Hi, new student! A warm welcome to Aalto University – and of course to AYY, the Aalto University Student Union.

We have collected an information package on this page to help you get started with your student life. Keep in mind that you can always turn to AYY’s staff if you have any questions related to student life. You can find our contact information here.

See you in the autumn!

 

Student Union housing and services

The Aalto University Student Union owns apartments that are rented to Aalto University students.

First-year students and students moving from outside the Helsinki metropolitan area are given priority when distributing apartments. You can apply for an apartment as soon as you have received confirmation of being accepted to Aalto University.

When applying for an AYY shared apartment, first year students receive a so-called “freshman point” that gives them priority over students who have studied at Aalto for longer. To receive the point, you must apply for an apartment before the end of July or end of December, depending on when you are starting your studies.

Applying for an AYY apartment

• Check out the housing section on AYY’s website.
• Read at least the instructions on how to apply carefully.
• Apply for an AYY apartment through the Domo system.

Unfortunately, AYY cannot provide student apartments for all Aalto University students, so you should also look for a home through other channels. Check these out, for example:

• Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region (HOAS)
• Student nations of the University of Helsinki
• Private service providers, such as Vuokraovi.com and Oikotie

Other services

In addition to apartments, AYY does advocacy work for its members and offers them various other services. For example, AYY members can rent sauna and meeting facilities and a van at very affordable prices.

You can find out more about AYY’s member benefits and services here.

The Otaniemi service office at Otakaari 11 helps you in housing matters and other issues related to the Student Union’s services. You can find the office’s opening hours here.

Associations and volunteering

There are more than 200 associations operating within AYY’s sphere of influence, from subject associations and guilds to sports clubs and hobby associations. If you want to continue your old hobby or start a new one, you can do it in the Aalto community!

Find out more about associations operating within AYY here.

You can also take part in the Student Union’s activities by working as a volunteer. AYY’s volunteers organize numerous events every year and work with international and corporate cooperation matters, among other things. Volunteers are the heart of AYY – by volunteering, you can have an impact on what the Student Union does and what it looks like.

Most of AYY’s volunteer recruiting takes place at the end of the year, in November–December, but the search for project-based tasks may be open also at other times. Follow AYY’s communications for example via Facebook.

 

Student financial aid and the student card

Student financial aid

Finnish student financial aid consists of the study grant, student loan and meal subsidy. You can also apply for general housing allowance separately.

Please note that unfortunately, international students are usually not eligible for student financial aid – see following links for details.

• Who is eligible for student financial aid: http://www.kela.fi/web/en/financial-aid-for-students-eligibility
• How to apply for student financial aid: http://www.kela.fi/web/en/financial-aid-for-students-how-to-apply
• Who is eligible for general housing allowance: http://www.kela.fi/web/en/who-can-get-general-housing-allowance
• How to apply for general housing allowance: http://www.kela.fi/web/en/how-to-apply-for-the-general-housing-allowance

Frank

You can order your student card through the Frank service. Frank offers both a digital and a traditional, plastic student card. For 15€, you can add the international ISIC license to both cards, entitling you to over 150,000 benefits in more than 130 countries.

The digital student card Frank App is an official student identifier tag. You should download and activate it immediately after paying your AYY membership fee. It opens up hundreds of discounts, including student restaurants and cheaper commuter tickets from VR and HSL.

A plastic student card with Debit MasterCard services offered by Danske Bank is free to all university students. Without the payment service, the card costs 15.10€ + delivery fees.

More information on different card options and delivery can be found on the Frank website.

Please note that after receiving your plastic student card, you will need to get a year tag for it. You can get one from AYY’s service office in Otaniemi, for example.

 

Health and well-being

FSHS

Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) looks after the health of university students.

After paying the Student Union membership fee, you can receive help from FSHS in the areas of general, oral and mental health when you need it. Appointments are made by phone, and FSHS has a callback service. Contacting FSHS and general health appointments are always free of charge.

In order to use the services as efficiently as possible, you should create a user account for FSHS’s electronic Self service. You can use the service to handle your appointments and other health-related matters electronically.

You can use the services of any FSHS unit anywhere in Finland. When FSHS is closed or you are unable to book an appointment, you can use your local health center’s regular or on-call services.

FSHS units in the Helsinki metropolitan area:

• Otaniemi: Otakaari 12, Espoo
• Töölö: Töölönkatu 37 A, Helsinki

Other well-being services

Is your student life not going as it should? You don’t need to be alone with your problems!

If you have challenges related to your studies, you can contact your school’s student counseling services or the Aalto study psychologists.

Study psychologists guide and support students in challenges related to learning, motivation, self-regulation, stress management and studying capacity. You can reach the study psychologists via email: opintopsykologit@aalto.fi

You can turn to the Aalto chaplains if you want to have a confidential discussion about anything related to life, work, studying or relationships.

The Aalto chaplains are available to all members of Aalto regardless of religion or worldview. Contact them:

• Jenny Vainio
  050 365 2256
  jenny.vainio@evl.fi
• Anu Morikawa
  050 4644 375
  anu.morikawa@evl.fi

The student support center Nyyti is a nationwide association that promotes the mental well-being and studying capacity of students.

The association organizes group chats and online courses, among other things, on topics related to student well-being. Anyone who has questions related to mental health or coping and well-being can join the chat and groups.

More information: www.nyyti.fi/en/

University sports and exercise – UniSport

UniSport provides affordable sports services to all Aalto members. UniSport’s selection of services includes e.g. group exercise, ball games, gyms and various courses.

Sports centers are available in Otaniemi, Kumpula, Meilahti, Töölö and at the University of Helsinki’s city center campus. Training Cards and per-visit tickets are permanently affordable for all Aalto University students.

More information: www.unisport.fi

 

Transport in the Helsinki metropolitan area

Students under 30 years of age whose place of residence is within the HSL area (Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Vantaa) and who have a valid discount entitlement on their travel card are eligible for a student discount (-50%) in public transport in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

Visit the HSL website for more information and the student discount application form.

Routes and timetables for public transport can be found in the HSL Reittiopas service at www.reittiopas.fi

You can also use city bikes in Espoo and Helsinki between the end of the spring and the start of the autumn. You can use the city bikes after you have paid the 30 € annual fee, and there are several city bike stations also in the campus area. You can find more information about the service here.

Students are also entitled to discounts on VR’s (trains) and Matkahuolto’s (coaches) long-distance journeys. Keep in mind that these discounts require you to have a valid student card with a year tag!