Kajaani University of Applied Sciences Guide for International Students Ivalo 625 km

Arctic Circle

Oulu 181 km KAJAANI FINLAND Helsinki 551 km

Congratulations on Your Study Place! You made a good choice when deciding to head to Finland to study – either for a semester or two or to complete a full degree. We are pleased to welcome you at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (KAMK)! This guide has been designed to help you to prepare for your studies at KAMK and we hope you find it useful. We are looking forward to meeting you at KAMK! 2 Studying in a Finnish University of Applied Sciences

The Finnish higher education system consists of two complementary work-related education in response to labour market needs. Thus sectors: universities of applied sciences and universities. Higher studies at a UAS in Finland offer a practical alternative to a traditional education institutions in Finland are municipal or private institutions, university education. Degree studies provide students with both a which are authorised by the government. Universities, which are higher education qualification and practical professional skills. The academic or artistic institutions, focus on research and education Ministry of Education and Culture closely oversees the quality of KAJAANI based on research whereas universities of applied sciences offer teaching in higher education institutions in Finland.

Helsinki 551 km Kajaani University of Applied Sciences

Facts •Six Master level degree programmes (part-time) in Finnish and one • 2 700 students, approx. 200 members of staff in English • Schools: • Passed the quality audit by Finnish Education Evaluation Centre in - School of Business 2021 - School of Information Systems •Sports facilities on campus available for all students - School of Engineering • All services in one campus area; study facilities, sports facilities, - School of Health restaurant and cafés, Library - School of Tourism and Sports • For years, KAMK has been among the top five UAS in Finland to offer high quality student guidance and counselling. In 2011, • A total of nine Bachelor level degree programmes in Finnish and KAMK was ranked the best UAS in Finland based on several four in English indicators.

3 Preparing for Your Stay in Finland

Residence Permit Eu-citizens may stay in Finland for a maximum of three months Students must apply for their first residence permit for study without registering their right of residence if they have a valid identity purposes from the Finnish embassy in their home country. The Finnish card or passport. EU citizens who reside in Finland for more than Immigration Service (www.migri.fi) decides whether the permit will be three months have to register their right of residence after arrival at granted or not. The following requirements must be fulfilled for the Kajaani. The registration is processed and regulated by the Finnish permit to be issued: Immigration Service (www.migri.fi). • Acceptance letter from a Finnish educational institution. To register a right of residence, you will need the following • Sufficient funds: students must prove that they have 560 euros per attachments to your application: month as a bank deposit or as a scholarship/grant. • Your national proof of identity of passport • Health insurance: The insurance must cover accident and illness • A study certificate, proof that you are enrolled at an educational related medical expenses both individually up to at least 100,00 €. institution in Finland The insurance must cover the entire time spent in Finland. • Proof of sufficient funds and sufficient health insurance coverage (European Health Insurance Card). Students can carry out a limited amount of paid work with a student’s residence permit. On average students can work part-time for 25 Registration of the right of residence requires you to have sufficient hours/week. There are no restrictions on full-time paid work carried income to support yourself. There are no fixed sums defined for out during vacations. satisfying this requirement; the circumstances of each applicant will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Insurance Students are insured by the UAS accident insurance during school An EU citizen or comparable person can work while studying in hours. Please note that the insurance is not valid on study trips Finland and does not need to aquire a special work permit to do so. even if they are arranged by KAMK. You should also have your own insurance that covers travelling and leisure time, treatment Non-EU-citizens need a residence permit if their studies last longer of sudden illnesses as well as possible accidents and accidental than 90 days. If the studies take less than 90 days, you should apply death. For trainees insurance should also cover physical work. for a visa (unless you come from a visa-free country). Medical care in Finland is quite expensive therefore your own private insurance is necessary.

