We wish to make the start of your studies with us as smooth as possible. This is why we offer an orientation programme for all the new international students at the beginning of each semester. The orientation programme includes a lot of practical information and tips on how to get things rolling. We hope all the new students will be able to join the orientation.
Pre-orientation webinars for the New Students in 2023
Welcome webinar for the new Master’s degree students
at 2.30 – 4.00 pm (local Helsinki time, GTM +2) 5 April 2023.
This webinar is for the students who have been accepted to UEF to start their Master’s degree programme in Autumn Semester 2023. This is the link to the webinar (opens in a new window)
Pre-arrival webinar for the new degree students and for the exchange students will be held
at 2.30 pm (local Helsinki time, GTM +2) on 7 June, 2023.
The link to the webinar will be available here.
Orientation Programme for New International Students on 1 Sept, 4-5 Sept 2023
General Orientation Programme
General orientation webinars will be held online at 12-17 on 1 and 4 Sept. On 5 September we will have face-to-face programme on both campuses at 12-16.
The general orientation programme will be published here in June. The links to the general orientation webinars will be available here.
Field-Specific Sessions
In addition to these general sessions most departments/schools will have their own field-specific sessions. They will send the information on these sessions directly to the students. These sessions are organized by the programme/academic coordinators. (opens in a new tab)
The Master’s degree programmes will have their own sessions for their students, too.
Here is the orientation programme of the Spring Semester 2023
Monday 9 January 2023
Online webinars, link to the webinars (opens in a new tab)
12.00-12.10 Welcoming Words, Riikka Pellinen, Director of International Affairs
12.10-13.00 How to use Peppi and Tuudo?, Kaisu Kärkkäinen and Tellervo Hirvonen
13.00-13.15 Break
13.15-14.20 Orientation Info and General Info about Studying at UEF, Päivi Haltilahti and Kirsi Konttinen
14.20-14.30 Peer Counselling: Student2Student, Marinia Sorjonen-Ward
14.30-14.45 Break
14.45- 15.30 For Exchange Students ONLY: Requirements and Paperwork for Exchange, Päivi Haltilahti and Kirsi Konttinen
Tuesday 10 January 2023
Online webinars, link to the webinars (opens in a new tab)
12.00-13.00 Official Matters, Päivi Haltilahti and Kirsi Konttinen
13.00-13.30 UEF Usernames and Information Security, Kaisa Soininen and Tommi Eskelinen
13.30-13.45 Break
13.45-14.15 Welcome to the UEF Library!, Riitta Holopainen and Olli Hiltunen
14.15-15.00 Services of the Student Union, Salla Haapavaara and Elina Pitkänen
15.00-15.15 Break
Two different meetings:
15.15-15.45 For the students in Joensuu: Activities for Students by ESN Joensuu, ESN president Furkan Karsavuran (People in Joensuu will stay in the same meeting.)
15.15-16.00 For the students in Kuopio: Activities for Students by ESN Kuopio and by ESN KISA, 20 min. each, people from ESN KISA and from ESN Kuopio, link to Kuopio meeting (opens new tab)
Wednesday 11 January 2023
Separate programmes in lecture rooms on campuses
Joensuu Campus, Lecture Room C2, Carelia Building
12.30-13.30 Introduction to Finnish Society and Culture: Outsider’s View, Paul Fryer
13.30-14.15 Questions and Answers and a Break, Päivi Haltilahti
14.15-15.15 Signatures and Stamps for the Exchange Documents, Päivi Haltilahti
Kuopio Campus, room CA102, Canthia Building
12.30-13.30 Getting to Know Each Other, Kirsi Konttinen
13.30-14.30 How to Make the Most of Your Stay?, Kirsi Konttinen
14.30-15.00 Questions and Answers and a Break, Kirsi Konttinen
15.00-15.30 Signatures and Stamps for the Exchange Documents, Kirsi Konttinen
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How to complete the credit for the orientation?
In order to complete the credit (1 ECTS) for the course Orientation for the New International Students, you should
- Join the orientation sessions (both the general ones and the field-specific ones).
