Teekkari Culture
Are you an international or exchange student coming to Finland studying engineering or architecture?
If so, you’re about to experience something truly unique and special: Finnish Teekkari Culture. A rich, fun and inclusive tradition unique to Finnish technical university students, which has its roots in the 1850s (!!). Originally born in technical universities, this culture was created by engineering students as a way to combine hard studies with humor, community, and a love for singing, saunas, and student events.
Today Finnish student culture has become much more inclusive. The quirky Finnish student culture has spread beyond just technical fields to all students embacing the traditions, events, songs, humor and the overalls. Everyone is welcome to join, contribute, and shape the culture further. However, it is important to acknowlegde the differences between Teekkari culture and “regular” Finnish student culture.
Who is a Teekkari?
At the core, a Teekkari is a student who studies a field of technology at a university level. In Finland there are only six universities where Teekkaris exist: Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Lappeenranta, Vaasa, and Aalto-university in Espoo.
After the merging of the 2 universities in Tampere, Lappeenranta University of Technology is the only remaining purely Teekkari university.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teekkari
Who is a Fuksi?
A Fuksi is a student in their first year of study in any Finnish university, essentially a “freshman”. At the start of the year a fuksi will be given their Fuksipassport, a Teekkari culture guidebook, containing a list of events and activities that they are recommended to complete. Each event earns them a number of points, and they are to have a certain number of points before they can be baptised and become a fully fledged Teekkari after their first year of study. In Tampere a fuksi is expected to get a minimum of 300 points, 150 if you’re an exchange student for one semester. Our Teekkari dipping is done on Vappu (≈Labor day), which is May 1st, a public holiday for everyone in Finland but special for Teekkaris as we gather in the centre of the city by Tammerkoski (channel of rapids), and the fuksis are placed in metal baskets hoisted by cranes which proceed to dip them into the rapids.
Fuksi Captains
Each year, 3 Fuksi Captains (Fuksikapteeni) are selected from each guild (i.e. student association). Fuksi Captains are responsible for the new fuksis, manage tutoring, and are there to help and guide fuksis throughout the year. Fuksi Captains are always there for you; free to ask them for help, whether it be for studies or social life.
Note that Fuksi Captains are the people that you will be getting your passports stamps from for guild events. They are easily recognisable by the red & white “fox tail” attached to their overalls.
Teekkari Cap (Teekkarilakki)
The most visible icon of a Teekkari is the Teekkari Cap. The tasseled cap was originally adopted from Sweden by students of Technology towards the end of the 19th century.
Tamperean Teekkaris put their cap on on midnight of May 1st when the Kultakutri (Goldilocks) statue also receives a cap. The cap may be used freely in the summer until it is laid to winter rest on the 30th of September. In the winter, the cap may only be used with special permission. The teekkari cap is an almost holy object to teekkaris. However, it is not intended to be kept on the shelf but to be used frequently and with dignity. All engineering and architechture exchange students are entitled to the teekkari cap.
Student Overalls (Opiskelijahaalarit)
The idea of overalls (Swe: “överhalare”) first appeared in the 1930s, inspired by Swedish student culture, but didn’t catch on just yet. Many students wore industrial overalls during internships and repurposed them for student activities.
Teekkari-style overalls as we know them today began to appear around the 1980s. Soon, overalls became a symbol of guild identity, group spirit, and active student life. Swapping pant legs or sleeves with a partner became a tradition in the 1990s, along with the explosion of overall patches. Overalls without patches? A rare sight – and often seen as a sign of inexperience or inactivity!
In the 2010s the overall culture spread outside technical fields and today student overalls are a core part of Finnish student life. By the colour and text in the overalls, you can identify people from different schools and fields of study. From attending different events or doing different activities throughout the year you can collect patches which you can then sew on to your overalls, it is nice to show what you have done during your studies, and also be able to see what others have done.
Most fuksis will get their overalls at the start of the Spring semester. INTO exchange students are eligible for bright green INTO overalls and they are purchasable from the INTO guild room throughout the year.