4 Health Insurance (non-EU-students) For non-EU-students health insurance is a requirement for obtaining a residence permit for studies. Foreign students must A few words in Finnishkyllä have a health insurance policy that covers the costs of medical ei care. The health insurance must be in force upon entry into yes ...... kiitos Finland. The insurance policy must be issued by a reliable and no ...... Hyvää huomenta financially sound company or institution...... thank you ...... Hyvää iltaa Good morning ...... Hyvää yötä European Health Insurance Card Good evening Näkemiin ...... Students coming from EU-countries other than the Nordic Good night Mitä kuuluu? countries are entitled to use public health care services in acute ...... Goodbye ...... hei, moi, terve cases of illness or accidents requiring medical attendance by How are you? anteeksi ...... using the European Health Insurance Card. Students who come hello, hi, ...... nimeni on from the Nordic countries are required to prove their right to sorry, excuse me en ymmärrä ...... receive medical care by showing their passport, medical insurance my name is ...... kuinka paljon? card or identification card. I don´t understand Voisitteko auttaa minua? ...... how much? ...... Missä on? Medication Could you help me?...... yksi, kaksi, kolme, neljä If you need continuous medication, you must bring your medication Where is/are? ...... viisi, kuusi, seitsemän, with you or make sure before your arrival that you are able to one, two, three, four ...... obtain the same medication in Finland. Please note that it is strictly five, six, seven, eight yhdeksän, kymmenen forbidden to receive medication by post from outside EEA- kahdeksan countries...... nine, ten

If you want to practice some Finnish before coming to Finland, please visit the following website: www.uuno.tamk.fi

5 6 Accommodation sharing kitchen and bathroom. The rent is approximately 330 euros/ All students studying in Kajaani can apply to Kiinteistö Oy Kajaanin month including water, electricity and internet. There is a separate fee Pietari for student accommodation. The company offers shared for the use of laundry room and sauna. accommodation and also family apartments. Some of the accommodation is located on campus and other housing is located The rooms are furnished but there are no blankets, pillows, 1–3 km from campus. An internet connection is available for all bed linen or towels available. The availability of kitchenware student apartments at a separate price. Further information on varies depending on what’s been left behind by the previous available accommodation can be found at www.kajaaninpietari.fi. exchange students. A blanket & pillow set can be bought from the Student Union KAMO on arrival. Please note that you must make Please note! arrangements for this in advance! • Students coming to study for a full degree must apply for accommodation themselves. Please note! • For exchange students KAMK reserves a certain amount of In Finland, tenants are responsible for keeping the apartment rooms on a yearly basis. clean. Each tenant is responsible for his or her own room, but the common areas must be kept clean by all the tenants of the After applying for the accommodation / being accepted for apartment. exchange, the students will receive an accommodation offer by email. According to the instructions in the email, students must pay for the deposit for their room by the given deadline. If the deposit is not paid on time, the room reservation will be cancelled.

The easiest option for foreign students is to choose the furnished rooms in a shared student residence located on campus. These student apartments offer accommodation for five (5) students in one apartment, each of them having their own room with fridge and

7 Arrival in Kajaani Most students fly to Helsinki when coming to Finland. The easiest way to travel to Kajaani from Helsinki is to travel by train (approx.7 hours) but you can also travel by bus (8-10 hours) or by flying (approx.1 hour). Flights: af-Avia Train timetables: www.vr.fi Bus timetables: www.matkahuolto.fi www.onnibus.com

If you have informed the Student Union of your exact arrival date and time, a taxi will be arranged to pick you up from the airport/railway station/ bus station to take you to the address of your accommodation. Please be prepared to pay for the taxi yourself, it costs approx. 15 - 30 euros per person, depending on the pick up place and the waiting time. Our tutoring students will meet you by the accommodation to give you your keys and some information material.

