ARRIVAL INSTRUCTIONS for Master’s Degree Students

1 Arrival instructions CONTENTS

Dear student 3

How to accept your place at LUT 4

How to apply for student housing 6

How to apply for a residence permit for 7

Arrival at LUT 9

How to start your studies at LUT 10

Up north 11

LUT University campuses 12

Contact information 13

2 March 25, 2021

DEAR STUDENT,

Welcome to study at LUT University! WE AT LUT share a similar outlook on life and a state of mind. We look at things from unexpected perspectives, we question and we search for solutions. We do things in a new way for a better tomorrow.

CLEAN ENERGY and water, a circular economy, and sustainable business and entrepreneurship are key questions to which LUT seeks solutions through its expertise in technology and business.

OUR SPECIAL strengths include scientific quality, impact, and education that leads to employment. LUT is listed among the world’s top 500 universities in two of the most highly regarded rankings globally, THE and QS.*

AT LUT, no one is left alone. We are inspired by the enthusiasm of others. We believe that together we are stronger that we are on our own. We fight for what is right.

OUR CAMPUSES are located in and , but our state of mind can be achieved anywhere.

We are looking forward to seeing you at LUT!

Be curious. Be one of us.

Accept your place by 30 April 2021 at 15:00 (UTC+3) at studyinfo.fi.

Watch LUT University video here

* Sources: Times Higher Education 2021, QS Ranking 2021

3 HOW TO ACCEPT YOUR PLACE AT LUT

Accepting your place at LUT Accept your place at LUT by 30 April 2021 at 15:00 (UTC+3) at ‘My Studyinfo’ at studyinfo.fi..

Kindly note that if you fail to observe this deadline, you will automatically and without exceptions lose your place to study.

You may only accept one place to study in Finland, and the first one you accept will be your final choice, which you will not be able to change.

After you have accepted your place at LUT, you will need to enroll for the academic year and pay the student union membership fee through the OILI online service by 30 April 2021 at 15:00 (UTC+3). The student union membership fee is EUR 74 for the full academic year or EUR 42 for only the fall or spring semester.

with a status other than A, P, or P-EU, an EU family If you are unable to accept your place, enroll for the member’s residence card in Finland, or an EU Blue academic year or pay the student union fee through Card in Finland. OILI, please send an email to [email protected].

You will not be charged a tuition fee if you are a citizen Tuition fee and tuition fee waivers of the United Kingdom having entered Finland before A tuition fee of EUR 10 000 per academic year is 1 January 2021 and having one of the following: charged from citizens of non-EU/EEA countries or » Right of Residence under the Withdrawal Switzerland, and from non-EU/EEA citizens residing Agreement or proof from the Finnish Immigration in Finland with a Finnish residence permit card Service of having applied to register your EU Right to Residence in Finland under the Withdrawal Agreement. » Residence Permit Card with the Right of Permanent Residence by virtue of the Withdrawal Agreement or proof from the Finnish Immigration Service of having applied for a Residence Permit Card with the Right of Permanent Residence by virtue of the Withdrawal Agreement.

If you have been granted a 100% tuition fee waiver, you will not need to pay the tuition fee, as it will be covered by the waiver.

If you have been granted a 50% tuition fee waiver, you will be required to pay the remaining EUR 5 000

4 for the first academic year by 30 April 2021 online at PLEASE NOTE that if you are required to apply the LUT Shop: lut.fi/tuition. for a residence permit and pay a tuition fee, your application process will be on hold until you have If you have not been granted a tuition fee waiver, you paid the tuition fee. will be required to pay the first instalment of EUR 5 000 by 30 April 2021 and the remaining EUR 5 000 by The sooner you accept your place and pay the 29 May 2021 online at the LUT Shop: lut.fi/tuition. tuition fee, the sooner you can start your visa application process to ensure you receive your If you have not been granted a tuition fee waiver, visa in time for your arrival. you will be able to apply for a merit-based waiver for the second year of your Master’s studies: » If you complete 60 ECTS credits with a GPA of Presenting your original 4.00 during your first year of studies, you will degree certificate at LUT be eligible for a 100% waiver for your second After arriving at LUT, you will be requested to year. present your original degree certificate to LUT » If you complete 60 ECTS credits with a GPA of Student Services. This is the final step of your 3.75 during your first year of studies, you will admissions process. be eligible for a 50% waiver for your second year. The original document will be compared with the copy attached to your application. Should there be If you are unable to pay the tuition fee online at any irregularities, your right to study at LUT may be the LUT Shop, which is the recommended payment revoked. Within the first few weeks of your arrival at option, kindly send e-mail to [email protected] LUT, you will receive an e-mail with instructions on to order a bank transfer invoice for making the where to take the original documents for checking. payment. The deadline for the invoice payment is You will also be requested to present a certificate of the same as when paying at the LUT Shop. health insurance coverage.

