University of the Arts Helsinki

Based in the Finnish capital, the University of the Arts Helsinki is one of the only universities offering specialist education in the arts in the entire country. The university only opened as recently as 2013, when three prior institutions merged: the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, the Sibelius Academy and the Helsinki Theatre Academy.

The merger was motivated by a desire to have greater influence on society through art, and the new university offers over 30 degrees for its approximately 2,000 students. Students benefit from the fact the university’s student union run their own exhibition and performance space, “Vapaan taiteen tila”. The university also offers open and continuing education services.

The city of Helsinki - as with most global capital cities - has a thriving cultural scene, including three major theaters, two full-size symphony orchestras and an annual arts and culture festival which takes place every August. The city also hosts many film festivals, some of which focus on a particular genre or style. For instance, the Night Visions festival focuses on genre cinema (horror, sci-fi etc.) while DocPoint focuses solely on documentaries.