Colours of guild overalls in Hervanta
“Autek” Automation Technology Guild: Yellow
“Bioner” Bioengineering Guild: Champagne Gold
“Hiukkanen” Science & Engineering Guild: Purple
“Indecs” Industrial Engineering & Management Guild: White
“INTO” International & Exchange Students: Bright Green
“KoRK” Mechanical Engineering Guild: Red
“Man@ger” Information & Knowledge Management Guild: Grey
“MiK” Materials Engineering Guild: Burgundy
“Skilta” Electrical Engineering Guild: Electric Blue
“TamArk” Architectural Guild: Cheery Black
“TARAKI” Civil Engineering Guild: Dark Blue
“TaSciEn” International Science & Engineering Guild: Cyan
“TiTe” Information Technology Guild: Stylish Black
“Urbanum” Sustainable Urban Development: Baby Blue
“YKI” Environmental & Energy Engineering Guild: Dark Green
A list of all overall colours in Finland here (in Finnish).
Guilds
A guild (kilta) is a teekkari student organization connected to a specific faculty or field of study. While joining a guild isn’t mandatory, it’s highly recommended, as they offer a wide range of services, support, and events that enrich your student life. Non-teekkari guilds are called subject organizations (ainejärjestö).
Guilds are run by volunteer student boards who organize activities, represent students, and keep things running smoothly. Being a member gives you access to its guild room, your cozy “living room” on campus, perfect for relaxing, studying, or socializing between lectures.
INTO’s guild room is located in PCD00D1, in the basement of the Hervanta Campus Main Building (Päärakennus). All members are welcome to drop by. We offer coffee for a 5€ annual fee and sell snacks and drinks!
Anniversary galas
A couple of times a year, teekkaris dress up and celebrate at annual galas (vuosijuhlat, “vujut”). The annual gala dress code is black tie or dark suit for men and full-length evening gown for women and academic decorations.
Party etiquette is observed at annual galas. However, the idea is not to be stiff and stuffy but to have a fun evening.
Before the main event there is a cocktail reception for invited guests during which various groups and entities honour the organising body by presenting traditionally large, heavy and useless gifts. However, most of the guests do not arrive until the main event. The welcome drink is followed by the dinner during which loud schnapps songs are sung. Various speeches are given between courses. Coffee and digestive are followed by dance which continues in the after-party often followed by another after-party. The grandest affairs end in brunch (sillis) the following morning.
Sitsis (Sitsit)
Sitsit is a smaller and less formal occasion. They are organised by guilds and clubs both in celebration of their anniversaries and fun theme sitsis. The dress code at sitsis is smart casual, no black tie necessary. Men wear pressed trousers and a jacket, although a dark suit would not necessarily go amiss at anniversary sitsis. Women can wear a trouser suit or skirt/dress of any length. Theme sitsis obviously call for theme attire.
The Tampere sitsi tradition includes good food, abundant drink and plenty of singing. A buffet is often served at sitsis and depending on the occasion or theme, programme numbers, speeches, gift-giving and amid dining. This party is usually followed by an afterparty. Freshmen get to practice sitsis at special fuksi sitsis in the Autumn and Spring. Spring 2026 Fuksisitsis are coming up 12th February 2026!
Sauna
Teekkari sauna culture is slightly different than that of “traditional” Finnish sauna culture. A student sauna event is a relaxed event where we hang out, play games and have get-togethers and parties (sometimes raves) in the public area before heading to the warm löyly to sing and chat. Don’t worry about bringing the song book Rasputin into the sauna – it is sauna-proof! The Teekkari Union’s own Teekkarisauna with its bar, dancefloor, hot tub and terrace is found on the Hervanta Campus. INTO organizes free Welcome and Farewell sauna events for its members twice every semester (with a beerpong tournament!).
Photo credits: https://www.tampereenteekkarit.fi/fi/teekkarisauna
Excursion
At universities, an excursion (ekskursio a.k.a. excu or XQ) means a company visit or a study trip somewhere close or far. The shortest excursions are just a couple hour visits to a company within the student’s own field, or a fun trip to for example a candy factory. Different company visits are quite commonly arranged throughout the year for all different fields of study. The longer excursions can take you to the other side of the world.
