Welcome to HAMK, you’re here to make a change!

After you have been admitted to a degree programme, you will receive an email with a confirmation link. You must confirm the study place by 11 July 2024!

Confirm the study place electronically with the confirmation link sent to you by e-mail. Do so as soon as possible to allow enough time for the possible immigration process.

• If you have a Finnish ID number and online banking credentials, mobile certificate, or an electronic ID card you can confirm the study place by logging in at the My Studyinfo service.
• If you don’t have a Finnish ID number nor online banking credentials, mobile certificate, or an electronic ID card, please read the instructions on the My Studyinfo email notification you received.
• If you are for some reason not able to confirm your study place electronically, please contact the Admission Services of HAMK.

Make sure that you make the confirmation on time. Otherwise, you will lose the study place offered to you. Once you have confirmed your study place, it is binding and irrevocable and cannot be altered.

Notice: One study place during one semester

After confirming this study place, you can’t accept any other study places leading to a higher education degree in Finland for autumn 2024 if the studies begin during the same semester (1 January – 31 July, 1 August – 31 December).

If you are a non-EU/EEA-citizen and you have not provided any document that would exempt you from paying the tuition fee, you are required to pay a tuition fee for your studies by 11 July 2024.

If you are required to pay a tuition fee, you should do it before you apply for a residence permit. We strongly recommend that you pay the fee immediately after you have accepted the study place.

There is no tuition fee for EU/EEA/Swiss citizens. Finnish citizens are not required to provide proof of citizenship, whereas other EU/EEA/Swiss citizens should send a copy of their passport/identity card at the time of submitting the application or if you have not done so, to [email protected] by 11 July 2024 at the latest.

Read more about the tuition fees in here.

After you have accepted the study place and paid the tuition fee (if required), a link to the enrolment service will be activated at StudyInfo for you to register for the academic year. If you are unable to register electronically, please contact [email protected].

If you are not able to start your studies in the autumn semester 2024, you can delay the start of your studies if there are legal grounds for your absence:

Non-attendance in the first study year

You can enrol for non-attendance for the first academic year for the following reasons only and prove the legal grounds for your non-attendance with the given documents:

1. Completing military service, civilian service or voluntary military service for women in Finland, service under the Conscription Act (1438/2007), Non-Military Service Act (1446/2007), or Act on Women’s Voluntary Military Service (194/1995)
   • required document: Call-up order or a conscript card
     Note! ONLY the military service of the Finnish army
2. You need leave from studies to care for child in connection with the child’s birth or adoption
   • required document: Kela’s certificate regarding parental leave or, if the certificate has not yet been received, a medical certificate regarding the pregnancy or
   • corresponding certificates from the authorities of other countries regarding statutory parental leave
3. Personal illness or injury that prevents you from studying
   • Sickness allowance decision or, if no decision exists, a medical certificate. The medical certificate must state which illness or injury the student suffers from, and that this condition prevents the student from beginning their studies on 1 January / 1 August.
   • Obstacles caused by the practical arrangements required by the illness or injury: an adequate clarification, e.g. a certificate from the student housing foundation that the student is on the waiting list for an apartment required by his or her injury.
   • The documents proving the legal grounds for your non-attendance must be delivered by the deadline for accepting the offer of admission. Documents must be submitted in Finnish, Swedish or English.

Submit the documents here:

No matter if you are an exchange student or international student studying for the whole degree, the first thing to do is to find out if you need a permit for studying in Finland. Finnish citizens do not need to do this.

Find out what kind of permit you need:

There are many things, such as nationality and length of the studies, that affect on which permit you need. Nice way to figure out if you need residence permit, right of residence or visa, is to follow Finnish Immigration Services MIGRI‘s guidelines according to your own situation:

• I am an EU citizen
• I am a family member of an EU citizen
• I am a Nordic citizen
• I am a citizen of some other country (Usually residence permit required)

Once you know which permit you need, please follow the Finnish Immigration Services guidelines how to apply for the permit.

If you need a residence permit, we strongly recommend you to apply it immediately after you have accepted the study place. The processing time can be over two months during peak application times. In some countries, it can even take over four months.

