✦ Field Journal · Vol 01
Cohort ’26
AISS.
Diaries
The route
Tallinn
TLU
Porto
Lusófona
Tampere
TAU
Funded by
the European Union
the European Union
Erasmus
Mundus
2026
Vol. 01 · An Erasmus Mundus field journal
27.71° N, 85.32° E → Tallinn → Porto → Tampere
Three
countries,
one journey.
A running record of two years on the Erasmus Mundus AI for Sustainable Societies programme — kept honest, kept open, and written so the next person doesn’t have to start from zero.
Erasmus Mundus AISS✦AI for Sustainable Societies✦European Commission✦Tallinn → Porto → Tampere✦Cohort 2026 — 2028✦Field journal · open notes✦Erasmus Mundus AISS✦AI for Sustainable Societies✦European Commission✦Tallinn → Porto → Tampere✦Cohort 2026 — 2028✦Field journal · open notes✦
Countries
3
EE · PT · FI
Universities
3
TLU · Lusófona · TAU
Semesters
4
120 ECTS
Duration
24 mo
Aug 2026 → Jul 2028
What is AISS?
An Erasmus Mundus master's in AI for Sustainable Societies — one cohort, three universities, four semesters.
AISS is a fully-funded European Commission programme that moves a single cohort of students across three host universities. You build core AI foundations in Tallinn, study its application to social systems in Porto, and finish with depth and a master thesis in Tampere.
This site is two things at once: the long-form application guide I wish I'd had as a Nepali applicant, and a continuing field-journal of life inside the programme — written semester by semester, in real time.
The journey
Four semesters,
drawn as a route.
Each semester unlocks as I arrive. Future stops are sketched in outline — they fill in with photos, notes, and city guides as the journey actually happens.
01
Tallinn
Aug 2026 → Jan 2027
Tallinn UniversityLand in Estonia. First snow. Cohort forms. Build the foundation of AI for sustainable society.
Read intro →02
Porto
Feb 2027 → Jul 2027
Lusófona UniversityMove to Portugal. The Douro at dusk. Apply AI to society, governance, and the public good.
Locked03
Tampere
Aug 2027 → Jan 2028
Tampere UniversityTampere lakes. Deep technical work and the Finnish art of unhurried, careful thought.
Locked04
Anywhere
Feb 2028 → Jul 2028
Thesis · placement · circuit complete
Close the circuit. Thesis, placement, all three universities come back into one frame.
Locked- 01TallinnAug 2026 → Jan 2027Tallinn University
Land in Estonia. First snow. Cohort forms. Build the foundation of AI for sustainable society.
- 02PortoFeb 2027 → Jul 2027Lusófona University
Move to Portugal. The Douro at dusk. Apply AI to society, governance, and the public good.
- 03TampereAug 2027 → Jan 2028Tampere University
Tampere lakes. Deep technical work and the Finnish art of unhurried, careful thought.
- 04AnywhereFeb 2028 → Jul 2028
Close the circuit. Thesis, placement, all three universities come back into one frame.
Three atmospheres
Same programme.
Three different worlds.
Each country gets its own visual personality on this site — Estonia in deep nordic blue, Portugal in Douro green and terracotta, Finland in lake-ice quiet.
For the next person
A guide written while it’s fresh.
Most application guides are written years after the fact, by people who’ve forgotten which form actually mattered. This one is written in real time — visa appointments, embassy queues, bank statements, scholarship paperwork — while I’m still in the middle of it.
It’s especially careful with the Nepali / South Asian perspective, which the official channels rarely cover.
01
Apply & scholarship
Eligibility, the AISS application portal, motivation letter, recommendations, scholarship paperwork.
02
Visa & residence
Schengen visa for Estonia, residence permit, mobility within Erasmus, embassy appointments from Kathmandu.
03
Arrival & housing
First week in Tallinn — sim card, residence registration, dorms, banks, grocery, transit.
04
Cost & living
Real numbers — rent, groceries, transit, coffee, internet — compared across all three cities.
Dispatch · 002
TallinnHow to open a bank account in Tallinn as an Erasmus student
The two banks that actually take international students, the exact paperwork they ask for, and the order of operations that saves you a return trip.
12 Sept 2026 · 6 min
Latest dispatch
Field notes,
published as they happen.
Every few weeks I post a dispatch — short, observed, specific. Not the polished retrospective; the immediate one, while the place is still unfamiliar.
All field guides →✦ The Erasmus Mundus thread ✦
Considering AISS?
Start here.
A free, in-progress guide written by someone going through it right now. No paywalls, no consultancy, no recruitment funnel.