As a member of the Student Union, you are entitled to a student ID card and the benefits and services that come with it. ISYY, the Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland is responsible for looking out for the interests and rights of the university’s students.
Ordering a student card
The student card is your official student ID. The student card also gives you access to several benefits and discounts.
As an ISYY member you can order a basic plastic student card or download a free digital student card (Frank App or Pivo student card) from your phone’s application store. You can use the plastic and digital student cards simultaneously. Digital student cards are free of charge.
On ISYY’s website you will find more detailed information on student card options and how to order them (opens in a new tab). If you have trouble ordering the card, please contact the customer service of the company you are trying to order the student card from. Here you can find Frank’s contact information (opens in a new tab), and here Pivo’s contact information (opens in a new tab). NOTE! When making the order, make sure you spell your name exactly as it is written in the student register (you can check the spelling in WebOodi). If you use special characters that are not used in WebOodi or you do not use special characters although they are used in WebOodi, your order might not go through.
If you order a basic plastic student card, you need to collect a term sticker from ISYY’s office (opens in a new tab). Without a valid term sticker on your student card, you are not entitled to discounts and other benefits for students. If you chose the free digital app, you do not need to collect a term sticker.
Student benefits
You are entitled to student benefits starting from the beginning of the academic term on 1 August (in the spring term starting from 1 January).
Meals
By showing your student ID card, you will get a discount from the lunch prices based on Kela’s meal subsidy in most campus restaurants. See the UEF website for more detailed information on campus restaurants and lunch menus (opens in a new tab).
If you do not receive your student card before your studies start, you can buy meals at discount prices by showing either your certification of student status or the personal data page printed from WebOodi (opens in a new tab) together with your photo ID. The certification of student status is provided upon request by the Student and Learning Services. Send your request preferably by email (opiskelu@uef.fi). You can find your personal data page from WebOodi in the ’Personal data’ section -> Print out the page. The student discount is available at the university’s student restaurants by presenting the certificate of student status/WebOodi’s personal details page up to the end of October, after which the student ID card must be presented to receive the discount.
Travel
By showing your student ID card, you are also eligible for a discount on train tickets and intercity bus tickets.
Receiving the plastic student ID card may take several weeks. If you need to travel by train or intercity bus before you have received your student ID card, and you do not have access to a digital student ID card, you will need to get a temporary certificate or card from the Finnish Rail VR and Matkahuolto which proves that you are eligible for the student discount. For instructions on how to obtain this certificate/card, go to the websites of Finnish Rail VR (opens in a new tab) and Matkahuolto (opens in a new tab).
NOTE! Matkahuolto no longer offers a universal student discount on transport services. The amount of discount offered to students may vary from one transport service operator to the next. Be sure to check what the discount price for students is from the transport service operator’s own website.
Check the student discount prices for local bus services for each campus city: Joensuu bus services (opens in a new tab) and Kuopio bus services (opens in a new tab).
Other discounts
Your student ID card also entitles you to discounts in many stores in your campus city. The discounts are not always advertised separately so do ask at the stores if they offer a student discount before paying. You can also find a wide selection of student discounts on the Frank website (opens in a new tab).
Healthcare
The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) (opens in a new tab) provides health services to all bachelor’s and master’s degree students who have paid the healthcare fee and registered as present.
NOTE! Exchange students are not entitled to use the services of the FSHS.
Visit Kamu for general information on student healthcare services.
Healthcare fee for students in higher education
The Act on Student Health Services for Students in Higher Education (in Finnish) (opens in a new tab) came into effect on 1 January 2021. Higher education students who are entitled to use the services of the FSHS must pay the healthcare fee for students in higher education.
Students who register as present and are completing a bachelor’s or master’s level degree in a Finnish institute of higher learning are required to pay the fee. The fee must be paid directly to Kela (the Social Insurance Institution of Finland) every semester you register as present. Kela will not bill you for the fee, you must pay it unprompted. For information on the healthcare fee for students in higher education (opens in a new tab) as well as the payment instructions (opens in a new tab), visit the Kela website.
FSHS services and service units
Here you can find the FSHS service units and their opening hours (opens in a new tab).
To make an appointment, you can use the SelfChat or call the service unit of your campus city for an assessment of your need for treatment.
You can also contact the FSHS through their online service. The FSHS Self online service (opens in a new tab) is an online service for students. Through Self you can keep you address information up to date, manage your appointments, chat with healthcare professionals and access remote consultation. Make sure to register as a Self-user as soon as possible.
- Video: FSHS for a new student 2021 (YouTube)