Contents
Orientation
Registration procedures at TUT
IT Services
TOAS: Signing the tenancy agreement and arranging an Internet connection to your flat
Having lunch at the TUT campus
Opening a bank account
Local buses
Student tutors and tutor groups
Finding your way around campus
The International Office organizes orientation for new students at the beginning of both semesters. During the orientation you will register as a student and get a lot of important information concerning studies at TUT and student life in Tampere. Most importantly, you will have the chance to get to know your tutor group and your fellow students! We invite you to take full advantage of the sessions and activities of the orientation week.
Taking part in the orientation is strongly recommended for all new students because starting your studies without attending orientation requires a lot of initiative on your part and can be challenging.
During the orientation week:
You also need to collect your student card from the Student Union Office. If your student card is not available during the first weeks, you need to show the payment receipt of the Student Union membership fee at the campus restaurants to confirm that you are eligible for a student discount. Please note that you need to have the university stamp on the receipt to get the discount.
If you are an exchange student you can find more information on getting started with your studies in the Study Guide for Exchange Students. If you are a degree student, please see the Study Guide for Degree Students.
A day (or two) after registration your username and password will be available at the IT Helpdesk in room PC201D (Main Building, 2nd floor). The user account contains a personal email address, file space quota for personal files and web pages and provides access to the computers and systems around the University, including the personalised student portal (POP), which is a gateway to essential tools and information on studies and student life. You need to present official ID (passport) when collecting your username and password.
TOAS: Signing the tenancy agreement and arranging an Internet connection to your flat
Student accommodation in the Tampere region is mainly administrated by Tampere Student Housing Foundation (TOAS). All students who want to a flat from TOAS need to apply for accommodation from TOAS well in advance before the start of their studies.
If you have not signed the tenancy agreement when you arrive in Tampere, you need to visit the TOAS Housing Office in person to sign the agreement.
Student Housing Office
Iidesaukio 1
33100 Tampere
Tel: +358 (0)3 249 5560
Fax: +358 (0)3 249 5227
http://www.toas.fi
Email: toasoffice@toas.fi
How to arrange an Internet connection to your TOAS flat?
All TOAS student flats have an Internet connection available. Please contact TOAS for more information.
Having lunch at the TUT campus
There are three student restaurants (Edison, Newton and Zip) and four student cafeterias (Café Motivaattori, Café Voltti, Café Rom and Café Joule) on the TUT campus. You can have coffee and lunch at a reduced price by showing your student card at these restaurants.
Your student card may not be available during your first couple of days here, so before you get your student card you can prove that you are entitled to a student discount at the campus restaurants by showing the payment receipt of the Student Union membership fee. Please note that you need to have the university stamp on the receipt to get the discount.
There are several banks to choose from in Tampere. For example, the banks Nordea, Sampo and Osuuspankki have several branches in different parts of town.
Banks are usually open Monday through Friday 10:00-16:30 and closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Exchange students are advised to take online banking services into use at their home country before coming to Finland. However, if the duration of your stay exceeds one year or you are a degree student, you may want to open a bank account. Opening a bank account is free of charge. You need to present your passport, acceptance letter and state your address in Finland when opening a bank account.
When you open a bank account, you will receive a bank card that you can use to check your balance, withdraw money from cash machines (OTTO, http://www.otto.fi > In English) and pay your bills. Most of the accounts also include an online banking service, so you can pay bills online and transfer money from account to another through the Internet. Banks in Finland do not vary very much, but each bank has many types of accounts available with different service charges and benefits. Please remember to close your bank account before leaving Finland!
You can pay for a single ticket in cash when boarding the bus, but it is cheaper to obtain a Travel Card from Tampere Public Transport Office (EUR 5 card fee).
Students under 25 years of age can obtain a personal Young Person's Travel Card. If you are a degree student over 25 and have a Finnish social security number you can obtain a personal travel card with a student discount. Unfortunately exchange students over 25 years of age need to pay for the adult ticket. You can load money onto your travel card at R-Kiosks and the campus bookstore.
The city buses display the route number and destination at the front of each bus. When you are waiting for a bus, you need to signal the driver to stop by waving your hand. On the Tampere Public Transport website you can find a journey planner that helps you find the best possible public transport connection.
Tampere Public Transport (Tampereen Joukkoliikenne)
Frenckellinaukio 2 B, FI-33100 Tampere, FINLAND
Open Mon-Fri 8:30 – 17:30
More information on prices, tickets and timetables
Student tutors are a group of active and helpful degree students at TUT. They are prepared to help you and want to get to know you in their free time. Your tutors will introduce you to studying at TUT as well as Finnish culture and student life. All international students are divided into tutor groups led by two or three tutors. Your tutors will contact you by email before you arrive.
After you arrive your student tutors will show you around TUT and its surroundings. Being active in your tutor group helps you get to know the University, your tutors, Finnish culture and student life and also your fellow international students. Tutors organise meetings throughout the academic year, even though their help may be the most important to you in the beginning.
If you have not been assigned a tutor during the orientation (at the latest), please contact the International Office, interoff(at)tut.fi
International Student's Passport
The International Student’s Passport is a voluntary free time activity organized by the Student Union. Students collect points to the passport by attending different kinds of happenings. The passport includes both formal and informal events as well as cultural aspects. By collecting enough points, you will be eligible to be dipped into the Tammerkoski rapids according to an old student tradition during May Day celebrations on 1 May. Tutors will deliver the passports during the orientation week or, if necessary, you can collect your passport from the International Office.
The numbers of rooms and auditoriums on campus are given in the form:
1. Letter of the building
T = Tietotalo building
S = Sähkötalo building
R = Rakennustalo building
P = Päätalo building
K = Konetalo building
F = Festia building
2. Letter of the corridor (not always)
3. Number of the floor
4. Number of the room
For example
TB103:
T= Tietotalo building, B= corridor B, 1= first floor, 3= room three.
K2307:
K= Konetalo building, 2= second floor, 3= corridor number three, 7= room seven.
Please note that in Finland the first floor means the ground floor.
Campus map