New Student – Make sure you come to the Welcome Fair!

January is almost here, which means we are getting impatient to meet all our new international students here at the University of Helsinki!

Your student experience at the University of Helsinki will begin with a visit to the Welcome Fair on January 10, 2018, as well as your Faculty orientation. Please note that you will need to take part in both! Remember to bring your official ID (passport, ID card or residence permit) with you to the Welcome Fair!

The Welcome Fair is the perfect place to get to know the University and the Campuses as well as to get all the official matters out of the way. The venue for the Welcome Fair is the Language Centre of the University of Helsinki (address: Fabianinkatu 26). Please see our Welcome Fair and orientation week map for locations. Continue reading “New Student – Make sure you come to the Welcome Fair!”

Autumn

Text: International Student Ambassador Min Wang

Hi everybody! This is the best time to experience the autumn of Helsinki. Trees are getting colorful and appealing now. A little bit raining day may let you down but anyway you deserve to hang out for a while and explore some interesting things to do. Here are some suggestions and hope you like them.

Continue reading “Autumn”

Exams are here!

Text: International Student Ambassador Iftekhar Chowdhury

The Finnish education system is considered to be the best in the world for many reasons. This praise stems from the main aim of the system: bridge the gap between different pupils by making them more responsible for their own education and provide them with the necessary skills to become an upstanding individual of the society. It is a holistic approach towards education and life. It made Finland became a beacon for better education in the world arena. Finnish University education is a reflection of these principles. One important part in any educational experience are exams or tests or Tentti (“test” in Finnish). Unfortunately, one has to take exams at University level to better align ourselves with the world education system.

Exams are stressful at times (Yes, Even in Finland). Examination process is not uniform around the world and can be extra stressful for people who are not familiar with them. Let me be your guide and I will try to explain it as briefly as I can.

Continue reading “Exams are here!”

Ask me!

Welcome new students!

The beginning of the academic year is almost here and more than 250 staff members of the Student Services are waiting for you to arrive! During the past year we have had some big changes in the degree programmes and University Services. We want to make sure that you will find us easily and have no hesitation to ask us anything. You will recognize us from the pink t-shirts with the text ASK ME!

Where is my lecture room or the nearest UniCafe located? Where can I borrow books or find a quiet place to study? You can also turn to our academic staff in many of your questions. That’s why we have challenged them to wear pink ASK ME! pin badges. Don’t hesitate to ask!

We are looking forward to meeting you!

Career paths: When Afaque got the ac­cept­ance let­ter, he was over­joyed that he’ll be study­ing where Linux was in­ven­ted.

Name: Afaque Hassan
Study Field: Faculty of Science, Master’s programme in Computer ScienceGraduation year: 2015
Employer and position: Helvar, Software Engineer

From my childhood, I was interested in computers as there were limitless creative possibilities with it. During my teen-age years I encountered Linux, to which I was absolutely hooked. Back then, I already knew that Linux was invented by Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki (UH). During my bachelor’s studies I interned at Nokia, during which time I got to know more about Finland and UH as some of my colleagues were UH graduates. After my bachelor’s studies, I applied to UH for Master’s studies in computer science. When I got the acceptance letter from the university, I was overjoyed that I’ll be studying where Linux was invented. It’s a privilege and dream come true computer science professionals to study at UH. Continue reading “Career paths: When Afaque got the ac­cept­ance let­ter, he was over­joyed that he’ll be study­ing where Linux was in­ven­ted.”

See you at the Welcome Fair!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In no time at all it will be August and we are looking forward to greet all our new international students here at the University of Helsinki.

Your student experience at the University of Helsinki will begin with a visit to the Welcome Fair on August 29th or 30th, 2017, as well as your Faculty orientation. Please note that you will need to take part in both! Remember to bring your official ID (passport, ID card or residence permit) with you to the Welcome Fair!

The Welcome Fair is the perfect place to get to know the University and the Campuses as well as to get all the official matters out of the way. The venue for the Welcome Fair is the Language Centre of the University of Helsinki (address: Fabianinkatu 26). Please see our Welcome Fair and orientation week map for locations. Continue reading “See you at the Welcome Fair!”

Health Insurance and Students

What is health insurance?

Health insurance is a type of insurance coverage that pays for medical and surgical expenses incurred by the insured. Health insurance can reimburse the insured for expenses incurred from illness or injury, or pay the care provider directly.

A student must have insurance

Health insurance is one of the obligatory requirements you will need for obtaining a residence permit for studies. If you are not insured by an insurance system from your home country, you should obtain insurance from a private insurance company. You are strongly advised to purchase good medical and accident insurance before your arrival at the University of Helsinki and Finland in general.

Your health insurance must be valid upon your entry to Finland and your residence permit will only be valid for as long as the health insurance that you buy.  Also when applying for an extension for your residence permit, you must have valid health insurance.

Continue reading “Health Insurance and Students”

Enjoying midsummer celebrations – Juhannus

Midsummer in Finland

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 of Finnish midsummer gives a great contrast to the darkness of the winter time.

Many Finns leave the cities for Midsummer and spend time in their countryside cottages. Midsummer celebrations traditionally include bonfires, sauna, good food, possibly swimming and of course spending time together with family and friends!

If you’re in Helsinki but you don’t have the possibility to visit a Finnish summer-cottage, there are also some midsummer events in the city area. You can take it easy or party all night long.

  • Seurasaari Midsummer Bonfires will be organized by the Seurasaari Foundation on Friday 23.6.2017.
  • Juhannus in Pihlajasaari: Friday 23.6.2017, starting at 21.00 when the bonfire will be set on fire. Also grilled  food  and traditional dance music. Location and how to get there instructions can be found here Please note that the last ferry back from Pihlajasaari to the mainland leaves at 01.45 o’clock in the morning.
  • Midsummer in Finland 

Practical information for Midsummer
Shops have limited opening hours and the public transportation operates on weekend timetables during the Midsummer weekend.

Hyvää Juhannusta, have a lovely Midsummer!

Trip around Finland

Text and Photos: International Student Ambassador Shirajum Monira

Where have you heard about Finland? This question may appear often in a friendly conversation with Finns, or you might stumble upon a stranger trying to start a conversation while waiting for bus at the bus stop or in a university party. Many of us heard about Finland before as a country of midnight sun, Nokia, the real Santa Claus from Lapland, and some of us did more research before deciding Finland as our next home away from home. However, there are much more the land of Sisu has for its visitants to explore and admire.

Studying in Finland brings you an amazing opportunity to explore the hidden beauties Finland has to offer. Starting from the old capital of Finland till the home of indigenous Sami people, there are hundreds of attractive places you can plan trips with friends at reasonable prices and bring back pleasant memories to cherish.

As an international student studying Physics at the University of Helsinki, life has been quite stressful with assignments and exams, but weekends and summer breaks brought unwastable scope for me to visit places I have always dreamed of. In this blog I would like to share some of my trip experiences and information which might be handy for the future tourists.

The old capital of Finland: Turku

Continue reading “Trip around Finland”