Everyday life of a student

It is easy to move around in Vaasa, Seinäjoki and Pori on foot or by bike. Many students use bikes to move around the city throughout the year. If you do not want to buy your own bike, you may enquire a possibility to rent one from a bike shop. You may also look into a possibility of renting an e-scooter.

Public transportation system with quite an extensive bus network is also available. Routes, timetable and other useful information about the local bus transportation is available at the website of the cities.

The University of Vaasa campus is located on the seaside in Palosaari, a short walk from the city centre. In addition to the university, the Palosaari campus is home to two universities of applied sciences, so there are a large number of students in the area.

Arriving to the campus

The Palosaari campus is about a 1.5 km walk from Vaasa city centre. From the city centre you can get directly to the Palosaari campus by local buses, there is also a local bus stop in front of the university. You can find more detailed routes on the local transport website.

Bus schedules and routes

Parking on campus

If you arrive by car and park on campus, you will need a parking permit. Temporary parking permits are available at the information desks in the buildings. For regular parking on campus, you can get a student parking permit, which allows you to park in student parking spaces. 

Parking on campus

All university premises have their own code, consisting of a letter and a number.

The letter code indicates the location, and is assigned either by building or by staircase. The first number after the letter indicates the floor on which the space is located.

In Tervahovi and Ankkuri, the main entrance is on the 2nd floor.

As a student, you are entitled to a subsidised meal price in restaurants where Kela meal subsidies are available. There are several restaurants in the Palosaari campus area where you can get lunch at a student price. Campuses in Pori and Seinäjoki also have restaurants offering student lunch. The price of a student lunch may vary from year to year, depending on how the price is set by the government.

Take advantage of this benefit too! The food is tasty, varied and will help you cope with the studying. The food is prepared in accordance with Kela's nutritional recommendations. There is a wide range of food options available, including a suitable choice for people with special dietary requirements. If there is no option that suits you, please feel free to contact the restaurant staff.

Meal support is a nationwide benefit, so you can enjoy student prices all over Finland wherever student-subsidised food is available. It's worth remembering this if you are staying or visiting outside your campus city.

Tritonia

Tritonia is a joint academic library of higher education institutions in Vaasa. It is situated in the campus area of the university in Palosaari. Tritonia contains material pertaining to all the university’s fields of teaching and research. The collections comprise over 300 000 volumes, and the library subscribes to nearly 900 periodicals. In addition, access to thousands of e-books and e-journals is given.The library also offers short courses in how to use the library and its databases.

Study Materials

The cost of study material may vary from field to field. Most of the course literature is available at the academic library Tritonia or in the city library. Their services are free of charge. Please notice, however, that it might be necessary sometimes to buy some books to use them as reference books at home.

If you study in Seinäjoki or Pori, you are welcome to use the library services in Vaasa, but you may also wish to check out the academic library and city library in your campus city. Feel free to explore libraries all around Finland: as long as you have an address in Finland and can visit the library in question in person, you are able to get a library card there.

YTHS

YTHS or FSHS (The Finnish Student Health Service) maintains a health centre in every city with a university and provides health and dental care for students enrolled at universities and other institutions of higher education. YTHS provides students with preventive health care, medical care, mental health care and dental health care. All Master’s degree students enrolled at the University are entitled to use the services of the YTHS, and they must therefore pay the health care contribution to Kela upon the start of their studies. YTHS services are either free of charge or reasonably priced. Hospital treatment, maternity clinic or night and weekend emergency services are not included in the YTHS services.

Note, that students from other EU or EEA countries have to provide a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) when accessing YTHS services! More information on YTHS website.

Acute illnesses

Acute illnesses requiring immediate medical care can be treated in YTHS during weekdays. You can book an appointment for a public health nurse. Remember to take your student card with you. An appointment to see the doctor can be made by the nurse, if necessary.

Should you need immediate care outside the opening hours of YTHS, please contact private clinics or the local public health care:

Local public health care in Vaasa Local public health care in Seinäjoki Local public health care in Pori

In case of serious illnesses or accidents and if you need care after 16.00 o'clock, please contact Emergency Services.

In case of accidents or when you need help urgently, please call the general emergency number 112.

Insurance

All international students coming to Finland are recommended to be covered by a valid medical insurance. For the citizens of non-EU/EEA countries, it is obligatory to take out a private health insurance covering the entire period of stay in Finland. Insurance must be arranged before the arrival in Finland and the insurance certificate is requested when applying for a residence permit.

Citizens of EU and EEA (European Economic Area) countries are covered by the National Health Insurance plan administered by KELA (Finnish Social Insurance Institution). It means that anyone carrying a European Health Insurance Card is entitled to receive all the medically necessary care while in another EU/EEA country or in Switzerland. The treatment is provided subject to the legislation and regulations of each country. The citizens of EU and EEA countries will receive the medical care to which a resident of that country would be entitled. The procedure for getting the treatment and any co-payments charged will also be the same as those that apply to local residents. For more information on entitlements under European Health Insurance Card for temporary visitors in Finland please see the website of KELA.

There are also some private clinics in Vaasa, Seinäjoki and Pori, for example Mehiläinen, Pihlajalinna and Terveystalo. Note, however, that should you seek treatment from a private clinic not covered by the local system, you will have to pay all necessary costs yourself. Therefore it is strongly recommended that students coming from EU/EEA countries also take a private insurance since private health care is not covered by KELA and the services may be very expensive in Finland.

