the children, mine, and all the other Indonesian children.”
Now in her mid-thirties, she says that while she was settled and had a family, she had also missed many opportunities in her life career-wise.
“I was struggling with the fact that there was no way for me to improve back home. Technology is constantly evolving but I kept stagnating, and I really felt the need to learn more. I came to Finland to gain knowledge so I can empower people back in Indonesia,” Fasidah explains.
Choosing Finland and Oulu
As a teacher, she knew that Finland is one of the top countries in terms of education. And in Oulu, she could find the programme that was the most intriguing for her: Learning, Education and Technology.
“I am interested in three things in learning: self-regulated, collaborative and technology-enhanced learning. The LET programme is concerned on the latest issues of education, especially in mastering both theory and practical things about how people learn and how technology supports the learning process.”
However, she also needed to make the decision to go far away from her home and family to study, and to convince her family that she would indeed survive the north.
“It was a long process, but Finland is also one of the healthiest and safest countries in the world. Of course, I miss my family a lot, but it’s also what gets me to the university every day with such motivation and positivity. I want to become an expert in my field to be much more helpful to the educational system back home,” Fasidah says.
Hard work pays off
And the trip to Oulu has been well worth the effort.
“Every day is a surprise. I didn’t expect to have these kinds of opportunities. I can attend all these lectures and seminars and workshops, be a part of an Ambassador programme, everything. All the information is at our fingertips. I welcome it all,” Fasidah says.
