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The Guide to the Complete Finnish Student Experience – Student Associations, 1/3

No Finnish student life experience is complete without joining a student association or two (or ten…)! Student life at UH and within the student union (HYY) is very active, and the New Student House hosts a variety of events and parties every single day!

The student associations within HYY are open to all students, and you too are invited to join! There are so many different student associations, though, so we’ve made joining one a bit easier for you: representatives of different student associations have written about what they do, and why and how to join them. These stories will be shared in a series of blog posts in February.

So, without further ado, here’s Emilia and Östra Finlands Nation, one of the 15 student nations of UH:

Hi there!

Have you been wondering where you could meet new people, make a lot friends and get to know the REAL Finnish student life? Joining a student nation is the answer for you! There are many student nations in Helsinki that you can join. What makes the nations different from another is that people from a certain area in Finland gather in a certain nation, but as an international student you are welcome to join any nation. I am here to tell you about our lovely nation – Östra Finlands Nation (ÖFN)!

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Members of Östra Finlands Nation enjoying the students’ First of May picnic ©ÖFN

Continue reading “The Guide to the Complete Finnish Student Experience – Student Associations, 1/3”

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Shrove Tuesday the Finnish Way

‘Laskiainen‘, Finnish for Shrove Tuesday, is a celebration traditionally held in February, and celebrated especially by students. This year Shrove Tuesday falls on Tuesday, February 9th. In previous times, laskiainen was the last celebration before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, but nowadays it mainly means a day of sleigh-riding. Laskiainen is not a public holiday, however, so you’ll still have lectures!

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Overall-wearing sledders at Ullanlinnanmäki on Shrove Tuesday, ‘laskiainen’.

During the day traditional Finnish Shrove Tuesday dishes, pea soup and Shrove Tuesday buns, are offered also at UniCafes. The Shrove Tuesday bun, or ‘laskiaispulla‘ in Finnish, is a special type of bun made just for this occasion by filling a traditional Finnish bun with whipped cream and either raspberry jam or almond paste. Both types of filling have their avid supporters, and the nation remains divided about which of them is the best. We recommend you to try both, and decide for yourself!

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Apply for HelsinkiSecretResidence 2016 & live like a local for 3-6 nights!

We want to offer you the opportunity to have the experience of the lifetime in the nicest student city in the world.

© Jussi Hellsten www.jussihellsten.com
© Jussi Hellsten
www.jussihellsten.com

Together with Visit Helsinki, University of Helsinki will offer an opportunity to get to know our city for social media influencers. Your focus can be on a single platform like blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest or Instagram. This will open endless possibilities for adventure for you. Also you will have the chance to visit our internationally top ranking university, and meet our students & researchers. Does this sound amazing to you? We think so too! And on top of that, we will offer you the flights and Visit Helsinki will offer you high-quality residence for selected quests interested in the study and science theme. Continue reading “Apply for HelsinkiSecretResidence 2016 & live like a local for 3-6 nights!”

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Friends and Benefits: Welcome to your Student Union!

Student life is not just about completing your degree. Student life is also about meeting new people, dialogue, sharing ideas, learning together, and forming lifelong friendships

One of the best things about studying at the University of Helsinki is the active community of students. Community spirit improves your well-being, and over 250 different student organisations within the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY) open up a field of opportunities. Participating in the events and activities of these organisations is a great way to not only make friends and have fun, but to learn new skills and gain access to networks which can prove useful in your future working life.

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The First of May eve, the biggest student event of the spring term, and definately something to look forward to! Photograph © Mikko Virta

Continue reading “Friends and Benefits: Welcome to your Student Union!”

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Erasmus in Schools – visit a real Finnish school!

Dear student, Welcome to Finland!

While you are here, would you like to have a possibility to interact easily with Finnish people outside your institution and studies? If so, one option is visiting a real Finnish school where you can experience a Finnish classroom by giving the students lectures as a visiting exchange student.

For exchange- and degree students abroad it is often easier to form contact with fellow exchange students rather than people outside the higher education institution. However, at the end of your exchange period one may notice not having possibilities to meet up with Finns, really experiencing the everyday life of the Finnish people. For this we have a suggestion for you: visiting a Finnish school and its staff & students through Erasmus in Schools –project!

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Short and long days

Helsinki gave exchange student Esteban Halabi Flores the chance to practice one of his favourite hobbies: languages.

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“So the sun is up before 6 in the morning, and it goes down after 10 at night?!”  Last summer, my mother was mesmerized when I told her about the length of a typical Finnish day.  I had recently gotten off the long flight coming from Costa Rica, and was in the process of reporting back to her with all the new curiosities of life up north.  As a native from the Tropics, seeing the sun past 6 in the evening was both confusing and exciting.  What was I going to do with all those new hours of daylight? Continue reading “Short and long days”

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Welcome Fair – Thank you for visiting and info for exchange students arriving late

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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 Student Services and International Exchange Services to you who visited and worked at the fair! Once again, an awesome fair!

All in all almost 300 new international students paid the Welcome Fair a visit. Some photos from the fair can be found on our New Students Facebook page and on the  University of Helsinki Instagram.

Did you miss the Welcome Fair?

In case you missed the Welcome Fair or did not have a chance to get all official things sorted out there, we have gathered a checklist of the things you will need to do after your arrival:

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Happy holidays from us at the University of Helsinki!

Seasons_Greetings_2015Christmas is just a week away and the activities at the University of Helsinki are quieting down.

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. Please note that the Faculties are also closed during Christmas and the New Year.

We’ll be back around January 7th and we hope to see all of the new exchange and visiting students at the Welcome Fair on January 14th, 2016! More information on the Welcome Fair and the orientation is available on the Orientation website.

Prepare for your stay in Helsinki!

In order for your studies in Helsinki to begin as smoothly as possible, we encourage you to take some time and go through the materials on our New students website. You will find all necessary information on the practicalities there.

Another great resource is the Orientation Handbook. In it you can find answers to almost all questions that you have regarding your life in Helsinki and studies at UH. Have a look at the PDF version already before your arrival, you will get a hard copy at the Welcome Fair.

Wishing you a peaceful and fun-filled Holiday Season!

International Exchange Services and Student Services

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Welcome Fair – the starting point of your experience at UH!

WF_KUVAIn no time at all it will be January and we are looking forward to greet all our new exchange and visiting students here at the University of Helsinki.

Your exchange experience will begin with a visit to the Welcome Fair on January 14th, 2016, as well as your Faculty orientation. So you need to take part in both! Remember to bring your official ID (passport, ID card) with you – otherwise you won’t be able to get all of the official matters out of the way.

Continue reading “Welcome Fair – the starting point of your experience at UH!”

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