5 HOW TO APPLY FOR STUDENT HOUSING PHOTO: TUOMAS JUSSILA/LOAS Housing application to Lappeenranta Students who start their studies in Master’s programmes on the Lappeenranta campus can apply for student accommodation directly from the Lappeenranta Student Housing Foundation (LOAS). Please visit the LOAS website at loas.fi/en for detailed application instructions.

As soon as you have decided to accept your place at LUT, remember to submit your housing application to LOAS without delay, but no later than by 30 April 2021. LOAS processes housing applications in the order in which they are received. If you apply by the deadline and are able to begin your tenancy agreement by 15 August 2021, you will have Programmes in Biorefineries or Water Technology better chances of receiving accommodation at the and do not need long-term accommodation, please beginning of the semester. Hundreds of students find out about short-term accommodation options start their studies in Lappeenranta every autumn e.g. at gosaimaa.com/en. and apply for accommodation during the summer. Housing application to Lahti PLEASE NOTE that you have to accept the first Students who start their studies in programmes apartment offered to you. If you reject the offer or on the Lahti campus (Circular Economy, Industrial it expires, LOAS will not be able to offer you any Design Engineering or Software Product more apartments in the near future. Management and Business) can apply for student accommodation in Lahti. Please submit an application LOAS offers only long-term accommodation. If you directly to Lahden Talot Oy; you can find detailed study in the flexible distance learning Master’s application instructions at lahdentalot.fi.

6 HOW TO APPLY FOR A RESIDENCE PERMIT IN FINLAND

An international degree student must generally a positive decision is made. It takes one to have a valid passport and, in the case of the majority two weeks on average for the card to arrive of non-European citizens, a residence permit in at the Embassy/Consulate and there are no order to enter and study in Finland. possibilities for expediting the delivery.

As it can take several months for your What is the meaning of the LUT certificate residence permit to be issued, we highly of admission when applying for a residence recommend you to start the application process permit? for your residence permit immediately after deciding to accept your place at LUT. A residence permit may be granted if the applicant has been admitted as a full-time student to You are required to apply for a Finnish personal a Finnish university and has a valid passport. identity code when applying for a residence permit. Therefore, you must present the original LUT To apply for the personal identity code, simply ask to certificate of admission in the Finnish Embassy/ be registered in the Finnish Population Information Consulate. The degree which you intend to System on your residence permit application. Having complete and the approximate duration of studies a personal identity code facilitates e.g. payment of are mentioned in the certificate of admisson. salaries, banking and access to health care. Why do you need proof of financing for Please see the attached Notice to degree students your living expenses? from the Finnish Immigration Service (MIGRI). In addition to proving that you have been accepted to study at LUT and, if applicable, that you have paid the Where to apply for a residence permit? tuition fee or received a scholarship from LUT, you Submit your application electronically at must also be able to prove that your funds will cover enterfinland.fi/eServices. You can also your expenses in Finland during your studies. submit your application to a Finnish Embassy/ Consulate in your home country or in a country Before the residence permit can be granted, you must in which you are legally residing. Applying prove that you have EUR 6 720 per year available (a electronically is the fastest way to obtain a bank deposit, an official scholarship, a loan, etc.) for decision concerning your application. transfer to your account for study purposes. A written Due to biometrics, fingerprints are collected guarantee of sponsorship from a private person such from all applicants. All students are, without as family member, friend or employer is not accepted. exception, required to visit a Finnish Embassy/ Kindly contact the nearest Finnish diplomatic mission Consulate in person to give their fingerprints. for more detailed instructions. Your application will not be processed before you have given your biometric details at an As a rule, foreign citizens do not qualify for student Embassy/Consulate. financial aid from the Social Insurance Institution Bring the originals of all your documents with of Finland in the same way as Finnish citizens. On you to the Embassy/Consulate, even if you have average, a student’s living expenses (housing, food, submitted your application electronically. transportation) are estimated to be around EUR 700 The Finnish Immigration Service (MIGRI) will per month. In addition to this, students must cover order a biometric residence permit card if their travel expenses and health insurance policies.