Wappu/Vappu
The Teekkariwappu in Tampere begins with the unveiling of the Tamppi magazine and lasts about two weeks. Wappu culminates in traditional events, the biggest and most visible of which include putting the cap on the Suomi-neito (Finnish maiden) statue and the teekkari baptism ritual in the Tammerkoski rapids.
Vappu 2011
Teekkari Dipping (Teekkarikaste)
All the Teekkaris in Tampere have been through Teekkari Dipping from the beginning of days. It started out as a random idea, but as years have passed and more people are taking part, it is the event where Wappu culiminates in Tampere nowadays.
In 1966 fuksis of the Guild of Electrical Engineering got the idea to build a huge basket in which the Teekkaris could be dipped. The basket was named Amontillado and the first fuksis were dipped. The baskets were upgraded in 2023.
The Teekkari Dipping is the highlight of Wappu and the most visible part of Teekkari culture in Tampere. Fuksis can call themselves Teekkaris not until they have been dipped in Tammerkoski. Autumn semester INTO exchange students will experience a dipping simulator on December.
The Capping
The capping (Lakitus) will be done on the night between the 30th of April and the 1st of May, right after midnight. this is the time when you are allowed to put your Teekkari cap on your head for the first time this year. Teekkari caps will be put on at the same time as the cap will be put on the statue. After this, if you don’t want to get wet, watch out for the sparkles!
The Teekkari hymn is also sung during the capping. In the first verse the cap is held on the right shoulder, in the second verse the cap will be raised high in the air and in the beginning of the third verse the cap can be worn.
Jäynä
A jäynä is a prank or practical joke played on unsuspecting people, often on people that are not students. It has been a part of Teekkari culture for many decades. People often ask how to manage a successful or even perfect jäynä. The definition of a good jäynä and a recipe for success are not only boring but also impossible to give. A Teekkari jäynä lives in the present, and what’s funny today may not have been decades earlier and vice versa.
Creating jäynäs is fun but the person making them should be careful in the planning stages to avoid any problems. Jäynä may not be in any way illegal or cause any legal actions. It is also worth remembering that not everyone will share your sense of humour.
Examples of teekkarijäynäs:
When the famous 17th-century warship Vasa was raised from the seabed in 1961 in Stockholm, archaeologists were shocked to find a small statue of Finnish runner Paavo Nurmi on the deck, a man who was born centuries after the ship sank. The press buzzed with theories. Eventually, four Finnish teekkaris held a press conference in Sweden to reveal the truth: they had snuck the statue onto the wreck as a prank.
In 1997, Tamperean teekkaris pulled a clever prank on drivers by setting up a roadside “testing station” to measure the UV levels of car headlights. They convinced drivers that headlights with high enough UV output would repel moose and reduce the risk of accidents. Many took it seriously, proving once again that a well-executed jäynä can be both absurd and believable.
In the early 2000s, teekkaris tested the nerves of unsuspecting bus passengers. Dressed in white lab coats, they carried a transparent “organ transport container” filled with ice and a pig’s liver inside. Loudly, they complained about budget cuts in healthcare, explaining that even organ transport now had to be done via public transport to save money. The prank was as hilarious as it was unsettling.
Fuksi category
The fuksi category is a big and important part of the Tampere jäynä competition even though time-wise it is only a fraction of the competition. The fuksi category defines the order in which guilds are dipped in the Tammerkoski rapids! The fuksi category is a two-week effort before and during Wappu.
Härweli and fuksi parade
The fuksi parade starts from Sorinaukio and ends at Koskenranta. It marks the start of queuing to the dipping. Fuksis are organized by guilds, and they carry or push their Härweli. Härweli is something, and anything, self-made that is somehow funny, current or teekkari related. Best Härwelis are rewarded. During the parade there is also a competition of making the most noise, so fuksis are singing sitsis songs or shouting different cheers as loud as possible.
Here were only some traditions of Teekkari culture, the possibilities are endless! If you have a funny idea for an event or “thing”, tell around and execute it – that is how traditions start. INTO Tutors are experts of Teekkari culture, ask them to tell you everything they know! Have fun, and welcome to the Teekkari family!