Welcome to University of Helsinki
News, stories and updates for applicants and international students at the University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki Welcome Fair for new international students is once again over for this spring term.
A big thank you from all of us at the International Exchange Services and Student Services to you who visited and worked at the Fair!
All in all about 190 new international exchange and visiting students paid the Welcome Fair a visit. Some pictures from the Fair can be found on the New Students Facebook page.
The next Welcome Fair is going to be on August 29-30, 2013.
It’s beginning of January and the historical City Centre Campus is full of new bright international students. It’s time to start exciting studies and meet new people. There are lot of fun things to do with your new friends, but also bureaucratic tasks you should do at the beginning of your study period. Luckily, University of Helsinki helps and gives you a lot of information at the Welcome fair -event, which is now open for two days; today and tomorrow! “We want to help our new students to get the information they need from the same place at the beginning of their studies. It’s important to us and to our students”, says Anna-Maria Byman from Student Services.
We took the opportunity to ask also from our new law student Eirini Andrikaki from Greece about what her impression of Helsinki has been after couple of days. “It’s really nice, even though it’s cold. I come from Greece, so its really different culture, but I like it so far. It’s great to see the famous Finnish education system and how it really works”. Sounds good to us! We hope you will have a rewarding time at the University of Helsinki.
Read more about Welcome fair, Orientation Course and tips from former exchange students!
On January 9, 2013 at 15:00-16:00 there is a session on cultural competence held at the Welcome Fair.
The venue is the Festival Hall at the Language Centre (address: Fabianinkatu 28, 3rd floor)
Finland and the Finnish people- cultural features
Moving abroad, dealing with a new culture may raise unexpected thoughts and feelings.
Let´s find out some facts and features of Finland and Finnish culture to increase our
understanding both culture around us and ourselves.
Presenter: Kirsi Helosuo, Finnish Student Health Care
The session is open to all students interested in cultural competence issues.
Welcome!
Christmas is just a few days away and the University of Helsinki is becoming quite a quiet place 🙂
Most of the staff is taking a few days off during Christmas and the New Year, so we ask you to be patient if you do not get an answer to your email straight away.
We’ll be back at the beginning of January and we hope to see all the new exchange and visiting students at the Welcome Fair on January 8th and 9th, 2013! More information on the Welcome Fair and the orientation is available on the Orientation website.
Wishing you a peaceful and fun filled Holiday Season!
International Exchange Services and Student Services
The traditional St. Thomas Christmas Market is open on the Senate Square! The market is full of handicrafts, baked goods, and other Christmas specialties. You should definitely taste pickled herring in various forms, Karelian pasties and of course gingerbread house. Finnish star-shaped joulutorttu (christmas puff pastrie with dried plum marmalad) is also very popular! Have you tasted it yet?
The market will sparkle 
on the square, next to University’s main building, until December 22nd!You can also visit Helsinki’s Christmas Island already. Seurasaari Island enlivens Helsinki’s Christmas time during the pre-Christmas week: 17th – 23rd of December. You can buy from there nice treats for your self and friends.
Enjoy the sweet taste of holiday season!
Some of you exchange students are heading home after autumn
semester and there are a few things we would like you to remember before leaving
Helsinki.
We have enjoyed having you here, and wish you a safe trip back home. Enjoy the rest of your stay in Finland!
The Finnish Independence Day is celebrated on the 6th of December. Independence Day is a public holiday, which means that shops and offices will be closed. Finns might have many different ways of celebrating their Independence Day, but here are a couple of our traditions.
Every year, on Independence Day, the students in Helsinki organize a torch parade and all students are welcome to join. Finnish students usually wear their white student hat for this occasion, but the hat is not a requirement for joining the parade. If you want to join, you can come on your own, or with your student organization (e.g. ESN).
The torch parade starts at Hietaniemi cemetery, where torches will be handed out from 4 pm and the procession starts at 4.45 pm. The parade will arrive at the Senate Square at around 5.45 pm. The event then continues at the Senate Square with speeches and music. Read more on HYY’s webpage. Â
Another important tradition is the Presidential Independence Day Reception (or the Presidential Ball). Every year the President hosts a big reception for around 2000 invited guests. The reception is broadcast live, and is one of the biggest events on television every year. Finns especially like to watch the part where the guests come in and shake hands with the President and commentators comment on what the guests are known for and what they are wearing.
Happy Independence Day!
Even though it might seem that your exchange studies at the University of Helsinki are still far away, you’ll be surprised how fast January will be here.
Your exchange experience will begin with a visit to the Welcome Fair on January 8th or 9th, 2013. 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).
At the Welcome Fair you can pick up information materials, certificates such as the certificate of attendance and local transport discount certificates and ask all the questions you have. You will also get information on things such as language courses and on how to register for the courses, information on the Student Union, student organisations such as the Erasmus Student Network (ESN)etc.
Those exchange students who have not paid the Student Union fee in advance, should visit the Student Union Customer Service, where you have the opportunity to pay the Student Union membership fee. More information is available in the attached pdf.
During the Welcome Fair you can also attend Info Sessions, which give you a lot of information on practical matters that you need to be aware of at the beginning of your stay in Finland and at the beginning of your studies. The Info Sessions are open to all new international students.
The Faculties at the University of Helsinki also arrange Faculty specific orientations. These are an excellent way for you to get to know your Faculty and department and to get a good start in your studies.
All dates, hours and locations for the different orientations, sessions and the Welcome Fair, are available on the Orientation website at http://www.helsinki.fi/orientation/course/programmes.html.
We have also created a Facebook event for the Welcome Fair, if you are on Facebook, please join the event and you will see who else is coming: http://www.facebook.com/events/143792165768755/.
During the Christmas holidays and New Year’s most of the staff at the University of Helsinki have some time off, so if you do not get an answer to your emails straight away we ask you to be patient.
See you all at the Welcome Fair!
I arrived in Finland this past August to complete my Master’s in Media and Global Communication here at the University of Helsinki. I am from Vancouver, Canada and while it has been a drastic change from North America, I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Helsinki, the University, my peers and the faculty in the MGC program, and now, the snow! And even though I’m a world away from what I know, I remain deeply connected to many aspects of my life back in Canada. One of them is running. Continue reading “Meet our students! Sometimes running is more than just running”
Everybody’s talking about the weather. And that’s because it’s winter-wonderland in Finland. The capital gets its fair share of snow and we have to love it; beautiful trees, Christmas feeling and children are happy to play in the snow. Or is it just a big chaos?
Antti Kivimäki wrote an interesting article to HUB (The international magazine of the University) about snow and urban planning. The world should turn their eyes on the north and learn from our rough-weather tested work methods and service design.
Check out the article from HUB!
And enjoy the snow!
By the way, HUB is now available for free on the iTunes App Store.
University of Helsinki