- Study the orientation material in Kamu and in eLearn Moodle (opens in a new tab).
- Complete all the assignments in the Digistartti (opens in a new tab).
- Register for the course Orientation for International Students in Peppi by the deadline 31 January. The course code 1131003.
Please make sure to complete all of these in case you wish to earn the credit.
The deadline for completing the requirements is 31 January 2023.
The credits will be marked within 3 weeks, by 21 February.
Please note that in some UEF degree programmes the orientation is a compulsory course.
Pre-arrival Webinar
Pre-arrival webinar for the students who will start their studies (exchange or Master’s degree) at UEF during Spring Semester 2023 was held on 1 Dec 2022.
In order to access the recordings, please click the links below.
Programme
13.30-13.45 Arriving in Finland and at UEF (about 10 minutes, opens in a new window)
PowerPoints (opens in a new window), Kirsi Konttinen and Päivi Haltilahti
13.45-14.15 Accommodation in Elli in Joensuu,
PowerPoints (opens in a new window), Marita Ahonen from Elli
13.45-14.15 Accommocation in Kuopas in Kuopio (about 14 minutes, opens in a new window),
PowerPoints (opens in a new window), Annamaija Niemelä from Kuopas
14.15-14.30 Break
14.30-15.00 The Services of the Student Union, ISYY (about 19 minutes, opens in a new window)
PowerPoints (opens in a new window), Salla Haapavaara and Elina Pitkänen from ISYY
15.00-15.30 Registration as a UEF Student and UEF Username for New Students (about 17 minutes, opens in a new window)
PowerPoints (opens in a new window), Saija Hokkanen, Salla Turunen
UEF Usernames for New Students (about 19 minutes, opens in a new window) Tommi Eskelinen and Kaisa Soininen
15.30-16.00 Questions and Answers, Päivi Haltilahti and Kirsi Konttinen
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How to start your studies?
- Make sure you keep in touch with your programme/academic coordinator and with your student tutor.
- Study the orientation material in Kamu (opens in a new tab) and in Moodle (opens in a new tab, log in with a UEF account). More material (including the Power Point presentations of the webinar sessions) will be added to Moodle later on.
- Complete the UEF Digistartti.
- Join the orientation webinars.
- Join the orientation session of your own programme if offered.
- After registering as a student at UEF and activating your username, start registering for courses and feel free to contact UEF staff members if you have any questions or concerns.
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What is the orientation for?
We recommend that all the new international students will participate in the orientation programme. The orientation offers a lot of practical information in order to help the new students to have a smooth start for their studies at UEF.
The orientation offers
- essential information on studying and university life at UEF
- tips on different practical matters
- information on Finland and on the Finnish culture
- a possibility to meet other students
Those who complete all parts of the programme will earn 1 ECTS credit. Even if the orientation is a course, there is no need to register for the orientation beforehand. The instruction at the departments begins usually after the Orientation Programme.
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Orientation starts the Semester
The orientation for the Autumn Semester starts at the beginning of September and the orientation for the Spring Semester starts usually on the first working day right after 6 January . The programmes will be published here about a month before the start of the orientation.
Other introductory courses
Other introductory courses (opens in a new tab) to studying at UEF:
University Study Skills (only for the degree seeking students), University Computing Skills, and Information Skills and Sources.
Language courses are offered by the Language Centre (opens in a new tab).
For the Master’s Degree Students at UEF
If you are studying for a Master’s Degree at UEF, your studies will start with the Orientation Programme at the beginning of September. However, the Master’s programmes of European Forestry, Forestry CBU and Transfor-M will start already earlier in August.
For the incoming Exchange Students at UEF
The Autumn Semester starts at the beginning of September and the Spring Semester on the first working day after Epiphany 6 Jan. The semesters start with the Orientation Programme. Usually the exchange students start their exchange period at UEF at the beginning of the semester but it is possible to start the exchange studies at another time, too, if the suitable courses are available. The students coming for a research project or for a practical training can negotiate their schedule with their supervisor at UEF and with their home university.
For information on the Academic Calendar at UEF.
Welcoming Words from Our Rector
Choose English subtitles from the settings.