Posted: January 7, 2022
Student Life in Tampere
The Guilds
The fun part of the student life in Finland is organized by several organizations a.k.a. guilds. I have the pleasure to be a member of Sähkökilta or Skilta, which is the guild for electrical engineering students and Tietoteekkarikilta or TiTe, which takes care about students in the IT domain. The first activity I could participate at was a Kyykkä tournament, which is a game comparable to Kubb. Since the goal was to play as many games as possible and not to win them, I was lucky enough to win the tournament. This first impression was a great starter for upcoming events.
Fuksi Sitsit
A major obligation of the guilds is to introduce the Fuksis, that is how a freshman is called in Finland, to the student life at the university. Since it is my first semester at the TAU, I considered myself as a Fuksi and enjoyed an introduction to the sitsit culture at the Fuksi Sitsit. A sitsit is basically a theme party where the participants join in a prepared venue. Activities are to drink a lot of alcohol singing songs and usually there are some challenges which decide which table gets food first. Sitsits are the perfect opportunity to make some new friends and to get in touch with the culture. However, one must anticipate that those events are usually held in Finish, which can be a good opportunity to improve language skills.
Christmas Cruise to Tallinn
The Christmas Cruise is an annual event where all students of the Tampere University can participate. I had the chance to get a last minute ticket on the evening before the buses left from the Hervanta Campus. I was a bit surprised by the magnitude of the event but I would guess that about 15 buses where heading from Tampere to the port of Helsinki, where our cruise ship to Tallinn, the Silja Europa, was waiting for us. The journey from Helsinki to Tallinn was a fun night and again a perfect opportunity to take a deep dive into the Finish student culture. On the next day I explored the city of Tallinn and impressed by it's beauty. Unfortunately, we where heading back to Helsinki on the same day but all in all it was an enjoyable experience.
Sähköpaivat
Sähköpaivat, which means "electrical engineering days", was my most intense Finish student culture experience so far. It is a gathering of electrical engineering students from Oulu, Tampere, Espoo and Lappeenranta and it was hosted by the students from the Aalto University in Espoo this year. After visiting the company Fingrid, the evening started with a scavenger hunt with different activities like soldering a piece of art from electrical components. The hunt climaxed in a party where the German DJ Master Blaster was giving a concert. After this unforgettable experience, the next day proceeded rather calmly but there was a Sitsit in the evening of course with an after party. I am grateful for this adventure and the hospitality of the Finish students. I only have good memories of this event!