Finnish immigration service provides clear instructions on how to apply for a student residence permit. Please select the electronic application as you will save both time and money. Remember to ask to be registered in the Finnish Population Information System as well. By doing so, you will receive a Finnish personal identity code (social security number SSN), which is compulsory to have while staying in Finland.

What if I can’t get my residence permit on time?

The students must arrive in their campus and start on-campus studies by the start of 2nd module, which is October 28, 2024. You must start your studies online in order to join on campus by the second module. Please scroll down to see which studies must be completed by the 28th of October. 

Notice! You can´t start your studies after October 28, because it is important to acquire the knowledge and the intended learning outcome by being present in campus.

If you have not received a residence permit and arrived in Finland by the beginning of 2nd module, the start of studies can be postponed to the beginning of the next academic year and the tuition fee will be transferred to the next academic year. In this case you need to start your studies in the beginning of next academic year (Autum 2025). If you are unable to begin your studies in August 2025, you will lose your right to study.

Apply for deferral through this form no later than 27.10.2024. The form opens on 12 August and closes on 27 October.  

If you are a fee paying student, check also our refund policy from  Tuition Fees: Refund Policy

Check which courses need to be completed before October 28 to join the studies on campus:

Construction Engineering  and
Information and Communication Technology, Circular Economy   

• Finnish 1: you must complete the course to continue your studies in Finnish 2.
• Hybrid teaching will be arranged during the first period. 

Electrical and Automation Engineering

• Finnish 1: you must complete the course to continue your studies in Finnish 2.
• Hybrid teaching will be arranged during the first period but the possibility to participate online only applies to students who, through no fault of their own, cannot reach Finland in time.
• Even in the case of online studies, active participation and completion of the first module is a prerequisite for successful continuation of studies in the other modules.

Information and Communication Technology, Robotics 

• Introduction to Robotics and Programming: lectures should be followed and online assignments completed. Some of the practical exercises have to be complemented afterwards.  
• Finnish 1: you must complete the course to continue your studies in Finnish 2. Hybrid teaching will be arranged during the first period.  
• Geometry and Linear Algebra: must be completed to continue Algebra in the next period.  
• Orientation to Engineering Studies: lectures should be followed and online assignments completed.  
• Introduction to Technical Physics: lectures should be followed and online assignments completed.   

Mechanical Engineering and Production Technology   

• All 1st module studies must be started. This is verified by submitted assignments or other study-related performances.
• Finnish 1: you must complete the course to continue your studies in Finnish 2. Hybrid teaching will be arranged during the first period. 

Sustainable Urban Design 

• Geography and Ecology of Urban Systems: Some lecturers are also online. It is important to follow Moodle and listen or read all lectures and materials, read course materials, participate in chat, do all tasks needed and return them to Moodle. 
• Finnish 1: you must complete the course to continue your studies in Finnish 2. Hybrid teaching will be arranged during the first period.  
• Geometry and Linear Algebra: must be completed to continue Algebra in the next period.  
• Orientation to Engineering Studies: lectures should be followed and remote task completed.   
• Introduction to Technical Physics: lectures should be followed and remote task completed.   

 
International Business  

• The 1st module Basic Business Competences will be offered online. The student must complete independently all 1st module courses to be able to start their 2nd module on campus October 28, 2024. Activity/performance is verified through Moodle’s data. 

Computer Applications 

• The courses Operating Systems, Basics of Programming, and Finnish 1 must be completed independently if arriving late in order to continue studies normally from the beginning of the 2nd period onwards. Activity/performance is verified through Moodle’s data.

Smart and Sustainable Design  

•  First module “Orientation to Design” will be offered online if necessary, with the exeption of course “Design Studio”. To be able to proceed to second module student must complete the tasks on the other courses of the module. We will offer later in spring semester a chance to complete the “Design Studio” course. 
  • Sketching and Visualization 5 ects, online option available 
  • Digital learning Environments 2 ects, online option available 
  • Design in Culture 3 ects, online studies for all. 
  • Design Studio, contact teaching in studio environments, not available onlie. 
  • Sustainable Development. Now 2 ects, online studies for all. 

