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Oulu is a good cycling city for students, but the lighting conditions and the traffic arrangements need improving

Oulu has often been praised as the most bicycle-friendly city in Finland. This year, too, has brought improvements to cyclists’ lives: from the summer onwards, the cycling routes have been marked more clearly, and long-awaited city bikes have finally arrived. But what can the city do even better? Oulu Student Magazine asked opinions from two cycling students.

In English

TEKSTI Helmi Juntunen

KUVAT Elina Korpi

In Finnish

It certainly is a cliché to call Oulu the Cycling City, but it is true.

There is a clear will to uphold the cycling city reputation: the city of Oulu has invested not only in the cycling routes and signs, but also to make cycling more interesting and accessible and to raise cycling awareness. Few examples are the new website for cycling in Oulu area, new road signs, and the long-awaited Sykkeli city bikes. There are Sykkeli stations near both Linnanmaa and Kontinkangas campus.

Cycling students arriving at the Linnanmaa campus on the red paved cycling route can’t help but notice the changes. Oulu Student Magazine interviewed two active cyclists and asked what they think about the changes and whether they see subjects for improvement.

Antti Nurmesmäki, a fifth-year chemistry student, tries to cover all his journeys by bike. He bikes to Linnanmaa campus almost daily.

“During my teaching practice I took a bus because I didn’t want to be sweaty when teaching”, Nurmesjärvi says.

In addition to daily exercise, cycling is also Nurmesjärvi’s hobby: his longest trip so far is cycling to Hailuoto and back in the summer, and he’s already planning a trip to Europe’s long cycling routes.

While getting some incidental exercise, Nurmesjärvi also points out that cycling saves money and refreshes.

“In the mornings I’m much more energetic than I would be if I’d just walked into a bus,” Nurmesjärvi states.

“When I started studying in Linnanmaa campus, there was no clear biking route and it was usual to laugh at how hard it is to find the way from the campus to the city centre. Now there’s a red carpet which is easy to follow.”

Nurmesjärvi finds his daily commute to the university has become faster, thanks to the new cycleways, although the road construction site in Alppila has temporarily slowed the journey. All in all, Nurmesjärvi praises the cycling projects of the city of Oulu, even though he, originating from Oulu, hasn’t personally benefitted from the numbered cycling routes.

He also thinks that the bicycle repair points installed in the city centre last year are really handy.

Like Nurmesjärvi, also Eemeli Bergström, a third-year geosciences student, is active cyclist both in his everyday life and in free time. He, too, is happy with Oulu’s cycleway network, which he thinks is quite extensive.

According to Eemeli Bergström’s experience, attitudes toward cycling are good in Oulu as well as in whole Finland. “In other countries biking is only for kids, here everyone bikes.” Photo: Anni Hyypiö.

In addition to students, also others are pleased.

Pasi Haapakorva, the Chair of Oulun polkupyöräilijät ry (“Oulu Cyclists”, OUPO), states that Oulu is the best cycling city in Finland. In his e-mail response, Haapakorva tells about things that are characteristic to Oulu cycling infrastructure. These include possibility to cycle long distances without crossings as well as the density and extent of cycleways outside the city centre.

“When I started studying in Linnanmaa campus, there was no clear biking route and it was usual to laugh at how hard it is to find the way from the campus to the city centre. Now there’s a red carpet which is easy to follow”, Haapakorva writes.

Cycling culture in Oulu is great — but not perfect

Eemeli Bergström says that the cycling culture in Oulu is generally good. His basis for comparison is small cities in Australia, such as Kalgoorlie, where he has lived. He says that in Australia, drivers don’t take cyclists into account as well as in Oulu, which can be seen in the cycling safety.

According to Bergström, the attitudes toward cycling are good in Oulu and in Finland as a whole.

“In other countries biking is only for kids, here everyone bikes”, Bergström says.

Pasi Haapakorva, too, highlights the way drivers in Oulu are careful and give space to cyclists. He says that it’s understandable, since most likely also drivers cycle from time to time.

Antti Nurmesjärvi thinks that in general it is good to bike in Oulu. He, too, praises drivers’ attitudes towards cyclists, but stresses that there are regional differences in Finland. According to him, people in Oulu are more understanding when it comes to e.g. mistakes in the traffic, but this is not the case in the whole country.

“My friend who lives in Turku told me that if someone bikes on the pavement in the city centre, they might get punched.”

“In other countries biking is only for kids, here everyone bikes.”

Sometimes cyclist’s own behaviour can cause problems. Nurmesjärvi points out that it’s dangerous to hold a phone while biking and to bike in the dark without lights. He himself hasn’t been in dangerous situations because of these examples but finds them nevertheless annoying phenomena.

