Category: Introducing Helsinki & Finland

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Experiencing Finland – event for newly arrived university staff, Phd students and family members

Are you a new international staff member or a PhD student at the University? Come and learn more about the Finnish culture and traditions, and meet colleagues from Aalto University and University of Helsinki!

The Experiencing Finland event touches topics like Experiencing Autumn and Winter in Finland, How to Effectively Communicate and Socialize with Finns, Finland with Children and Working with Finns.

Family members are most welcome and coffee, tea and a cinnamon buns (korvapuusti in Finnish) will be served upon arrival!

You can read more about the event and register for it in Flamma (loggin with your university user account).

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See the 3rd Line come to live with Kallio Block Party 2013

Kallio Block Party 2011, Photo by: Vesa Vattulainen (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

Kallio neighbourhood, known as the urban heart of Helsinki, will act as a stage for bands, dance acts, poetry recitation and several other activities this weekend as the annually organized Kallio Block Party closes down the entire Kolmas Linja Street for the whole day tomorrow, the 3rd of August. The free of charge city festival (see programme and map of festival area) organized by the Kallio-liike is open for all and has something for everyone. Continue reading “See the 3rd Line come to live with Kallio Block Party 2013”

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Printed version of the Orientation Handbook for International Students now available!

You might have already gotten to know the online version of the Orientation Handbook 2013-2014. Now the book is also available in printed form and if you are already in Helsinki you can come and get your own copy from the Student Services at the university main building (Fabianinkatu 33, ground floor). For those who will be arriving in Helsinki at the beginning of the academic year, the handbook will be handed out at the Welcome Fair 28/8-29/8. Until then we advise you to use the online one.

The handbook contains a lot of practical information that will help you get started with your student life and to navigate through daily life. It includes for example general information about living in Finland and studying in the University of Helsinki. It’s the ultimate survival guide for new students so browse through and also let your friends know!

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The Orientation Handbook is now available online!

The Orientation Handbook for the academic year 2013-14 is now available online. The handbook contains a lot of practical information that will help you get started with your student life and to navigate through daily life. It includes for example general information about living in Finland and studying in the University of Helsinki. It’s the ultimate survival guide for new students!

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Land of the the midnightsun; enjoying midsummer celebrations.

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Midnightsun mist. Picture: visitfinland.com

Midsummer (juhannus in Finnish) for Finns means celebration and the long, white night which is said to be the “nightless” one (yötön yö). In the Helsinki region the sun sets at about 22:50 and rises again already around 4:00 o’clock in the morning. In the Northern Finland the sun does not set at all! The nightless night is full of surprises – even in Helsinki. Continue reading “Land of the the midnightsun; enjoying midsummer celebrations.”

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A little break from the studies – the archipelago experience

Blogi_seaWondering what to do during the Summer vacation? How about spending time in the perfect and relaxing destination in front of our city; the stunningly beautiful archipelago. The sea offers an endless number of opportunities in summer and Helsinki’s shoreline is adorned by around 100 kilometres of coast and over 300 islands. Many of these are rather small, half of them having a surface area of less than 0.5 ha.The public park tradition is quite popular at the islands. That’s because it’s easy to go to the islands with the public water transport service – at least to the biggest islands. Welcome onboard! Continue reading “A little break from the studies – the archipelago experience”
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I have found out my concrete reasons of why I chose Finland

Qian is from China. She studies in the master’s degree programme of Adult Education and Developmental Work Research (ATMO).

Before I came to Finland, I was constantly asked by my friends and colleagues with their puzzling expressions “Why Finland?”. Even after my arrival, the same question seems to be the fixed starter of every conversation with new people. Frankly speaking, I hate this question, because I don’t know what to say; or because my reason sounds very unreal and unconvincing – that is about chemical reaction.

I heard of Finland from my middle school geography class for the first time when I was 14. Then this word hibernated in my little world for more than half decade until I got my first Nokia phone on my 20th birthday. Then this disconnection went on for another half decade until I browsed an old friend’s blog. She studied her bachelor in Finland and the blog was about her Finnish friends and her own experiences in Finland. Well, the articles in her blog are plain, no passionate recommendation or exaggeration. The pictures are also cool in tone. But there emerged this chemical reaction. My intuition told me that it would be the place I want to go. Then I gave up my original plan of studying in France and concentrated totally on the application for the University of Helsinki. And finally I arrived here in Helsinki in late autumn last year. After going through silver-coated winter and now at the time of enjoying the warm sunshine and looking forward to the enchanting legendary summer, I have found out my concrete reasons of “Why Finland?”. Continue reading “I have found out my concrete reasons of why I chose Finland”

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Home sweet home!

“Student housing situation in Helsinki is difficult!” I have heard, but, luckily for me, my journey to the place I now call home went very smoothly.

It was very early April a year ago, when I received an email conveying the good news of me being accepted to the International Master Degree studies at the University of Helsinki. Even though this notice was nothing I could yet touch, the whole Helsinki-experience ahead of me suddenly became tangible; I realized that in a few months my everyday life would be so different from the one I was living. For it to be a good one, I still had to find a place to live. Continue reading “Home sweet home!”

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Introducing Finland: Today is Kalevala Day!

Kullervo Departs for the War, by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1901)
©Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery, Central Art Archives. Photo: Jouko Könönen Antti Kuivalainen

Today is Kalevala Day, marking the anniversary of the publication of Kalevala, compiled by Elias Lönnrot (1802-1884) from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore and mythology.

Kalevala, the Finnish national epic,  is one of the most significant works of Finnish literature. The Kalevala is a major part of Finnish culture and history, and has also impacted the arts in Finland. Also Kalevala characters still live on in business life, in the names given to many Finnish companies such as in the banking sector; Tapiola, Pohjola and Sampo (there is also the icebreaker called Sampo). Other companies in Finland related to Kalevala names are Lemminkäinen (asphalting company), Kaleva (insurance company), Ilmarinen (pension incurance company) and many more. The Kalevala is a unique trademark in the marketing world. Continue reading “Introducing Finland: Today is Kalevala Day!”

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