7 Why is student health insurance required? necessary information on the insurance coverage Every student submitting a residence permit and the rates. In any questions about the MARSH application must attach details of comprehensive insurance, please contact MARSH directly. health insurance coverage to their application. Comprehensive insurance coverage means Health care services for members insurance which includes the types of treatment of the student union and costs related to municipal health care services University students are provided with health care and the health insurance system. A residence services by the Finnish Student Health Service permit can be granted only if the student has valid FSHS (YTHS). The FSHS has a full range of medical health insurance coverage from a reliable and services including preventive, medical, mental and solvent company or institution. dental health care. A member of the student union is entitled to use the services of all FSHS health For more information, please see the website of centres in Finland. the Finnish Immigration Service (MIGRI) migri.fi/en. As emergency or hospital treatment is not covered by the FSHS policy, non-EU citizens are LUT has negotiated health insurance required to have individual health insurance packages for LUT students with the MARSH/SIP covering the costs of an acute illness and insurance company. If you are interested in injuries. For the same reason, citizens of them, please see the MARSH/SIP website at European Union should apply for the European sipinsurance.eu and select SIP Integral health Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or buy individual care cover. The website will provide you all health insurance.

8 ARRIVAL AT LUT

Arrival at the Lappeenranta campus On campus, you will have access to the wireless All international students are asked to send their network connection Eduroam, to which you will be arrival information (name, mobile phone number, able to connect your laptop and mobile devices. arrival date and time, and means of transportation) To use the university’s information systems, you to LUT Student Services no later than three weeks will receive a personal user account, an e-mail before the date of arrival. For this purpose, you will address, and user rights to Microsoft Office 365 Pro receive an arrival information form by e-mail during for the duration of your studies. the summer. More information about student account activation: When you arrive in Lappeenranta, you will be uni.lut.fi/en/web/lut.fi-eng/lut-user-account. met by an LUT driver who will give you your LOAS apartment key and drive you to your LOAS apartment Facebook group to meet your tutor – a senior LUT student. You are welcome to join the Facebook group “LUT Newcomers 2021/2022”, where local Please note that to get a tutor, pick-up service students and tutors offer useful information about and your apartment key upon arrival, you living and studying in Lappeenranta and Lahti. need to give LOAS permission to give your LOAS address and key to LUT. LOAS will ask for permission during the accommodation COVID-19 guidelines application process. LUT University observes the COVID-19 guidelines issued by authorities. In the spring semester 2021, The driver and the tutor service will be available people have been allowed on campus only if they between 8:00 in the morning and 24:00 midnight. have been symptom-free, keep a safe distance Your tutor will help you with practical matters and wash their hands frequently. Everyone has during your first days in Lappeenranta and at LUT. been expected to wear a mask. The situation You will receive your tutor’s contact information by next autumn is still unsure – keep an eye on the e-mail in August before your departure for Finland. COVID-19 updates and guidelines on the LUT website. For the driver and the tutor to be able to meet you in Lappeenranta, you will need to submit your arrival details well in advance. If you will be driving your own car to Lappeenranta or will not be living in LOAS housing, no pick-up service will be available, and your tutor will meet you at the

university at a mutually agreed time. The pick-up Rovaniemi service is offered only to students arriving from outside of Finland. Students from within Finland collect their keys from LOAS and arrange their own transportation to their apartment. Oulu

