As the most populous city in Northern Finland, Oulu has over 100,000 inhabitants. The city is home to the Oulu University of Applied Sciences, the University of Oulu, and a vocational college.

As the computer science field of study became increasingly prevalent, many had their doubts that this field of study would continue. It was not until the 1950s that computer science began to be observed as a legitimate science among academics. It is thanks to the IBM brand that this became part of the main-stream culture.

The formal higher education system of Finland is the 7-3-2-2 pattern. The university takes two years in vocational or technical education and finally two-year pre-tertiary education. Finland also has several public as well as private universities that have enabled accessibility of higher education to students.

The MSc, or Master of Science, is an internationally recognized academic degree that indicates proficiency and knowledge of a given topic or field. Most MSc programs take about four years to finish, after which some join the workforce while others continue on in the classroom.