Student’s everyday life
Life as a student is more than just school. On this page, you will find compiled essential information for living and studying in HAMK’s campus cities.
The daily life of HAMK students depends a lot on the campus location. There is a lot happening in Hämeenlinna, while in Evo, Mustiala, and Lepaa, you can enjoy the tranquility of the countryside. Riihimäki, Valkeakoski, and Forssa offer a life in a small town close to larger cities.
On the campus pages, you can find tips on various aspects such as housing, dining, and getting around on campuses. Additionally, information about leisure activities at each campus is available.
Remember HAMK Moves when considering exercise opportunities.
Evo offers a variety of leisure activities for students.
There are diverse sports facilities, including a gym in the main building, where you can play badminton, basketball, or floorball in the sports hall called “Gluubeni.”
The sports field and beach volleyball court host football and beach volleyball games during the fall and spring, whenever there are interested players. Indoor facilities for floorball and badminton are available at Lammi and Tuulos sports halls on the coldest days of the year. Additionally, there is a frisbee golf course north of the Evo campus, which is regularly maintained.
Students actively participate in various competitions and tournaments, achieving notable success. Forest skills are integral to the curriculum, leading to four competitions in the fall and three in winter. Evo students traditionally perform well in the Student Forest Skills Championship. The campus is situated in the middle of the Evo recreational area, providing excellent opportunities for outdoor activities.
Evo’s proximity to the Rautjärvi lakes allows students to row and paddle using the equipment available on campus. Fishing is possible with regular fishing permits, while the Evo recreational fishing area requires a separate permit, featuring stocked rainbow trout and brown trout. Evo boasts numerous kilometers of trails and forest roads for jogging, with skiing tracks maintained in the winter.
The campus has a shooting range available by appointment, equipped with a 50m small-bore rifle range, 75m and 150m rifle ranges, and a shotgun range with one launcher. Evo also has a woodworking workshop open to students who have completed a woodworking course.
Evenings can be spent in the Green House for a more relaxed atmosphere, where students can meet, chat, watch TV, or play billiards, table hockey, ping pong, or board games. The Green House also features a home theater system available for everyone. In the basement, there’s a small band room open to all for playing and singing. A bonfire site can be found on campus.
Along the shore of Lake Ylinen Rautjärvi, Evo offers a lakeside sauna, available to students during specified times in the evenings.
Evo Ski Trails (Facebook page in Finnish)
Evon metsäpojat (in Finnish)
Student Union of Häme University of Applied Sciences – HAMKO
Hiking and Fishing in the Evo Area
Forssa
Forssa offers plenty of opportunities for leisure activities.
There are various options for students in Forssa, especially in terms of leisure activities. For active individuals, outdoor fitness equipment has been installed on the northern and southern shores of Lamminranta, with the southern devices focusing on muscle strength and the northern ones on endurance. In the inner corner of the sports field, a crossfit area has also been set up. Other hobby options, sports facilities, and fitness trails are diverse, and the city has sports clubs catering to various interests.
Vesihelmi Spa invites you to enjoy swimming and gym workouts throughout the year. The pool water is always warm, and the gym is not affected by weather changes. Welcome to enjoy the services of Vesihelmi. In the summer, the clean waters and numerous beaches also beckon.
Cultural life in Forssa offers a variety of options – there is music, theater, and much more. Explore the offerings of Forssa Theater, award-winning museums, conveniently pursue additional studies at Wahren-Opisto, enjoy the diverse library, explore the offerings in tourism, and above all, delight in and refresh yourself in the beautiful nature. Forssa is also bustling with events, especially during the summer, and you can check the event calendar (in Finnish) for details.
Forssa’s diverse offerings await you, welcome to Forssa.
Forssa Student Association Famko ry’s survival guide for new students.
Hämeenlinna
In Hämeenlinna, you can spend time:
- In Ahvenisto, at Flowpark, in the outdoor swimming pool, swimming in the lake, and on the jogging trail.
- In Aulanko, at the spa, climbing at Hugo Park, playing at the arena, glow bowling, in the park forest, at the observation tower, and at the swan pond.
- In Evo, hiking.
- At Verkatehdas, watching movies, attending the theater, concerts, and exhibitions.
- At Kantola Event Park, attending events (including performances by AC/DC, Iron Maiden).
- Shopping at Goodman Shopping Center and Tavastila Shopping Center.
- Enjoying history at Häme Castle and various museums.
Read more about student life in Hämeenlinna on the official website of the city of Hämeenlinna (in Finnish).
In Hämeenlinna, there are around a hundred different sports clubs. For example, ice hockey, volleyball, and floorball are played at the top level in Finland. You can also choose from various other recreational opportunities, including martial arts, arts, music, and even wakeboarding.
At the University Centre, there is a sports and fitness facility available. Additionally, HAMK’s student union HAMKO offers a variety of sports activities. It’s also recommended to check HAMKO’s leisure offerings.
The white-orange stripe, a key element in Hämeenlinna’s identity and brand, traces its origin to the city’s history. It is based on the background of Birger Jarl’s coat of arms. The hashtag #tunnustaraitaa aims to bring together positive aspects of Hämeenlinna and foster a sense of community.
City of Hämeenlinna
VisitHameenlinna.fi
Hämeenlinna Culture and leisure
Verkatehdas
Hämeenlinna map service
Student Union of Häme University of Applied Sciences – HAMKO
In Lepaa’s sports hall, students can play floorball, volleyball, badminton, or basketball during the times reserved by the student union.
HAMK’s Lepaa unit is located in Hattula, offering excellent opportunities for various outdoor activities and sports. The area has a two-kilometer outdoor trail that serves as a lit skiing track during winter. The nearby waters of Lake Vanajavesi provide great opportunities for water sports. There’s also a 9-hole golf course on the premises.
