As an exchange student I was privileged to study whatever I desired. I utilized this opportunity by selecting courses like Writing and Critical Thinking and Icelandic Nature. In overall, I'm very pleased of my selection. Here is a short summary of the courses.
Algorithms & Data Structures (overall grade still unknown)
"An algorithm is a clearly specified set of instructions the computer will follow to solve a problem".
The learning outcome for this course was to construct, apply and analyze time complexities of different algorithms and to understand basic concepts and operations relating to data structures. We mainly focused on sorting algorithms but also studied how various graph algorithms function. It was extremely fascinating. This was by far the best course I've taken in years.
On top of lectures and lab exercises we had two major assignments. I scored maximum points for both of them. First one, Optimizing Quicksort, was an experimental assignment where students tried to find the optimal local settings for Quicksort algorithm (assignment instructions). Second assignment was a 15-minute presentation of a predetermined subject. For me it was Policy Based Email Encryption Service (assignment instructions).
This Computer Science course got me thinking why on Earth am I studying at the Kindergarten (aka Metropolia) in Finland if I have an opportunity to take courses like this somewhere else?
Writing and Critical Thinking (grade 8,5)
A writing course for law students taught by a fast-speaking, young Scottish lady that had a mocking smile and a feminist ideology... Sounds terrible (and felt like it in the beginning) but turned out to be quite interesting.
The main topics in this course were OSCOLA citation style, academic writing and reading skills, critical thinking and how to improve performance on exams and oral presentations. Many of the subjects seemed familiar to me (for some unknown reason) but I still learned a lot of stuff particularly about critical thinking.
The overall grade derived from attendance, exam and two OSCOLA-styled referencing exercises that took a lot of effort to complete. I actually had to make the first exercise twice because we had identical papers with my friend (we did it together). My good grade came as a surprise since this isn't my field of expertise and I didn't buy or read the course books.
Icelandic as a Foreign Language (grade 8,5)
Since I'm in Iceland and (apparently) look like an Icelandic man, I'd like to be able to communicate even partly in the local language. However, it's still a wet dream of mine because this course was a disaster from the start.
The main focus was to learn dozens of words but not how to build sentences from them. We bypassed the grammar entirely! If it wasn't for Google translator, I wouldn't have been able to finish my essay and presentation.
I know some basic things such as greetings, introducing myself, the clock etc. but nothing really worth mentioning. I'm still not willing to give up. I will continue learning the language in some way.
Icelandic Nature (grade 6)
6 ECTS of amusement :) Two cheerful professors taught a lot about fisheries, plants, animals and the history of Iceland. We made excursions to a whale-watching safari, a poet's house and to an experimental farm in Möðruvellir.
The course was graded from essay results. I wrote papers about Volcanism in Iceland, Global Warming and its Impact on Iceland and Imported Wild Mammals in Iceland but didn't return a paper about fisheries (hence the low grade).
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