I came to Finland from Ghana in August 2014. My first day in Finland started at Helsinki-Vantaa airport. I will never forget that day because I had my first taste of Finland’s cold weather at the airport even though most people will say it was not cold but Please whilst reading my blog keep in mind that I am coming from Ghana with temperatures around 30°C almost throughout the year. The temperature that day was around 10°C or so. There were so many people with different faces, skin color, hair, clothes and languages at least the first time I saw more white people around me than blacks. One of my first surprises was that I didn’t meet an immigration officer because I transited at a schengen airport. Good for me. Continue reading “My first day!”

Congratulations to all of you who have been accepted to the University of Helsinki! During the summer you will get a letter from your tutor. But what is a tutor, you ask. What does a tutor do?

A tutor is a student at the University of Helsinki, who wants to help new students, national and international alike, at the beginning of their journey into the academic and student life. We are a carefully selected and well-trained bunch eagerly waiting to welcome you to the University of Helsinki!

We help you with all the certificates and documents that you need to get at the beginning of the semester, as well as with course registration. We make sure you get familiar with your campus, so that you can find your way to lectures. But it’s not all work and no play. We can also organize hangouts and freshmen parties. We are your tutors, yes, but we are also your friends.

We know that beginning your studies can be exciting and stressful at the same time, especially if you’ve just moved to a new country, and we want you to know that we are here for you.

Looking forward to seeing you in Helsinki at the end of August!

Best regards, Saga Arola

The University of Helsinki received once again hundreds of exchange applications from around the World in various programmes for the autumn 2015 or for the whole academic year 2015-2016. We want to thank you all warmly for applying! Continue reading “The application time for incoming exchange students ended on 15.05.2015!”

The Student Union of the University of Helsinki celebrates its traditional spring festival on the 13th of May. Since the times of the Royal Academy at Turku students have marked the coming of the spring and the end of academic year by different kind of events. In 1848 the students had the party hold on the Kumtähti field, where the national anthem of Finland, Maamme was sang first time in public. Continue reading “The Flora Day on the 13th of May”

In Helsinki the May Day, Vappu in Finnish, Vappen in Swedish, celebrations begin 30th of April, which is commonly also called “Finnish Carneval”. On the day the different student organisations have their own program all around the city, for example students of history climb on the roof of Finnish National Archives to wear garland on the statue of Flora, some organisations go for piknik in Suomenlinna fortress or on the parks of Helsinki, and many statues get their own hats, garlands or other decorations. On 6 pm exactly is the high point of Vappu, when the statue of Havis Amanda (nicknamed Manta) gets her own student cap at Market Square in city center. Capping of Manta is big national celebration and if you want to get a good spot, be early on the place, because the square and Esplanad Park will be full of people. This year the Student Union of Aalto-University (AYY) has the honor of capping the Manta statue and they organize parade from Hietalahti Square to Manta, parade starts on time 15.30. Continue reading “The First of May celebrations in Helsinki”