Hattula offers exceptional opportunities for golf enthusiasts, with six golf courses in the municipality or in the immediate vicinity. The Lepaa course is a rare Pay and Play course in Finland, allowing playing without a Greencard when accompanied by an experienced player. Lepaa also has free 9-hole frisbee golf and football golf courses. Frisbee golf enthusiasts can find a smaller course in Petäys, about 5 km away. Additionally, Parola has the region’s only high-quality 18-hole frisbee golf course, and a slightly easier 9-hole course for beginners. Hattula invests in skiing trails, offering around 60 km of routes when weather conditions allow. There’s also a dog skiing trail for dog enthusiasts. Parolan Pallokenttä is the region’s first third-generation artificial turf football field, and there are plans for a rare 9-hole Football Golf course on the same premises, designed by HAMK’s Lepaa students.
Hattula has various indoor sports facilities available for private use, and there’s a diverse selection of sports facilities. The Juteinikeskus in Parola includes a sports hall. Hattula provides exceptional facilities for shooting sports, including outdoor ranges and a 17-position air pistol range. There are opportunities for playing floorball and soccer for both girls and boys, organized by clubs like Parolan Visa and Pekolan Isku. If Hattula’s sports offerings are not enough, there are over 100 sports clubs in Hämeenlinna, less than 10 km away, along with numerous other organizations.
You can also book your own time slots in the Lepaa campus hall. The student union has its own gym for its members.
There is a lit outdoor trail of approximately four kilometers in the Lepaa area, and during winter, a skiing track is made on the trail. The field near Lepaa primary school is frozen during winter, allowing for ice skating or playing ice hockey.
Golf enthusiasts can play at the Lepaa pay-and-play course.
Lepaa has its own student union, Lepaan oppilaskunta ry, which has been enhancing the well-being of Lepaa students for almost a century by providing various services, from subscribing to newspapers to using a private lakeside sauna.
Lepaa Student Union is also involved in organizing the annual LEPAA – Puutarha- ja viheralan ammattinäyttely (LEPAA – Professional Exhibition for the Horticulture and Green Sector) together with the Finnish Horticultural Federation.
Lepaa Student Union (in Finnish)
Student Union of Häme University of Applied Sciences – HAMKO
LEPAA – Professional Exhibition for the Horticulture and Green Sector
Mustiala
The student’s free time in Mustiala is spent actively: there are plenty of sports ranging from aerobics to athletics. The school has a sauna and a gym.
Toukopojat ry is the sports club of the Mustiala campus, which provides its members with the best opportunities to engage in sports according to available resources and maintains and improves the sense of community among Mustiala students.
Riihimäki
Riihimäki is a vibrant student city where services, sports facilities, and good transport connections form a functional whole. Distances within the city are short, and excellent services are available without congestion. About 95 percent of Riihimäki residents live within a three-kilometer radius of the railway station. The main railway and motorway can transport you to Tampere and Helsinki in under an hour.
Riihimäki maintains a diverse sports facility network. The key sports facilities include a swimming hall, Sports Hall, Peltosaari Sports Park, Combat Sports Center, and outdoor areas such as Riutta, Vahteristo hiking trail, and the Garrison’s ski trail.
The sports park is versatile both in summer and winter. For ice sports, there are two ice halls, an athletics field for summer sports, and artificial turf baseball and soccer fields.
Nature enthusiasts can explore guided nature trails in Hatlamminsu, Käräjäkoski, Hirvijärvi, and Vahteristo.
- Explore sports facilities
- Explore nature trails
Riihimäki is a versatile cultural and event city, offering a lot to see and experience in the fields of music, art, theater, museums, and cultural-historical attractions. Five high-quality museums provide interesting experiences.
- Explore Riihimäki’s culture
- Explore the event calendar
On Riihimäki campus, there is an active student association called Riihimäen Insinööriopiskelijat RINO ry, which organizes various events and activities throughout the academic year.
Riihimäen Insinööriopiskelijat RINO ry on Facebook
City of Riihimäki
Valkeakoski
Valkeakoski embodies the Finnish dream of urban living by the water. Situated perfectly on a isthmus between two large bodies of water, a quarter of the city’s surface area is water. Nature begins right at the doorstep, and the city center is characterized by a canal and its impressive suspension bridges.
HAMKO’s local association, HAVO ry, organizes activities throughout the academic year.
Valkeakosken Insinööriopiskelijat VARO ry is an active engineering student association that can be found on Instagram and Facebook.
Valkeakoski is a true paradise for active individuals. Among over 150 registered sports facilities are a swimming hall and sports hall, the Wareena ice hall, and the Korkeakangas ski center. Additionally, there’s a football hall and the Apia sports field. During the summer, beaches at Kirjaslampi and Lotilanjärvi serve the public, and the Apia beach provides services even in winter with ice swimming. The city also features disc golf courses, several gyms, and diverse outdoor trails.
In addition to the versatile and high-quality sports facilities, the city has over 60 active sports associations covering all major sports and forms of exercise.
Valkeakoski hosts several active sports clubs, with the most famous being the football club FC Haka ry. Other clubs include the dance club Rocking Flames ry, Valkeakosken Kiekko-Ahma ry, Valkeakosken Vesiveikot ry, and Valkeakosken Voimistelijat ry.
For those with a cultural appetite, Valkeakoski has much to offer. The Valkeakoski City Theatre and the Finnish Summer Theatre are renowned nationwide. Emil Wikström’s artist home Visavuori, Voipaala Art Center, and the Finnish Football Museum provide sights and experiences for various interests. The cinema offers a diverse program, and personal development is possible through the extensive course offering of Valkeakoski Adult Education Center. A rich event calendar provides stimuli and entertainment throughout the year.