Exchange Students

 

Hello, exchange student!

 

Note! You’re on the correct page if and only if you are an engineering or architechture student coming to Tampere University Hervanta Campus!

If this does not apply to you, you might want to check out ESN FINT (City Center Campus) or Luuppi (Computer Science in Hervanta). Keep an eye out for any emails coming in from these organizations to make sure you are in the right place.

 

Welcome to Tampere, your new home for the next few months.

INTO’s Fuksi Team is here to ensure the comfort and happiness of the international exchange students, and allow them to have the best time of their life!

To make all of that possible, INTO’s Fuksi Team organises many fun events throughout the year to not only make the best out of the new students’ exchange, but also to get to know the Finnish culture and, especially, Teekkari culture! The Fuksi Team is also responsible for INTO tutoring. (What’s a Fuksi? A fuksi is a first year student in a Finnish university, including exchange students!)

The Fuksi Team can be contacted at any time for questions, doubts, feedback, or even if you feel bored and want to reach out. You can simply send us an email to fuksi[at]into-tampere.org and we’ll gladly respond!

All of us at INTO can’t wait to have all you new exchange students here, studying at Tampere University. It is our aim to ensure that you have the best time possible during your exchange studies, and to help introduce you to both Finnish culture but also student culture, one of the unique at exciting things about studying in Finland.

Fuksi Captains 2025-2026: Matthew Heath, Eemil Helynen, Peter Nguyen
Telegram contact info: @PotatoByte, @loylymestari, @Peterdahomie

 

So, what is INTO?

INTO is a guild based on the Hervanta Campus of Tampere University. We are a group of international degree students, internationally minded Finns, peppered with previous exchange students who decided to return because we enjoyed it so much here. INTO’s official name is “International Teekkari Guild INTO Tampere ry” which likely sounds strange from an outside perspective. The organization is lead by the yearly changing Board and we consist of around 40 Board members and officers.

A teekkari is an engineering or architecture university student.

A guild is what the subject associations are called at the Hervanta campus, with INTO being an exception as we are not responsible for a specific subject.

The word INTO itself is Finnish and means “passion” or “zeal”, and we have plenty of that for what we do which is advocating for internationality and helping international students however we can.

Welcome Week Schedule – Spring 2026

 

Join the Fuksi groupchat (link provided to incoming INTO students by email) for any changes in the program!

Our communication channels

To make sure you keep up-to-date with all our latest news and events you can check out our socials. For general announcements and chatting we highly recommend our Telegram groups, and for information and photos from past events we have our website. We also recommend that you become a member, and you will receive our weekly newsletter.

 

Get involved as an exchange student

Make sure to read about Teekkari culture here (much prominent, much important!). Here are some simple steps how to experience Finnish student culture to the fullest:

Sitsit: Formal-ish student dinners with songs, performances, and plenty of laughter. You’ll learn Finnish student songs and toasting customs!

Galas: More formal anniversary galas with dress codes and a relaxed atmosphere.

Pub crawls (approt): get to know local restaurants and bars. Find your favourite nightlife spots!

Guild Activities: Guilds organize parties, sauna evenings, excursions, sports events and tutoring.

Overalls (Haalarit): These bright green INTO overalls represent the diverse pool of exchange students that we are. You’ll collect overall patches (“haalarimerkit”) from events and sew them on to personalize your overalls.

Wappu: The biggest student celebration in Finland. It lasts for several weeks in Tampere and includes over 100 events, culminating in Vappu (May Day) and the Teekkari Dipping.

Trips: INTO’s partnering body TimeTravels organizes trips ranging from Finnish Lapland to Lofoten in Norway and the Baltic countries! Discounted prices for INTO members.

And plenty of experiences and memories!

 

How to become a member

When arriving in Finland you will have the possibility to become a member during the Welcome Week and during our office hours.

INTO provides following membership types: 

Membership

As an actual member of the guild, you will be eligible to all membership benefits of INTO. The requirement for joining as a member is that you need to be a bachelors, masters, doctoral or exchange student at Tampere University.

The membership fee is 5€ per year.

Support membership

A support member can be anyone, who wants to join the guild and support its’ actions. Support members are eligible for all membership benefits, except for the ability to vote in the Guilds’ meetings. Support membership has a 5€ membership fee annually.

It is advisable for all the new members to join our emailing list, where you can get all the information about the events and other important information from INTO.

Benefits for INTO Members

• • INTO email list where INTO events are announced and work related information distributed

• • Access and discounts to INTO Events such as Stockholm Cruise, Cottage Weekends, TimeTravels’ trips to Lapland, Norway, and the Baltics.

• • Participation in organised company excursions

• • Possibility to organise your own event, the guild will support you.

More info can be found here.

Starter Kits

INTO offers a lending service for household equipment for all international students at Hervanta campus. Our service is mainly reserved for students studying engineering or architecture at Hervanta campus. If you are studying at the city centre campus, you should check out the starting kit service by ESN FINT! There are two different sets that can be borrowed, as well as some extra items.

A small service fee is charged for the starting kits (5 €), an addition to the deposit (20 €). The deposit is returned to the student completely once the items are returned in their initial condition (clean and dry). When returning the kit, we will inspect the set and deduct money from the deposit if necessary. Utensils borrowing and returning sessions are organised usually at the beginning and the end of each semester. The dates are announced on the guild’s official communication channels and on the Starter Kit page. The sets are given out on a first-come-first-serve system. For more info head over to our website page.