Health care, Nursing 

• Basics of the Finnish language 3 ECTS; The learning tasks have been completed and returned to the online platform (Learn). No approved course evaluation is required. 
• Finnish language and culture 3 ECTS; The learning tasks have been completed and returned to the online platform (Learn). No approved course evaluation is required. 
• Natural sciences I 2 ECTS; The learning tasks have been completed and returned to the online platform (Learn). No approved course evaluation is required. 
• Hybrid teaching will be arranged during the first period. 

Sustainable Forest Management,
Professional Horticulture and
Climate Smart Agriculture  

• Finnish 1: Moodle must be completed and the retake at the beginning of period 2 must be passed at school to continue to Finnish 2.

If you have any questions concerning the start of your studies, please contact directly to your Degree Program.

Visit the local bank at your country of origin and make sure that banking services are available when you are in Finland. It will take some time to open a bank account in Finland, so it is good to have international banking services from your own bank. International banking services are also needed when you pay for the deposit and/or rent for the first month of the accommodation. Opening Finnish bank account can take few months, so it is important that you have working bank account until that.

Please notice that it is not a good idea to bring much cash with you to Finland. Here you cannot pay for example rent in cash so internationally working bank card and banking services are crucial. Also traveller’s checks are not accepted in Finland.

Check out different accommodation options offered by your campus and fill the application. We advice you not to come to Finland before you have an accommodation arranged.

Kindly remember that you can only apply to HAMK´s accommodation in the campus that you are studying. If you look accommodation on the free market, you can choose to live which ever city you like, but remember to check the public transportation connections to the campus.

You can easily get to Finland by plane, by boat, or by car. Make sure that you have the valid ticket for your chosen means of transportation.

We also have an airport pickup service for specific dates available! Scroll down to read more about it from Arriving to HAMK section!

Arriving by plane

Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) is the largest airport in Finland, and it is located near the capital city of Helsinki. The airport located in Tampere is another airport that our international students often arrive at. All HAMK campuses can be reached by public transport from either airport. Besides Helsinki and Tampere airports, there are several other national airports, such as Rovaniemi and Kittilä in Lapland. Direct international flights are available from those airports but note that they are far away from the major cities in southern Finland as well as from all HAMK campuses.

Local public transport

Finland is a large country with considerable distances between its municipalities. Yet, public transport works well within and in between cities. You can travel to almost everywhere in Finland by bus or by train. You can also fly to some destinations within the country. Some bigger Finnish cities can offer transport services by tram and, in case of the capital – Helsinki, also by metro. Within cities, you can reach suburban areas with local transport. 

In Finland, you can get student discounts for public transport.

To plan your travel within Finland, use route services perille.fi to get your itinerary suggestions. For example, you can type in “Helsinki airport” as the place of departure and one of HAMK´s campuses as the place of destination. The service will provide you with itinerary suggestions.

By train

The rail network in Finland stretches from Helsinki to Kolari in Lapland. VR is the Finnish Railway Service. You can check the routes and stations on the VR website. Some train services and parts of the routes may be replaced by buses due to track work. Those bus transport services are organised by VR, so you do not need to get extra tickets. Read more about the replacement buses.

By bus

Another option to travel in between cities in Finland is by bus. There are three major bus connection services providers in Finland.

Matkahuolto (there is also national parcel transport service provided by Matkahuolto. Matkahuolto is used as a public transport in some cities. See the section below for more information.)

Onnibus

Express Bus

The best way to find out which bus suits you the most is to visit bus operators´ websites. You can also use route services perille.fi to get more detailed itinerary suggestions.

Local transport by major city

There are different public means of transport available in different cities in Finland. When you are travelling inside a city, it is good to use the local public transport route planner to navigate and to get the tickets.

In Helsinki you find the information in the link HSL area and zones (you need to check the zones you travel through and buy a ticket accordingly).

Häme Region (Kanta-Häme: Evo, Forssa, Lepaa, Mustiala, and Riihimäki campus)

Local transport and journey planner:

Reittiopas

Tickets and prices

Waltti travel card

Taxi:

Taxi Häme phone number: +358 (0)100 0700
Please notice that taxis in Finland are very expensive so always check the distance and price before taking the taxi!

Bike:

There are also electric scooters available on the streets. You can scan the QR code on the scooter and follow the instructions from different service providers.

