Millennium Youth Camper Juan Cruz Landoni adventures into chemistry and biosciences
Argentinian Juan Cruz Landoni is passionate about science. He participated in the International Millennium Youth Camp in 2013 and returned to Finland in January 2014 to study chemistry. Planning a career in bioscience research, Juan’s positive attitude has helped him settle in Helsinki.
Photo: Juan Cruz Landoni
Juan Cruz Landoni comes from the town of Rio Cuarto located in the center of Argentina. He arrived in Helsinki three months ago and is currently studying for a bachelor’s degree at the department of chemistry.
“The reason I came to study in Helsinki is mainly the Millennium Youth Camp. It is a camp for young people interested in science and technology that brings 60 students from all over the world to Finland each summer to work on group projects. I participated in the 2013 MYC and during the camp we got to visit different faculties and laboratories in Helsinki, which fascinated me. I’m passionate about science but also about travelling, different cultures and languages, so coming to such an interesting country as Finland for my studies seemed like an amazing opportunity.”
The Faculty of Science offers Millennium Youth campers the opportunity to enroll as students. The application process to the camp itself is quite rigorous and the gifted youth continue to the most prestigious universities in Europe and the US.
Juan chose the University of Helsinki and after a three-month stay he says very politely that “moving to Finland was and is interesting.”
“Everything is very different from where I come from, maybe not in general, but there are this details that keep surprising me. Luckily there haven’t been real problems, only tons of paperwork, the adaptation is being smooth and fun. And for sure coming from 42°C to -18°C was quite a shock!”
“My studies have started great, I’m taking some basic courses in chemistry, and planning the rest of my degree. I’m mainly interested in the fields between chemistry and biology, specifically neuroscience and molecular biology, so I guess that’s the path I’ll follow for the next couple of years in the university.”
“The University of Helsinki offers lots of possibilities for doing research, in a really diverse spectrum of fields and in different faculties, so I feel the amount of choices is very wide. I’ve also noticed the University has a really diverse and international environment, which I find great and rich.”
“Even if the basic bachelor courses are only available in Finnish or Swedish, the teachers still give international students the chance of having exams in English while they learn Finnish, and I think that is a priceless opportunity I’m very grateful about. And then the advanced courses are mostly in English, so I would say it is a great plan for international students to come study here. And not only because of the University itself, but also because of the richness of Finnish culture, people, landscapes, design, language, science and technology.”
In addition to his chemistry studies Juan works part-time in a bioscience research group at the Faculty of Medicine on the Meilahti campus. He thinks this is a great way to get to know his field. “The experiences I’m getting there are making it even more clear for me that science is my passion and what I want to do for the rest of my life.”
Millennium Youth Campers Nidia Obscura Acosta from Mexico, Victor Hugo Corrêa Rodrigues from Brazil and Martin Radev from Bulgaria are also students at the University of Helsinki. Read their interviews in MyScience!
The main organisers of Millennium Youth Camp are Finland’s Science Education Centre LUMA (University of Helsinki), Technology Academy Finland, and Aalto University.
Maija Pollari is a science journalist whose background is in molecular biology research. She enjoys flamenco dancing, reading, and roleplaying adventures.