Abstract:

A great number of students study abroad today. Many of them appear to have challenges integrating into the student community and further into the Finnish society. The same can be seen in many countries as international students often claim that they have difficulties connecting to national students and they often feel that the national students do not want to interact with them.

During the last two years Arcada has had a pre-incubator program that both national and international students can apply to. During this time approximately 60 students have participated and over half of them have been international. We have had the privilege to work with these students during the program and one of our aims has been to create a community feeling in the group. This community building seems to have helped the integration process of the international students. Much has been done through peer to peer activities which have been a natural and smooth way for the students to start communicating with each other. The longer the pre-incubator program proceeds, the easier it is for the students to talk to each other and help each other.

The study is based on four cohorts of students within the "Becoming an entrepreneur pre-incubator program" that runs every autumn and spring for ten weeks. During the program we have observed the group and noted deeper integration between the international and national students compared to the students that do not attend the program. The results are also based on testimonials from the international students.

The results show that the community building in a small stable group around a common interest of entrepreneurship seems to help international and national students’ bond, leading to the possibility of a deeper integration for the international students that attend.

Keywords:

International students, integration, community building, entrepreneurship.