Oskari Mörö: With an open mind to the Open Path Studies

The decision to start studying happened in the autumn of 2021, when Mörö was going through a cycle of injuries and recovering from surgeries. The break from sports gave the professional track and field athlete space to reflect on other aspects of his life, such as his long-planned studies. Finding a new challenge while on a break from sports seemed motivating. Mörö's guidance counsellor at the time recommended that he should look at the courses offered by Haaga-Helia.

– Business has always fascinated me in some way in addition to sport, and I believe that combining the two will be my future job, Mörö says.

According to Mörö, studying in the Open Path was a natural way to get an idea of Haaga-Helia's wide range of courses, course contents and the practical implementations. The Open Path also allowed him to progress in his studies according to his own schedule.

– Tailoring the schedule and the possibility of distance learning was important for me. Especially the non-stop implementations and the possibility to complete courses with competency assessment tasks were really nice, Mörö praises.

You learn useful working life skills on every course. Mörö has learned a lot from his ambitious and international sporting career so far, and also considers it as a demanding university, through which he has also learned a number of useful work life skills.

– Studying has been an interesting hobby alongside my career in sports. Combining sport and studies in an open university has not been a challenge for me, and fitting studies in with the rest of my life has been natural. Of course, the pace at which you are prepared to progress in your studies is of great importance, Mörö says.

In the spring of 2023, Mörö found himself somewhat unexpectedly in a situation where he had progressed so quickly in his studies, that he was already eligible to apply for degree studies. He was accepted and has continued his studies as an official degree student since autumn 2023.

Mörö encourages all those interested to apply with an open mind to study at the Open University of Applied Sciences. He reminds that progressing in your studies is very much up to you and your own schedule.

–  Planning and self-management and self-awareness were important, at least in my case, in order to ensure that my studies progressed at the desired pace. I always encourage everyone to develop themselves and be curious to learn new things. That's how you go a long way in life, Mörö concludes.