8 Studying at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences

Academic Calendar Credit System The academic year in Finland starts at the end of August and ends The degrees and courses are measured in credits (cr). A student’s in late May. It consists of two semesters, the autumn and spring annual workload of 1,600 hours is worth 60 credits (cr). One credit semester. There are four weeks of independent study when there is means approximately 27 hours of a student’s work, half of which no teaching (mid-October, Christmas and early March). consists of lessons and the other half of independent work. Most courses are worth 3 – 5 credits, meaning 81 – 135 hours of student Degree Programmes and Group Codes work. KAMK offers the following degrees leading to a Bachelor’s degree delivered in English: Study Programmes • Bachelor’s Degree in International Business Degrees vary in duration between 210 and 240 credits depending (Bachelor of Business Administration) on the field of study and take 3.5 - 4 years to complete. In general, • Bachelor’s Degree in Esports Business (Bachelor of Business a student completing an English taught Bachelor’s degree for 7 Administration), first intake in 2018 semesters will study for 3.5 years The extent of studies is 210 credits • Bachelor’s Degree in Sports and Leisure Management and the studies consist of (Bachelor of Sports Studies, Sports Instructor) • Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism (Bachelor of Hospitality Management) • Basic Studies • Professional Studies Students in these degree programmes are divided into groups based • Free-choice Studies on their starting year. Each group has its own group code. • Practical Training LBI = Bachelor’s Degree in International Business • Thesis ASL = Bachelor’s Degree in Sports and Leisure Management ATA = Bachelor’s Degree in Tourism Tuition fee LBE = Bachelor’s Degree in Esports Business The tuition fee for non-EU-citizens taking the full degree is 6000 euros / academic year. Group codes are formed with the code and the starting year, for example LBI18S for International Business students who started their studies in 2018. The group code for exchange students has an X in it (such as LBX18).

9 Study Facilities and Services

KAMK offers excellent acilities or students to succeed in their studies. Student Restaurants and Cafés All of the following services are available for students free of charge, There is a student restaurant and three cafés on campus. A warm lunch unless otherwise mentioned. in the student restaurant costs at present approx. 3.10 Euro (incl. salad, bread, water/juice/milk and a warm meal). International Study Office The International Study Office attends to practical matters related to Sports Hall and Gym studies but also provides advice on how to plan and complete your KAMK Sports offers sports services accessible for all skill levels for studies. The International Study Office also helps oreign students students on campus. There are two gyms and a sports hall on campus with issues concerning cooperation with the localt au horities such as and in addition to that, KAMK Sports offers instructed group fitness renewing residence permits, obtaining health care, obtaining a social lessons on different themes. security number and heom municipality. The sports services are available with the KAMK Sports sticker. Computers and Email A semester sticker worth 30 euros per semester provides you with There are a number of computers with an internet connection unlimited access to all sports activities on campus. available for students on the KAMK campus. The campus library also has computers for student use. Tutoring Students and Student Union KAMO The Student Union KAMO plays an active role in arranging get- Each attending student will be issued with a personal user id (network togethers, parties and other events for students with the tutoring username) enabling logging on to information systemsd a n computers students. They also organise tutoring activities in every School. within the campus area. All students are also provided with a personal Tutoring students help new students to get started with their studies email address. Email is the foremost means of communication at and everyday life in Kajaani. KAMK. It iso comm nly used for communication between teachers, staff and students. Student Health Care Starting in 2021, students who study for a Bachelor's or Master's Library Degree in a University of Applied Sciences will be entitled to use KAMK library is located on campus and it provides students with a services of the Finnish Health Service (FHS). All degree students in wide selection of course books, newspapers and journals and an higher education will be entitled to use FSHS services, as long as they extensive amount of online-databases. have registered as an attending student and paid the healthcare fee to KELA.

10 Friend Family Programme The aim of the Friend Family Programme is to offer international students the chance to get to know Finnish culture and language better by pairing students with local families. Participating the Friend Family Programme not only allows students to experience everyday Finnish life, but also makes it easier to adapt to their new surroundings by connecting with a local family.

Student Discounts By becoming a member of the Student Union KAMO, students are entitled to hold the official student card. The student card entitles the holder to receive considerable discounts such as a discount when travelling by train or bus in Finland. Please note that the student card and the discount are only available after starting the studies!