If you have any questions concerning your arrival or the start of studies, please contact LUT Student Services at [email protected]. Vaasa Joensuu

Bring your own laptop Jyväskylä Bring your own laptop computer with you. You will LAHTI Tampere need it during lessons, to write your essays and LAPPEENRANTA other assignments, to watch teaching videos and to TurkTurkuu study independently. Helsinki Helsinki

9 HOW TO START YOUR STUDIES AT LUT

We welcome you to start your studies at the LUT deadline for arrival is 13 September 2021. This also University campuses in Lappeenranta and Lahti! applies if your residence permit has been delayed. Your studies will start with an information-packed If you are not able to meet the final deadline, you orientation to help you prepare for the start of your will lose your right to study at LUT. studies. Study plans and timetables for the academic year 2021-2022 will be published in the Uni portal Orientation days (uni.lut.fi > Studies) during the summer. Lectures Orientation is a compulsory part of the course and tutorials will start on 6 September 2021. “Introduction to M. Sc. Studies at LUT”. Attendance is mandatory on the first day. Students register for To confirm your right to study at LUT and to be courses during the orientation days after their arrival able to attend courses, you will need to pay the at LUT. Student Union membership fee of EUR 74 for the full academic year or EUR 42 for only the fall or spring Orientation on the Lappeenranta campus semester. The orientation for all Master’s programmes will be arranged on 31 August – 3 September 2021. In addition, as a university student, you will have Due to course registrations and other practical access to the Finnish Student Health Service (YTHS). arrangements, we strongly advise new students You will need to pay a health care fee of EUR 35.80 to arrive in Lappeenranta before the orientation, for either the autumn or spring semester to the preferably on 26−30 August 2021. Social Insurance Institution of Finland, KELA. Note that you will not be sent a separate invoice; instead, Orientation on the Lahti campus make the payment according to separate payment The orientation for the Master’s Programmes in instructions. Read more about the health care fee. Circular Economy, Industrial Design Engineering and Software Product Management and Business To access student discounts on trains, buses, airline will be arranged on 24–26 August 2021, 30 August tickets, campus cafeterias, etc., you will need to apply 2021 and 2–3 September 2021. for a student card at frank.fi/en. You will be able to receive a student card only after your arrival at LUT and after paying the student union membership fee. Start of studies To start your studies at LUT University, attendance Note, that in student information system Sisu, you is mandatory on the first day of the orientation. need to allow the disclosure of information to Frank by Late arrivals is accepted only if you have not been selecting Transferring personal- and contact information granted a residence permit on time. The ultimate to the jolla customer database for Student card.

HOW TO GET TO LAPPEENRANTA AND LAHTI The city of Lappeenranta is located in , By bus some 220 km northeast of Finland’s capital, Express coaches from Helsinki: expressbus.fi/en Helsinki. Lahti is about 100 km from Helsinki. Low-cost bus connections: onnibus.com/home

By train By car Direct Express or Intercity trains from Helsinki Take motorway number 4 from Helsinki to Lahti to Lahti take one hour, and to Lappeenranta (100 km) and highway number 12 from Lahti via two hours. vr.fi/en Kouvola to Lappeenranta.

10 UP NORTH!

Finland is a land of countless lakes, forests, fells biomass industry (UPM, Stora Enso, and Metso), and archipelagos – it is one the most extensive transportation services (KONE) and design (Iittala and unspoiled natural environments in Europe. and Marimekko). Finland’s air, forests, lakes and drinking water are exceptionally clean by global standards. More » Finland is the safest place in the world. than 70% of Finland’s land area is forest, which » Finland ranks as the top OECD country in makes Finland one of the most forested countries education. in the world. The air quality in Finland is excellent » Finland is the most advanced country in because Finland is situated far from large sources the EU in the utilisation of digitalisation. of emissions and the country has successfully cut » Finland’s share of renewable energy in the back on its own emissions. Finland has four very country’s total energy consumption is distinct seasons – temperatures may vary between the second largest in the EU. -35°C and +35°C. » Finland is the fourth most gender equal country in the world. Finland is a country of innovation and technology » Finland is the third most innovative and has continuously topped related global indices. country in the world. Finnish companies highly value innovation designed » Finland is the happiest country in the world. to solve problems in a pragmatic and surprising way. » Finland has the cleanest air in the world. In fact, Finland is the home of many world-leading » Finland is the water richest country companies in areas such as forest products and the in the world.