Tampere Region (Pirkanmaa: Valkeakoski campus)

Local transport and journey planner:

Nysse

Tickets and zones

Travel card

Taxi:

Taxi Tampere, phone number: +358 (0)1004131
Please notice that taxis in Finland are very expensive so always check the distance and price before taking the taxi!

Bike:

Nysse City bikes

There are also electric scooters available on the streets. You can scan the QR code on the scooter and follow the instructions from different service providers.

Are you curious to see who’s also going to HAMK? Or maybe you wish to make new friends with HAMK’s students?

Via HAMK’s virtual student community Goin’ Connect, you can find other students from the same nationality, study programme or campus. You might even find students who are into the same things as you!

The guidance for registration can be found from your acceptance letter and from email sent to you

Please check this video about Goin’ Connect to more information.

In case of  any problems, please contact [email protected]

There are many things to be considered if you wish to bring your family to Finland with you. Read more about it from here.

To register your arrival at HAMK, you need to present the identity card or passport, residence permit (if applicable to your case), and the original school certificates with their official translations in either Finnish, Swedish, or English.

If you plan to develop your career in Finland, you should also bring the original work certificates with you. In Finland, employers usually request the original work certificates to be sent during or after the recruitment process.

It is good to have your certificates notarised. If the certificates are not in one of the three languages: Finnish, Swedish or English, the official translation is required.

After you have enrolled for the academic year, you will receive an automatic message requesting you to activate your HAMK user ID.
You can activate your HAMK user ID via self-service user registration.

You will receive an email once your HAMK user ID has been created. Before receiving the email you can not activate your ID.

This HAMK user ID gives you access to all HAMK’s student systems.

For more information and in case of an error, please contact ServiceDesk. Service desk is a customer services system that HAMK uses for advising students and staff. By using the ServiceDesk, a customer services ticket will be generated specifically for you and for your matters. The IT department can keep track with your questions and offer advice to you by following the same ticket.

NB: you can log in to ServiceDesk only after you already have acquired and activated your HAMK student ID. If you don’t have a HAMK student ID yet, please contact the IT department by the email [email protected] instead. That also creates a ticket automatically. When you contact the IT service, remember to include a descriptive subject line and detailed description!

Logging in to HAMK M365 services is done by either using short form of username or long form of username. Short username is typed in the form of firstname12345. Long username is typed in the form of [email protected]. You can type in the form of username accordingly to what it is asked for in the login window.

Logging in to Google cloud services is usually done by the form of [email protected].

All students must have their own laptop.

The operating system of the laptop should be Windows (64-bit). The professional software used at HAMK is Windows software.

Using a MacOS computer in your studies

You can study on a macOS computer, but for only a few educational programmes, the applications available for macOS alone are sufficient. These include teacher training and social and health education programmes.

Most programmes require students to install software on their own computers that is only available for Windows computers.

Other necessary items

In addition to your own computer, you’ll need headphones (for watching videos) and an external mouse (to make it easier to use applications), as well as a camera for tele-editing. Your computer is connected to the data projector via an hdmi cable, so make sure you have an hdmi (type A) socket on your computer or, if necessary, get an hdmi (type A) adapter for your computer.

Starter Kit of Digital Skills will help you to start using HAMK online tools, equipment, environments and methods used in higher education studies.

The Digistart -course contains 14 parts. Before starting your studies, we recommend that you complete at least parts 1-6. You should also follow the guidelines for your field of study to find out which parts are compulsory and the timetable for completion.

When you see this pattern ⬡ it is possible to complete the section with a competency mark. Remember to take advantage of the completed badges.

Below is the table of contents of the digital starter kit and the average time needed to complete each section.

1. Welcome to the Starter Kit of Digital Skills

2. Basic digital services for students (1h)

3. Learn online learning environment ⬡ (0,5-1 h)

4. Study planning | Pakki ⬡ (1h)

5. Microsoft 365 – supporting communal work

6. For internal communication Tuudo and Viva Engage (formerly Yammer) ⬡ (0,5h)

7. Teams – for teamwork ⬡ (1h)

8. Manage documents with OneDrive for Business ⬡ (1h)

9. Online meetings with Zoom ⬡ (1 h)

10. Office software ⬡ (2-5 h)

11. Library and web library HAMK Finna ⬡ (0,5-1 h)

12. Studying and well-being ⬡ (0,5 – 1 h)

13. How do you display your open badges?

14. Feedback on Digital Starter Kit

Instructions: 

Enrolment key is: Digistarter-24

If you have any questions related to Starter Kit of Digital Skills, please contact to [email protected].

