From Viet­nam to Oulu: Vivi’s Engi­neer­ing Stu­dent Jour­ney

Vy “Vivi” Nguyen came from the bus­tle of Viet­nam to the calm of Oulu, where stu­dent life feels fun. She stud­ies Com­put­er Sci­ence and Engi­neer­ing, but just as often cycles, dances, and builds con­nec­tions. For her, Oulu is a place where trust, com­mu­ni­ty, and ideas grow nat­u­ral­ly.

“I go by Vivi. That is not the name on my pass­port, but it is the one that works.” This is how Vy Nguyen intro­duces her­self to a new per­son in Fin­land.

She explains that in Finnish pro­nun­ci­a­tion, her real name, Vy, bends in a way her fam­i­ly would not rec­og­nize.

– So Vivi became a small hack.

Vivi is from Viet­nam and stud­ies Com­put­er Sci­ence and Engi­neer­ing at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu. Her days move between code, cof­fee, bikes, and long con­ver­sa­tions that start as jokes and acci­den­tal­ly turn into project plan­ning.

She hasd lived in Oulu for more than three years.

–  I came from a place where every­thing was loud and bustling – Oulu felt like the oppo­site from the start. Few­er peo­ple, more calm and peace.

Vivi explains:

– Here you see the same faces at the gro­cery store, on the bike path, in the hall­way at school. You nod, you smile, some­times that turns into a con­ver­sa­tion. Some­how you nev­er feel invis­i­ble.

She first heard about Oulu in a YouTube video com­par­ing win­ter bik­ing in Fin­land and Cana­da.

–  The punch­line was not tough­ness, it was design. Clear bike lanes, sen­si­ble light­ing, snow removed where it mat­ters. It wasn’t about sur­viv­ing win­ter. It was about respect­ing every­day life.

Trust in Every­day Life

Vivi’s first weeks in Oulu felt unre­al in a very spe­cif­ic way.

–  Like the old car­toons I watched as a kid, where every­thing looked hand drawn and full of care.

Streets felt soft­ened, col­ors knew when to stay qui­et, and the pace of life moved slow­ly on pur­pose.

– Oulu feels like a place designed to be lived in, not rushed through.

What sur­prised her most was how much trust is built into dai­ly life. Peo­ple leave their things unat­tend­ed.

–  I once left my phone behind on the bus due to sleepi­ness, went home and cried. Then my friend told me to con­tact the bus office. The next morn­ing, I got my phone back.

A Student’s City

Oulu is as good as it gets for stu­dents, Vivi says. Rent does not scare you. Every­thing is reach­able by foot or bike. Forests cut through neigh­bor­hoods.

In sum­mer and autumn, she picks berries after class. In win­ter, the world resets into white and blue.

–  Com­ing from South­east Asia, where the weath­er does not change as much, it feels like enter­ing a new bio­me every few months, Vivi says.

– Sea­sons make time vis­i­ble. They force reflec­tion whether you want it or not.

Stud­ies here fit her instead of try­ing to reshape her. She can work, study, exer­cise, take dance class­es, and still have ener­gy left.

–  I went from being a lit­tle naïve to being… stur­dier. More capa­ble. Still soft where it mat­ters, just less lost.

”Oulu doesn’t rush you. It gives you room to become some­one.”

Her best mem­o­ry is the Teekkari cap­ping event at the end of her first year.

–  Stand­ing there, cold, exhaust­ed, sur­round­ed by peo­ple who had become fam­i­ly, it felt earned.

A Place Where Ideas Grow

Build­ing a net­work in Oulu hap­pened almost acci­den­tal­ly, Vivi thinks. Peo­ple are approach­able.

– I’ve emailed strangers with strange ideas and got­ten thought­ful replies. Sports and exer­cise help. Vol­un­teer­ing is almost too easy – show up once and you’re in.

That’s how ideas grow here too. At a recent Tech Hack at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Oulu, Vivi worked with her team­mate on a dig­i­tal lock for that small, annoy­ing moment when you’re freez­ing on your doorstep, jug­gling keys, or mak­ing friends wait out­side.

–  The door sends your phone a ran­dom pose when it locks. You walk up, make the ges­ture, and it opens qui­et­ly. No dig­ging, no stress. Just less fric­tion in every­day life.

Look­ing for­ward, Vivi wants to stay in Oulu.

– I see myself work­ing in tech­nol­o­gy research at the uni­ver­si­ty, build­ing a life here slow­ly. Oulu doesn’t rush you. It gives you room to become some­one, at your own pace.

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