Getting to know LUT

It's May already, that means five months have been passed since the first time I arrived in Lappeenranta. The snow is gone for good, the spring semester is almost over, and the summer break is on the horizon. As much as I'm eager to go to my home country for the holidays, I feel that I will miss this country a lot. As you know, because my status as an Erasmus Mundus student, I can only spend a semester here in Finland, so I might not come back to this country once I moved to another country for my next semester. And this really bugs me. 

As one of my friend said, although Finland is a cold country, the memory remains warm in our heart. Therefore, in order to keep the memory of Finland, I want to treasure as many stories as possible, take as many photos as possible, go to as many places as possible, and hopefully be able to post as many articles as possible. I am writing this article with the hope to make people getting to know about my university here: Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). 

LUT is the second university where I studied in my master Erasmus Mundus PERCCOM program. The first university is University of Lorraine in Nancy, France. I started my spring semester here in 3 January 2014, right after the New Year. The semester will end in June 2014 by a 2 weeks-seminar in ITMO in St. Petersburg, Russia. 

LUT is located in Skinnarilankatu 34, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland. The location is near by the giant Saimaa Lake. The campus can be reached by taking bus no. 1,3 or 5. The campus area is joined with the Saimaa University. LUT is a pioneering science university in Finland that bring together the fields of science and business since 1969. LUT has approximately 6,500 students and experts engaged in scientific research and academic education.

LUT is popular with its green campus initiatives. In recognition of its expertise, in 2013 LUT was awarded in the International Sustainable Campus Network competition as the best campus in Excellence in Campus category. The awards in the category for Excellence in Campus were given based on actions and proofs that promote sustainable development and green technology in a concrete way. Among the competitors in the Campus Category, the Green Campus of LUT, in the award jury's view, combines the science, academic education and the social duties of the University in the most advanced way.

Another interesting fact about this green campus is that you can find color green almost everywhere in the campus. For example, once you reach the bus stop, it's hard to miss the skyscraper green wind turbin just near the yard. Once you enter the main lobby, you'll find a set of comfy green sofa in the center. If you walk toward the building 2, you'll see a wall painted with bright green just near the stairs. Well, you get the point. The green is pretty much everywhere. 

LUT logo and slogan
 

The outside grass field of LUT

This is our first day in LUT

This is one of our class room

This is the Sodexo cafeteria

This is computer room

This is one of the many lounges you can find in the campus

This is my favorite classroom (because it is so vivid and pretty)

This is an incredible view from the roof top