The University of Helsinki was established in Turku in 1640, and the University continues to celebrate its anniversary on the date of the establishment of the Royal Academy of Turku, 26 March. The University moved to Helsinki during Finland’s Russian rule in 1828, and when Finland gained its independence, it was renamed the University of Helsinki.
In the future, education will be open to all, communal and centred on students. At the University of Helsinki, the future of education is already becoming a reality. The competence of the University’s pedagogical experts is based on knowledge, research and practical teaching. The teachers are offering a new way of thinking for the entire educational sector, furthering Finland’s success in the Programme for International Student Assessment PISA.
The University of Helsinki aims to produce research of a high international standard in all fields. Research provides the University’s scholars with solid expertise to participate in the development of society and the business sector in various national and regional cooperation projects. The University of Helsinki is a member of more than half of all national and Nordic centres of excellence in research.
The University allocates funding to research based on competition and evaluation. Special emphasis is placed on multidisciplinary initiatives within basic research.
Building your own career path begins already during your studies, and Career Services will guide and support you from the very start of your studies during your first year at the University of Helsinki until one year after the completion of your degree. Career Services provide career guidance, career counselling, courses, and information on the opportunities offered by the labour market.
Career Services also cooperates with faculties in offering mentoring and courses in professional orientation and project work. During 2014 Career Services published over 3,000 job advertisements and internship or thesis placement offers.
The student service points provide services for all students at the University of Helsinki.
Each student service point is specialized in one or more faculties, but they all offer you the following services:
As in many capital cities, there is a great demand for housing in Helsinki and it might be hard to find something affordable. But as a student, you have the right to apply for reasonable-priced high-quality student housing. HOAS is the main non-profit organisation providing student housing in the Helsinki Region.
Student apartments in Helsinki are of high quality, well maintained, usually furnished and with central heating to keep you warm in the cold winter months. The shared option is usually a private bedroom for a single person sharing the kitchen and bathroom with 2-3 other students. There are separate shared apartments for male and female students.
Helsinki University Main Library contains the printed and electronic data collections of the City Centre Campus Faculties of Arts, Law, Theology, Behavioural and Social Science. The American Resource Center and WELL Kaisa-talo operate on the second floor of the Main library.
The Main Library is located on Fabianinkatu in Kaisaniemi in the building known as Kaisa House.
As a student at the University of Helsinki you have access to comprehensive ICT services to support your studies and make them go smoothly. On the IT Centre freshman page you can find information on how to obtain a username to the university's network as well as information on the Centre's other services, e.g. computer facilities.
The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) is an expert in student healthcare and provides basic healthcare services for all degree students based on their student union membership.
Most of the basic healthcare services offered by FSHS are free of charge, for example, the first dental examination visit and dentist appointments of max. 10 min, basic vaccinations and speech therapy.
Make sure that life isn’t all about studies but remember to exercise as well. UniSport is an exercise centre for students with several locations where experiences are more important than performance. They offer a wide variety of sports from body combat to pilates and floorball to hot yoga. With the affordable membership card (12/4/1 months) you can attend the group exercise classes and use their gyms and open ball game shifts on all campuses.
UniSport also offers diverse training courses in various sports, as well as personal training, massage and testing services. If you put together your own team, you can participate in the ball games series organised by UniSport.
The core of any university is their students, and the University of Helsinki is no different. All the students are members of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY), which gives them the possibility to choose between multiple student organisations to find one that suits their vision of ideal student life!
The Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY) is the largest and oldest student union in Finland and the roof organisation of all student activity at the University of Helsinki. All degree students are members of the Student Union.
The main purpose of the Student Union is to promote the interests of its 26 000 membersboth at the university and in society.
Together with the ISIC Association and British Council IELTS, StudyPortals offers you the chance to receive up to £10000 to expand your horizon and study abroad. We want to ultimately encourage you to study abroad in order to experience and explore new countries, cultures and languages.