11 How to Study

Study Administration System Teaching Arrangements and Exams KAMK uses a study administration system that is used for entering The obligation to attend lectures depends on the requirements and storing the student’s personal details and academic records. of each course. For example courses such as language studies Students use the system for updating their contact information, and courses with a lot of group work normally require students to compulsory enrolments, checking and printing their academic participate in lessons and classwork. In addition to contact teaching, records, applying for student exchange and planning their studies. there is always independent work included in each course. There are also courses that are completed independently. In this case, Right to Study and Enrolment (degree students) courses are completed by sitting exams, producing written work The normal period of study for the English-taught degrees is 3.5 years (assignment/s) and/or online studies. (210 credits). Full-time students must complete their chosen degree programmes at the latest within one year of the time stipulated in the The assignments and course work must be returned within the time UAS regulations governing degree programmes (3.5 years + 1 year). specified by the lecturer. A lower grade may be given if the assignment is returned late. Courses are assessed according to a scale of 5 – 0: Students must register as attending or non-attending each semester. excellent (5), good (4-3), satisfactory (2-1) and fail (0). Courses can also Attending means that the student intends to complete the studies be assessed on a Pass/Fail basis without numerical grading. normally. Absence (non-attending) means that the student will not pursue his/her studies and during the absence, he/she is not entitled In case a student fails a course exam, there are two retakes/exam. to any student benefits nor is he/she entitled to a student’s residence There are general exam dates set in each period for this purpose. The permit. The registration period takes place at the beginning of lecturer announces the dates for the retake at the beginning of each September and the beginning of January yearly. course. Students must register for the retake using the appropriate procedure.

Cheating during exams, using and directly copying information from the internet, audio-visual, or written material without permission or plagiarism is a serious offence and is not acceptable under any circumstances. Your exam or work will be rejected if plagiarism or cheating occurs.

12 Finland Welcomes You!

Finland is situated in northern Europe and is the seventh largest that when Finns get together for a chat, coffee is part of the scene. country in Europe. It is the second northernmost country in the world But note that coffee in Finland is usually not as strong as in Central and after Iceland and a member of the European Union. A quarter of its Southern Europe. Together with coffee, the custom is to have a piece total area lies north of the Arctic Circle. Finland has frontiers with of pulla, which is something between bread and cake, slightly sweet, Sweden, Norway and Russia and a long coastline. There are almost traditionally baked at home. 200,000 lakes in Finland. Two thirds of the country is covered by forest called our ”green gold”. The population of Finland is approximately When Meeting People 5.5 million. The vast majority of Finns live in the larger cities. Since the Hand shaking is common when being introduced in business countryside is so sparsely populated the sense of space is amazing, meetings, on arrival and departure. Both at work and at school the and even small towns are built over a wide area. Finland is a bilingual atmosphere is informal and first names are used, even between country, both Finnish and Swedish being the official languages. teachers and students.

Exotic Climate Sauna is an Essential Part of Finnish Culture The four seasons of Kainuu present a set of striking contrasts. There are five million inhabitants and one and a half million saunas The highest daytime temperature in Kajaani during the summer in Finland. For Finnish people the sauna is a place to relax with occasionally rises over 24 degrees centigrade. During the winter friends and family. Please note that it is not customary for men and months, temperatures of minus 20-30 degrees centigrade are not women to go to sauna together, unless they are members of the same uncommon. Due to low humidity, however, Finland’s climate is actually family or particularly close friends. Also public saunas (fitness centres, not as cold as temperature readings might seem to indicate. swimming halls) are separated by gender.

In the Kainuu area, the first snow settles in late October or in Finnish Cuisine November, and the landscape will usually be covered with snow in Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fenno- December. The first signs of spring can be seen in March, and during scandinavian and Western Russian elements; table manners are April the snow gradually starts melting away. European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and root vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices The Finnish Way of Life are not common. The typical breakfast is oatmeal or bread. Lunch is As a nation Finns love quizzes and competitions of all kinds and it usually a full warm meal, in a work or school canteen, lunch time is may be this characteristic that underlies our craze for sports. We normally from 11.00 until 13.00. Dinner is eaten at around 16.00 to 18.00 are also crazy about coffee. You will rapidly get used to the fact at home.