Still need for bike racks and streetlights

Even though the city of Oulu has significantly improved its cycling circumstances in the past few years, the city continues to invest in cycling infrastructure in the future as well: Oulu applies for state grant to continue the cycleway from Raksila to Mäntylä. This so called “Mäntybaana” is a part of over 60 km long cycleway network that is still in planning.

Also, the amount of Sykkeli city bikes and Sykkeli stations can in future change according to feedback.

Both students have their own suggestions on how to improve cycling in Oulu.

Both Bergström and Nurmesjärvi say that cycling arrangements in Linnanmaa area are adequate. Bergström points out that small amount of bike racks is a problem. But neither Bergström nor Nurmesjärvi finds bigger issues than that in the Linnanmaa campus area.

Instead of Linnanmaa, both students have suggestions on other areas in the city.

Nurmesjärvi hopes that the traffic arrangements for cyclists in the city centre were clearer. He raises Rotuaari as a problem: for cyclists it’s hard to know where biking is allowed and where it isn’t. Bergström, too, thinks that cycleways in the city centre should be clearer.

In addition to the city centre, other areas have problems as well. Bergström, who lives in Toppila, mentions that from his point of view, the most problematic is the lack of street lighting on the way to Linnanmaa. He says that the dark areas do have streetlights, but they are rarely on.

Neither of the students have used the Sykkeli city bikes, but they still see them as a positive thing. During his exchange in Slovenia, Nurmesjärvi got to know the city bike culture there. He sees the city bikes as a valuable addition to public transport here in Oulu as well and is interested in trying Sykkeli.

This autumn, the city bikes have been the cause of harsh criticism because of their difficult interface and technical problems. The procurement and mobilisation of Sykkelis didn’t go as planned: the bikes were planned to be in use in the beginning of the summer but because of reasons unrelated to the city, they were ready for use at the end of August instead. Because the city bike season ends at the end of October, the time for using Sykkelis was brief this year.

The red-surfaced cycleway has also had its problems: in the middle of October, Kaleva wrote about the cycleway’s slipperiness and therefore causing accidents. According to Harri Vaarala, the traffic engineer interviewed in Kaleva’s article, the impression of slipperiness is caused by the fact that new asphalt tends to be more slippery than old asphalt.

Editor’s comment

“As a cyclist I’m quite lazy. My bike has been waiting the day I’d bring it with me for a shamefully long time. In my first year in the university, I covered most of my daily trips by bike, even though I wasn’t as active as the students interviewed in this article. I don’t find cycling itself unpleasant, but everything that comes with it. Maintaining the bike, planning the route, and preparing for the weather started to feel bland. Hopping in the bus is easy, especially if you only go between Linnanmaa and the city centre as I do.

Most of the problems that I had as a cyclist have been solved in the past few years. As a first-year student without any sense of direction I would’ve needed the numbered cycleways that we now have in Oulu. Now, an easy route to south from Linnanmaa and back exists, and the road construction works have eased off.

My excuses have become weaker, and before the city bikes I could make excuses how my bike is old and hard to pedal. Thanks to Sykkeli’s initial problems, the lazy cyclist had another excuse to walk or take a bus.

Now that the Sykkelis are about to go to hibernation, it may be that I, too, will put off starting the cycling until the next spring.”

Translation: Essi Ranta.

Julkaistu 28.10.20191.2.2023

Helmi Juntunen

Oululainen metamoderni antropologi ja mielten välisen etäisyyden avaruuscowgirl.

Lue lisää:

Among the first ones

Matti Kauppi was among the first students in the University of Oulu. When he was a child, he wanted to become plant breeder or biology teacher. And in case he can’t make a living in the university, he would become a gardener. But life didn’t go as planned. When the moment came to leave the university, he decided to study more instead. After all, the university provided him with everything: degree and job, of course, but also wife, most of his friends, and direction for his life.

In English

TEKSTI Anni Hyypiö

KUVAT Anni Hyypiö

In Finnish

On the 3rd of October 1959, a festive atmosphere prevailed in Oulu. On that autumnal Saturday, sun flashed between the clouds and thousands of people were on the streets. Flags were waiving in the poles.

The big change had arrived in the city, and now the entire Oulu celebrated. The act on the University of Oulu was signed on 8 July 1958, and a bit over a year later it was time for the first opening ceremony of the university.

The largest meeting room in the city, YMCA’s tennis hall, was full of festive people. City orchestra sat on a raised platform, and the guests sat side by side on the rows of seats. Among the guests were Speaker of the Parliament Johannes Virolainen, Prime Minister V. J. Sukselainen, Member of Parliament and former Minister of Education Kerttu Saalasti, academicians Martti Haavio and Kustaa Vilkuna, as well as Bishop of the Diocese of Oulu Olavi Heliövaara.

Whether minister or academician, the dress code guided the guests for festive attire: white tie or lounge suit, for women dark short gown without a hat, decorations.

