General info and services
University restaurants
Health care
Sports
Libraries and bookshops
Financial aid for foreign students?
University restaurants
Restaurants on the University's Main Campus offer meals at very affordable prices. All menus can be found in one place here.
Most restaurants on the main campus belong to the Juvenes Corporation, which is co-owned by Tamy and TTYY (the Student Union of Tampere University of Technology). As a member of the Student Union, you too own a small part of Juvenes!
Haven't received your student card yet? You can get student-priced meals by showing the receipt of Tamy's membership fee. If you charge prepaid Juvenes meals on your student card, you will get an additional discount on your meals. You can even get student-priced meals from university restaurants in other Finnish cities by showing your student card! Kela's web page shows all Finnish student restaurants.
Health care
The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) provides general, dental and mental health care services for basic degree students.
The FSHS's Tampere units are located in Kalevantie 3 (next to the Linna building on the Main Campus) and in Korkeakoulunkatu 3 at Tampere University of Technology in Hervanta. Visit the unit's site for contact information, opening hours and exceptions in schedules.
Appointments and fees
Appointments for the FSHS services are made on the basis of treatment need assessments. A treatment need assessment is an assessment made by a health care professional regarding the need and the urgency of your treatment. In the assessment, the following information is determined on the basis of the preliminary information provided by you or included in your referral to treatment: why you contacted the FSHS, what symptoms you exhibit and how serious they are and how urgent your case is.
You have already paid the FSHS fee as a part of Tamy's membership fee, which means that most FSHS services are free of charge for you. However, some services do have a fee. For more information about how to make an appointment and what services are free of charge, visit the FSHF website.
Electronic health inquiry
The FSHS sends every first-year student a health inquiry by email. A public health nurse will then assess your response and send you a reply message containing a personal assessment of your health. If necessary, you will be asked to make an appointment with a public health nurse and/or for an oral health examination. If you wish, you can make an appointment for a health discussion even if you don't have any particular problems.
When the FSHS is closed
The FSHS is the primary health care provider for students. However, student health centres are closed during nights and weekends. If you require acute medical help when the health centres are closed, you will need to use the health services offered by private clinics, the municipal telephone health service or, in urgent need of medical treatment, to go to the emergency clinic Acuta at the Tampere University Hospital. Casualties are also taken to Acuta. The emergency service is not free of charge, so make sure you have proper health insurance. More information on health services of the City of Tampere can be found here.
If you have any questions or problems with student health care, please contact Tamy's Secretary for Social Welfare Affairs.
Sports
The University of Tampere offers a wide range of sports activities. The centre for University Sports is the Atalpa building, which is situated next to the University Main Building. The centre has a large hall for ball games, two gyms and an aerobics room for group exercise classes and courses.
Atalpa offers e.g. various group exercise classes, ball games, beginner's classes in different sports and the use of saunas (starting from 3.30 p.m. daily). The University also supports outdoor sports. You can play football, ice hockey, tennis and go bowling or swimming – the possibilities are almost endless! For a €2 fee, you can even do your laundry in Atalpa.
The Atalpa fee is very affordable for the students of the University of Tampere: only €65 for the academic year, €40 for one term or €4 for one visit. You can pay the fee at Atalpa's reception at any time. The receptionist will activate your student card as a key card when you pay. You must show your student card to the card reader on every visit. For more information about University Sports and the timetables for group exercise classes, ball games and courses, visit their website.
UtaSport
UtaSport is a sports association for the members of Tamy. Its purpose is to improve and create possibilities to play a variety of sports either at a hobby, competitive or top level as well as to promote low threshold sports. UtaSport organizes various courses, events and chances to give a new sport a try. Moreover, we give sports-enthusiasts a chance to find like-minded company when playing a favourite (or a new) sport!
Libraries and bookshops
It is impossible to think about studying without thinking about the University Library! The University Library consists of the Main Library and department libraries (Department of Humanities and Education, Humanika, and Department of Health Sciences, Tertio). In addition to the customary library services, the university libraries function as well-equipped learning centres. You can even reserve group work rooms for your use in the libraries.
The Main Library is located in the Linna building on the Main Campus. It has a textbook reading room that holds at least one copy of all the books listed in the curriculum (except for the textbooks for Medical School and Teacher Education) and is open 24/7. The textbook reading room lends books for overnight loans.
The Main Campus has two bookshops: Taju in the lobby of the Linna building and Juvenes University Shop in the downstairs lobby of the Main Building. Both sell stationery, textbooks, entrance exam books, dictionaries and other publications. The Juvenes shop also has postcards, stamps, gift items, candy and soft drinks for sale.
Getting around in Tampere
The best way to get around with regard to the environment and your physical fitness is by bike or by foot. You can download a cycling route map, which includes information on bicycle parking, on the website of the City of Tampere.
The main campus of the University also has areas designed specifically for bicycle parking (see the bicycle parking map of the main campus).
When you acquire a Tampere City Transport travel card, travelling by bus becomes considerably more affordable. You can acquire the card at the public transport service point near the Central Square. The card can be reloaded and a small deposit is charged. Those under the age of 25 are entitled to a youth discount while those over the age of 25, with a Finnish social security number (to get a Finnish social security number, you must register at the local Register Office (Tampereen maistraatti). The registering is free of charge.), may receive a student discount by presenting a valid student card or a student certificate These can be collected at the Registrar's Office (aktuaarinkanslia). If you are over 30, you will also have to show a valid study grant certificate in order to get the student discount. If you are 25 and do not wish to acquire a Finnish identity number, a travel card even with no discounts will save money in the long run, considering single tickets are more expensive than adult's bus trips charged from a travel card.
Bus lines 8, 13 and 22 run right next to the main campus. Lines such as 16, 18, 19, 28 and 29 take you to the vicinity of the Kauppi campus.
Financial aid for foreign students?
If you are not a Finnish citizen, you may be entitled to financial aid with education in Finland if
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you are registered as a permanent resident of Finland in the population register system and
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your purpose for residence in Finland is something other than education (for example, work, family ties or return migration).
If you are in Finland for the express purpose of attending school, you are not eligible for financial aid from Finland.
Permanent residence in Finland is determined by reference to the Municipality of Residence Act (kotikuntalaki/lagen om hemkommun, 201/1994). The purpose of residence in Finland is determined in different ways depending on one’s nationality.” Source: kela.fi
You can apply for students' financial aid at the Office of Student Financial Aid at the University. The application forms can be downloaded on the website of Kela (Finnish Social Service) or collected at the offices of Kela or the University's Financial Aid Office. Submit your application directly to the University's Financial Aid Office, where it will be processed and the decision on granting the financial aid will be made.
If you have online bank access codes, you can apply for financial aid on Kela's website. Applications submitted there are transferred directly to the University's Financial Aid Office.
Student financial aid consists of a Study Grant, Housing Supplement, government guarantee for student loans and a tax deduction for your student loan. In order to receive the financial aid, you have to study full-time and make progress with your studies.
More detailed information on the financial aid is available on Kela's comprehensive website as well as from Tamy's Secretary for Social Welfare Affairs, who is there to help you out in all matters relating to students' subsistence. More information also in the Social Policies section of these pages.