13 Telephone Services Other Matters Finland is a country of mobile phones and therefore student In Finland strong alcohol such as wine and spirits can only be residences do not have a pay phone. If you have a mobile phone with bought in a special shop called ALKO. Low-alcohol content drinks you, you can buy a prepaid connection locally and the connection such as beer and cider are sold in stores, supermarkets, gas stations starts working immediately after purchase. and kiosks. The legal drinking age is 18 for milder drinks, while to buy hard liquor from Alko you need to be 20. Electricity The voltage is 230 AC (50 cycles). Plugs are two-pin continental size. Smoking is forbidden indoors. Most trains have special rooms for those who wish to smoke. In some pubs and restaurants there are Money Matters also separate rooms for smokers and non-smokers. When visiting The Finnish monetary unit is euro (€). One euro is divided into 100 private homes and also in student accommodation, the custom is to cents. step outside for a cigarette.

All major credit cards are accepted and you can use your card to In Finland, all drug dealing is strictly forbidden. The use or possession withdraw cash from cash-points anywhere in the country. Cheques of drugs is against the law, and carries heavy penalties. The acquisition are not in general use. and receipt of drugs and medication by post from beyond the EEA is strictly prohibited.

Useful links: www.visitfinland.com http://thisisfinland.fi 14 Kajaani - the Provincial Capital of the Kainuu Region

Kajaani is located in the province of Oulu, 600 km from the capital city How Much Does it Cost? Helsinki. Kajaani is home to 38,000 people. Student life in Kajaani is Students should pay for food, lodgings, social life etc. themselves. easy living: distances are short and services are of a high standard. The average living costs of a single student is about 500 - 600 The town has all the necessary services, yet is small enough to feel euros/month. Living expenses are relatively high in Finland, though safe. Four distinct seasons provide a variety of settings ideal for a wide comparable to the EU average. It is not easy to find a part-time job in range of interesting experiences. Kajaani, but some opportunities exist – please note that for most jobs language skills in Finnish are required. Leisure Activities Kajaani offers excellent free-time fitness activities, both indoors and Be prepared for more expenses at the beginning of your stay. Also out. There are good sports facilities on campus available for all the consider budgeting some money for travelling in Finland and abroad students. Vimpelinvaara is a popular outdoor leisure and sports to St. Petersburg, Stockholm and Tallinn. area which is conveniently situated right next to the campus area of KAMK. Most of the recreation and leisure facilities are all within Other Costs walking or cycling distance from the campus, as is the town centre. Non-EU citizens are subject to tuition fees. In addition to tuition fees, If you feel brave, you can try a popular Finnish winter activity: take a the students must pay for their study books and materials and their dip in the river through an ice-hole in Onnela, near the city centre! own living costs.

One of the most versatile tourist destinations in Finland, Vuokatti, Scholarships is located about 30 km from Kajaani. The Vuokatti area is a popular Normally international students do not receive scholarships from international centre for holiday makers and top sports men and Finland. It is best to look and apply for possible scholarships in your women alike. In Vuokatti you can even ski in a tunnel during the home country before leaving for Finland. The tuition fee paying summer, or try the ski centre facilities and slopes in winter. In Vuokatti, students may apply for a scholarship from KAMK from their second you will also find the Katinkulta spa and leisure-centre offering a wide study year onwards. range of recreational and sports facilities.

Shopping Smaller shops in the town centre close normally earlier and are closed on Sundays. The grocery shops and bigger markets are open from 8 am up to 9 pm throughout the week.

15 KAMK • University of Applied Sciences

Welcome to Kajaani and Kajaani University of Applied Sciences!

Kajaani University of Applied Sciences International Office P.O. Box 52 871O1 KAJAANI, FINLAND E-mail: [email protected]

www.kamk.fi

This publication has been partly funded by the European Commission. The Commission accepts no responsibility for the contents of the publication.