UP Global – Our Story

Our story begins with our own experiences from the mid 90’s. Back then, some young athletes wanted to see how far they could go in the big world. We wanted to figure out how we could combine studies and our sport together in the best possible way. There were lots of positive things, but there were also some things that we wanted to improve. That’s when we got the idea of Universal Players.

Universal Players was created to provide the opportunity to combine education, athletics, and hobbies with international experience for students from Finland and other European countries. With over 25 years of experience, our organization has provided life-changing opportunities for hundreds of students who wish to study in North American high-quality independent boarding and day schools or in other programs that we have carefully selected.

During these 25 years we have developed our process and expanded our network remarkably, so that not only can we offer options for athletes but also help all other students who dream about a quality experience abroad. With our help, students who are interested in music, dance, theater, other arts, outdoor adventures, different academic courses, or just a well-planned international experience of their choice, can fulfill their dreams. Our students get to decide where and how they want to spend their time abroad.

We tailor our service for each student individually to match their aspirations. Each student has a chance to pick their school based on their interests and combine it with an experience abroad in a safe environment. For the recent school years, we have had kids in our program from Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Norway. In addition to our offices in Finland, we are also very excited to work with the UP Global offices in Czech Republic and Norway, to bring more European students together with the quality North American high schools.

We are proud of our knowledge that is based on our own experiences and long-term work with our students and schools in our network. We place our students to carefully selected private schools that we have chosen to work with, without any third-party help. Our concept is unique in the whole world, and the commitment and professional knowledge of our organization is our pledge to all our students and schools.

Welcome to join our ride for the global experience!

GO OUT AND EXPLORE

UP Global Team

UP Global
Admissions Team
View profile

Jussi Halme
Director of Operations
View profile

Reeta Saarni
Head Program Specialist
View profile