The student mobile app Tuudo is free and can be downloaded from the Android, iOS and Huawei AppGallery app stores.

The app allows us to offer students a comprehensive and modern service package.

Students can buy software from a few places at student prices or purchase software free of charge. Microsoft offers the full Microsoft 365 ProPlus package (including Word, Excel and Powerpoint) free of charge to students during their studies. The Microsoft 365 package can be installed on five PCs/Macs and five tablets. You can install some professional software on your own computer, subject to certain restrictions. For example, the software cannot be used for commercial activities. The software required for your studies is described in the study information in the Pakki.

When you start your studies, you should only install the Microsoft 365 package and Chrome browser (see instructions below).

What types of licences can applications have?

The most common types of application licences are:

• open source – usually freely available
• educational licence – sometimes includes access to students’ own computers
• commercial licence – for commercial use
• trial licence – limited duration and purpose of use

When you install an application on your computer, always find out what the terms of use are.

Microsoft 365-services

Under an agreement with Microsoft, students have access to Microsoft 365 in the cloud. Microsoft 365 is a collection of different applications and services that are cloud services. You can access them online from anywhere.

Services include:

• Outlook Mail and Calendar
• People
• OneDrive for Business Sites
• Tasks
• Microsoft 365 WebApps i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote
• Viva engage
• Delve
• Sway
• Class
• Notebook
• Groups
• Planner
• Forms
• Teams
• PowerApps and Flow

For more information of M365 visit here

Installing a Microsoft 365 package

Installing a Microsoft 365 package Students will have access to many Microsoft applications during their studies. As soon as you start your studies, you will need Microsoft 365 applications such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook and OneDrive for Business.

Download and installation instructions for the Microsoft 365 ProPlus package can be found here.

Installing web browsers (Chrome, Firefox, etc.)

Your computer already has a web browser such as Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge or Safari (MacOS). Internet Explorer is no longer recommended, use Edge instead. You need at least one other web browser on your computer, because not all web services and applications work properly with one and the same web browser.

Install at least Google Chrome browser on your computer, including MacOS, with installation instructions here.

Online meetings

Students have access to Teams for remote meetings and group work. For distance learning, the Zoom cloud service is also used for online sessions, depending on the course. Teams requires installation on your own computer to use all its features and can be downloaded from the web.

For more information:
Teams
Zoom

MOT-​language engine

Students can use the MOT language engine (a cloud service), which offers a dictionary, language checkers and machine translation.

Access MOT language engine here

Students studying for higher education degree are entitled to the services of the Student Health Foundation (YTHS). Check payment due dates on Kela´s website.

Here’s how to pay your university student health fee.

If you want to plan your studies further, you can find all the information you need here.

Here you will find all the information you need to start studying.

You can read more and apply for special arrangements for studying here.

After you arrive in Finland, it is important that you register with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV). With DVV, you take care of Finnish personal identity code (if you have not received one) and municipality of residence. Check out the registration instructions here. Registration of a foreign student | Digital and population data services agency (dvv.fi).

HAMK support students in DVV registration during the Orientation Get-Together Day. For more information: Orientation Get-Together Day 2024 for new international students – HAMK.

If you have a Finnish identity code, you can apply for an identity card – Police (poliisi.fi). A Finnish identity card allows you more access to banking and mobile phone SIM card services.

You need a valid student card or a stamped KELA meal subsidy card to get the student discounts for lunch.

Check how to get a student card from student union HAMKO and see the differences between a stamped KELA meal subsidy card and a student card here: Student cards – HAMKO.

You can get a stamped KELA meal subsidy card from the Student Services points on HAMK campuses. Check Student Services – HAMK for more information on opening hours of the service points.

If you are participating in HAMK´s Orientation Get-Together Day, you degree programme will assist you in getting a stamped KELA meal subsidy cards. For more information on the Day, please check: Orientation Get-Together Day 2024 for new international students – HAMK.