Construction work on Oulu’s first international student housing project will be completed early next year. The aim is to support the internationalization goals of the city and the university as well as offering international students a great setting for living in and getting to know Oulu.
The Student Housing Foundation of Northern Finland (PSOAS) chose to locate the project just outside the city center, next to Ainola Park. The building will be the first of its kind in the area constructed under a new zoning plan. The building will eventually feature 96 apartments and include two business establishments on the ground floor. The estimated cost of the building is 10 million euros.
According to the foundation’s managing director, Juha Aitamurto, PSOAS’s goal is to create a place where international degree students and Finnish students can mingle.
“The international students will get a functional building that supports their studies and has good connections to the university and the city. The idea is that this way they will have a better chance to get to know the city than in the Linnanmaa area, and they’ll have easier access to cultural and recreational events nearby.”
There are students from dozens of different countries studying around the city at any given time, and at the University of Oulu alone there are around 1000 foreign students. The building, which had its concrete foundation laid on Friday, is the first building designed with international students in mind. The house will include studio apartments as well as single-occupancy apartments. Half of the apartments will be reserved for Finnish students and the other half will go to international degree students.
The building is designed to have five floors and an eggshell-colored stucco façade. There will also be a recreational area in the courtyard. PSOAS organized a vote to determine the name of the building and the majority of its student residents chose the name “Aurora” out of the suggestions proposed by the PSOAS staff.
