Welcome!

Congratulations on your place of study and welcome to Tampere University and to the Student Union! We have created this Fresher’s Guide for you to get started with your new studies. The guide includes the most important topics to consider when beginning your studies at Tampere. You will learn the key information about living, health services, public transport, events, clubs for students and much more! We wish you rewarding reading moments with the guide!

Prologue: Welcome to our community!

Studies at Tampere University await you – congratulations on getting in and welcome to the big local student community in Tampere! Through your university studies, you’ll get to the source of all kinds of knowledge and competences to educate yourself and to acquire skills specific to your field. But everyday life at the university is much more than just studying. You will meet people from all over Finland and the world, you will get to try out new hobbies and make lifelong friendships. So arrive with an open mind in August!

This guide has been put together for you in the Student Union of Tampere University, more commonly known as TREY. The purpose is to introduce you to student life in Tampere, student union activities and the university’s services. On the pages of this guide, you can find a lot of useful information on completing studies, housing, healthcare, leisure activities as well as associations and student culture. During the first steps of your student life, this guide will hopefully provide you with information to help you navigate the freeways and side alleys of the local academic world.

At the beginning of your studies, you will be supported by trained student tutors. They will help you get started with your studies and introduce you to your study environment. In your tutor group, you will meet other students from your field and get introduced to the activities of the subject association or guild of your field. Participate actively in the tutoring and ask and ponder on things out loud – many others might have the exact same thoughts as you. And tell your tutor about any concerns you have, as the tutors are there specifically to act as peer support. The beginning of the term is full of new experiences and information for new students, and it’s our duty to help you steer through it.

But for now, enjoy the summer and relax before your studies start – see you in autumn!

With warm regards, TREY’s tutoring sector – Specialist in Tutoring Teemu (left) and board member responsible for tutoring Sami (right)

Start with these!

Accept your study place by following the instructions given to you by the University.

You might be subject to fees and eligible for scholarships. Check your own situation and act accordingly!

Start sorting out your arrival in Finland. Moving to a different country requires closely following the official procedures, and those procedures vary depending on your home country.See the Student’s Guide for more information on this; you can find it on the University’s website! The Welcome page of the Student’s Guide in particular includes relevant links and info pages at the beginning.

Apply for a student card via TREY’s website. This is possible only after you have accepted your study place. The mobile student card, Tuudo, is a great addition to the physical card, so download that!

Activate your personal user ID for the University’s electronic services via salasana.tuni.fi. This can only be done after you have accepted your study place. 

Apply for housing! Find out more about housing options on the Housing-page.

Make sure you are covered by health insurance. Find more information on the Student’s Guide.

Connect with your student tutor and arrange your arrival in Tampere before Welcome Week begins on Monday August 19!

Greeting: We Students!

Hello fresher, welcome to the university in Finland’s finest city and congratulations on your studies. I can assure you that we all have been eagerly waiting for you freshers to arrive. You have some great university years ahead of you if you dare to embrace student life with an open mind. At this stage of your life, you will probably learn a lot of new and interesting things in the lecture halls, not only about the subject you are studying, but also about yourself. 

The beginning can be exciting and even scary, at least it was for me. I didn’t know anyone from Tampere when I moved here five years ago. Luckily, my tutors, my new study mates and my own subject association took a firm grip on me, which kept me going even through the COVID-19 years. Even though the information overload can be a little overwhelming at the beginning, you’ll learn what you need to know in time. 

The absolute richness of our university community is the great diversity of people, associations, events, and studies. Finland is notoriously a land of associations, and Tampere’s large number of student associations (around 170!) is a good example of this. In addition to subject associations and guilds, the Student Union has numerous hobby clubs where you can easily find like-minded friends. In addition, a free minor allows you to choose a unique study path, which you can tailor to your own interests. There’s something for everyone.  

As a fresher, I got involved in the associations as a board member of my own subject association. I recommend getting to know the associations and, within your own resources, actively participating in their activities. It gives everyone a chance to influence the student scene in Tampere. But be warned: the association work can prove to be so much fun that you can’t get away from it! 

So what is a student union? The Student Union is, as the name suggests: We students. Its purpose is to work to make the university, the city and society better and better for students. Everyone can also have a say in what it is like to be a student at the University of Tampere. This autumn, there will be representative council elections for the Student Union of Tampere University (TREY), where everyone can vote to change the way our Student Union looks like. In addition to the elections, there are many other ways to get actively involved in the Student Union – I recommend you read more about them in this guide. 

If there is one thing I would like to emphasise, it is that you should go into university life with an open mind! For many, the student years are the best time of their lives. Even if it takes a while to find your place and the right studies, these are the years when you can try new things, challenge yourself and find important people around you. 

Welcome, have a wonderful freshers’ autumn and good luck with your studies! 

Best regards,
Noora Hakulinen, journalism student and Chair of the Student Union of Tampere University 2024