The following companies among others offer insurances for international students:

• AON
• International Health Insurance
• The French Assurances Courtages et Services (ACS)
• HCC Medical Insurance Services
• Swisscare Insurance AG
• CareMed International Travel Insurance

For further information on issues related to the health insurance of foreign students, please visit the Finnish Immigration Services' website.

The purpose of the Student Union of the University of Vaasa (VYY) is to unite students and promote their social and spiritual ambitions. VYY is there for its members - its function is to connect its members and enhance their societal, social and mental welfare. The Student Union and its activities are based on active members, and thus every member has an opportunity to influence the future development of the Student Union. VYY is also a member of the National Union of Finnish Students (SYL), whose purpose is to promote students' rights and formulate policies on a national level.

You can find the Student Union contact information on their website.

Membership

• For Degree and Double degree students, the membership is compulsory. Degree students must pay the student union membership fee in the beginning of each academic year if they register as attending for that year.
• For exchange students and doctoral students, the membership is optional.

Erasmus Student Network (ESN) is the biggest student association in Europe. ESN Vaasa is one of the sections of ESN Finland. The activity is made possible by ESN Vaasa's board and active members and it is mostly visible to students in the form of events and possible projects that the roof organization continuously drives forward. ESN Vaasa organizes different sort of events and activities to all international students of higher educational institutes in Vaasa and the core aim is to help foreign and Finnish students to get to know each other and of course to share new experiences.

ESN Vaasa's different events are a great way to get to know both your own and other schools' international and internationally-minded students. All the continents are constantly represented in Vaasa's exchange and degree student population and this creates an open atmosphere! 

The University of Vaasa's sports services offer a wide range of activities. The range of sports includes pilates and other group exercise, cheerleading, various ball sports and ultimate. For more information about the sports and schedules, see the Sports timetable. You can join the sports services by purchasing a sports subscription. 

In addition to the university's own sports activities, the university also works with the Wasa Sports Club on campus.

The Student Union has various active organisations and associations, and you can find out more about their activities on the Student Union website.

Did you know this about Finland?

• In Finland, most supermarkets and stores are open on Sundays
• Every supermarket and shop has its own opening hours 
• Medicines are sold only at pharmacies (apteekki) 
• Wines and spirits are sold only in Alko, the State Alcohol Company
• The age limit for the purchase of beer and wine in Finland is 18, but stronger drinks may be purchased only if the buyer is at least 20 years old.
• Smoking in public places is prohibited by law unless there is a very well-indicated smoking area.
• The age limit for buying cigarettes in Finland is 18.
• It is against the law to possess, use or deal drugs. All three are police matters and may result to serious legal consequences.

ECTS, ‘European Credit Transfer System’, was developed by the Commission of the European Community in order to provide common procedures to guarantee academic recognition of studies abroad. It provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements and transferring them from one institution to another.

The ECTS system is based on the principle of mutual trust and confidence between the participating institutions. The few rules of ECTS concerning information on courses available, agreement between the home and host institutions, and the use of credit points (to indicate student workload) are set out to reinforce this mutual trust and confidence of content but also adding credits to each course.

ECTS Credits

ECTS credits are a value allocated to course units to describe the student workload required to complete them. They reflect the quantity of work each course requires in relation to the total quantity of work required to complete a full year of academic study at the institution, that is, lectures, practicals, seminars, private work – in the library or at home – and examinations or other assessment activities. ECTS credits express a relative value.

One ECTS is equivalent to about 27 hours of work. In ECTS, 60 credits normally represent the workload of a year of full time studies, 30 credits per semester (20 credits per semester in the three-semester system). At the University of Vaasa, 1 credit unit is equivalent to 1 ECTS from 1 September 2005 onwards.

Finnish credits often show the quantity of work each course requires in relation to the total quantity of work required to complete a full academic degree rather than the relation to the workload of a full academic year. The variations in the required workload for one academic year in different disciplines and levels of study are not reflected in the credit system. Variations in the workload naturally imply differences in the number of years of study necessary for the completion of a degree. This should be taken into consideration when using ECTS credits.

The cost of living in Finland is on average comparable to the rest of Western Europe. However, food and some services can be more expensive than the European average. The cost of housing varies depending on the city and the apartment, as well as on the apartment provider.

Good to remember! If you need a residence permit, the Finnish Immigration Services require sufficient means of support from students applying for residence permit. More information is available on Migri's webpage.

Read more about cost of living on InfoFinland page

A student who has been issued with a residence permit for studies may engage in gainful employment without restrictions if the employment consists of practical training or diploma work as part of a degree.

In addition, you may work in paid employment for a maximum of 30 hours per week. The number of working hours can be exceeded some weeks, as long as the average working hours are no more than 30 hours per week at the end of the year.

Please note that even if part-time work is allowed, you should consider alternative ways to finance your studies. Sometimes finding a suitable part-time or temporary position can be challenging especially if you don't know the local languages. In addition, as a full-time degree student you have the responsibility to study actively and to progress in your studies. To ensure good learning results and study-life balance, make sure you have sufficient funds to support yourself.

Vaasa Spouse Programme

Are you moving to Finland with your family or spouse? The Vaasa Spouse Programme is addressed to all spouses of full-time students and employees in schools and companies in the Vaasa region. The programme is organised by the University of Vaasa in collaboration with the City of Vaasa, TE-services Ostrobothnia and the ELY Centre (the Centre of Economic Development, Transport and the Environment).