COST OF LIVING IN FINLAND Finland is known for its high standard of living, student card that entitles you to student discounts which means prices are not the lowest in the world. on meals and other services (e.g. transport, However, the cost of living in Finland is about the museums, cultural events and recreational same as in other EU countries. The expenses activities). vary depending on the accommodation you decide to choose and your personal spending habits, A few approximate examples of prices: including food, health care, social life, and travel. » Student lunch at the university EUR 1.80–4.60 » Single bus ticket EUR 1.60 In Lappeenranta and Lahti, living expenses » Monthly bus pass EUR 42 including accommodation in a student apartment » Coffee at a café EUR 3 may amount to roughly EUR 700/month. As a » Beer at a bar EUR 5–9 degree student in Finland, you will be issued a » Movie ticket EUR 15

FINLAND FACTS CURRENCY: Euro RELIGIONS: Evangelical Lutheran 78%, INTERNATIONAL STATUS: Independent since Orthodox Christian 1%, no religious affiliation 1917, member of the European Union since 19%, other religious communities 2% 1995, militarily non-aligned SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary AREA: 338 000 km² (130 500 square miles) democracy, presidential elections every six LOCATION: Northern Europe; shares borders years, parliament (200 members) elected with Sweden, Norway and Russia every four years CAPITAL: Helsinki (population 596 000) POPULATION: 5.4 million OFFICIAL LANGUAGES: Finnish 90.4%, Swedish 5.4%

11 LUT UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES

LAPPEENRANTA Lappeenranta, a city of 72 000 residents located in Watch LUT University Lahti campus video South-east Finland, combines a cosy small town atmosphere with full-scale urban comforts. It is located by Lake Saimaa, the fourth largest lake in Europe.

LUT University’s green and modern campus in the district of Skinnarila offers a compact combination of all of the services students need. Most student apartments are located within walking distance, and the university offers everything from laboratories to LAHTI library services and from restaurants to health care – Lahti is a city of approximately 120 000 residents. literally under one roof. The campus is roughly seven It is known for its sports venues and is appreciated kilometres from the city centre, and buses run every around the world for its design expertise and high- 15 minutes. level cultural events.

Skinnarila has excellent sports and recreation The three core issues of the city’s competitiveness venues. The campus houses several gyms, and strategy are the circular economy, a combination group fitness classes are available almost daily. of design and digitalisation, and an active lifestyle Moreover, Lake Saimaa and its surroundings provide and sports. ample opportunities for outdoor activities. In the Lahti region, you can experience both vibrant There are five lunch restaurants that offer student urban life and nature’s tranquility. It offers the discounts on the campus. In addition, there is a café best of both worlds: the attractiveness, intimate and convenience store. cosiness and originality of a small town, yet the services, efficiency and logistics of a major city. The City of Lappeenranta shares our vision on sustainability. The city is continuously developing LUT University’s Lahti campus is located in the renewable energy and green technology solutions district of Niemi, three kilometres from the Lahti for urban living. Lappeenranta is a winner of the city centre. The new campus is a modern learning European Green Leaf award for 2021. environment built in an old factory. Mixing the old and the new provides a unique and inspiring setting Watch LUT University Lappeenranta campus video for learning and work. The university campus is located 500 metres from the Niemi Harbour by Lake Vesijärvi.

Lahti is a pioneer of circular economy: the city does not only reduce the amount of waste, it also uses the waste that is generated as efficiently as possible. Lahti is a winner of European Green Capital award for 2021.

12 LUT UNIVERSITY CAMPUSES: Lappeenranta campus Yliopistonkatu 34 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland

Lahti campus Mukkulankatu 19 15210 Lahti, Finland lut.fi

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