As the opening ceremony began, a parade of academicians, university chancellors and rectors, as well as the university’s temporary council, acting professors and assistant professors. The crowd stood up, the orchestra played Erik Tulindberg’s minuet, and the parade arrived in the hall led by Pentti Kaitera, the first Rector of the University of Oulu. The President Urho Kekkonen and his wife Sylvi Kekkonen, Governors Kalle Määttä and Martti Miettunen with their wives, and adjutants arrived in the hall accompanied by Porilaisten marssi march. After Pentti Kaitera’s opening presentation, the guests heard greetings from Minister of Education Heikki Hosia and professor Edwin Linkomies, the Rector of the University of Helsinki.

YMCA’s hall was completely full, the floor was covered with rows of seats, and those who didn’t get a seat stood in the balconies and stairs leading there.

Matti Kauppi wasn’t one of them. Like many others, he, too, followed the opening ceremony from a TV in the hall of Oulun lyseo, a couple of hundred meters from the actual ceremony.

Unlike many others, he had a different connection to the university: in a couple of days he would begin his studies as one of the first 424 student in the University of Oulu.

Home through the forest

Matti Kauppi, originally from Kempele, heard about the new university in the spring 1959 while he was still serving in the military in Pohja Brigade in Oulu. In August, he attended in the entrance exams for biologists in all three subjects: botany, zoology, and geography. After the exams, Kauppi got the news: welcome to the University of Oulu!

His interest in nature and its wonders manifested already as a schoolboy. While other school kids in Kempele chose the fastest way home along the road, Kauppi and his friend preferred a walk through the forest. Later in life, the friend became gardener while Kauppi became biologist.

When the University of Oulu began its operation sixty years ago, it formed two faculties: philosophical and technical. Oulu Teacher School, established already in 1953, merged to the university, and the medical faculty started in autumn 1960.

Soon after the opening ceremony, Kauppi got to know the student life in Kasarmintie 7, where currently resides the art museum. The top level of Åström’s office building was rented for the botany and zoology departments of the University of Oulu.

Kauppi still owns the study register where all completed exams and lectures were marked by hand. First marks are from the beginning of October in 1959, when professor Lauri Siivonen began the course in animal morphology.

Teaching was in forms of lectures and courses. According to Kauppi, the courses took more time then than nowadays: one course could be three hours in a week and last through the whole winter. The days were full: courses and lectures spanned from the morning to late afternoon with only break for one or two hours. Because the students didn’t have their own restaurant, they either brought their own lunch or cycled to the city centre to the industrial school in Albertinkuja.

The young University of Oulu received much from the earlier universities. Its professors came from Helsinki and Turku, and the old brass Leitz microscopes came from Helsinki. During the first year, the professors brought their own samples for teaching purposes. This had to be done, otherwise the young biologists wouldn’t have anything to study.

The course assistants also collected and preserved the plants also by drying them and preserving them in formalin. Moulds were cultivated on a bread under a glass cover and algal fungi even with fly carcasses.

The study materials had to be prepared for microscopes, which means that the sample had to be processed for study, Kauppi reminisces. For example, when studying plants, the student had to pick up a sample from the preservative liquid and cut very thin pieces of the sample for studying. The most vivid memory from the first courses was the terrible smell of plants and animals preserved in formalin. Then again, Kauppi became a skilled cutter thanks to constant cutting exercises with razor blades.

At the end of the term, a written exam was held at the end of each course. This was then marked with grade in the student’s register. There were no study credits or points to collect, and guidance for theses was quite minimal in the beginning. According to Matti Kauppi, students worked on their theses mostly independently, at times also by banging their heads in the walls when they had done unnecessary work due to the lack of guidance.

The relationship with the professors was very formal, Kauppi recalls.

“Professors were [addressed as] Misters. We students were also Misters and Misses, but professors were to be addressed highly respectfully – but not as Mister Professor.”

Kauppi’s study week was six days long. Monday and Tuesday were reserved for zoology, Wednesday and Thursday for botany, Friday and Saturday for geography.

Was studying in the new university hard? How stressful was studying back then?

According to Matti Kauppi, he did sit in the lectures like everyone else. After all, the lectures were essential. Not because students’ participation would have been closely watched, but because otherwise they wouldn’t know what was talked about during the lecture. There were no separate hand-outs, unless some other student was kind enough to duplicate their notes with tracing paper. Kauppi preferred courses over lectures, since their schedules were loose.

Students back then did work on their studies, but maybe the pace was more leisurely: “We had time!”

Selling Money-Moles

Even though the study week lasted until Saturday, the students also had time for extra-curricular activities in Oulu.

The Student Union played a big role in Matti Kauppi’s student life. According to him, student life in Oulu started to actually develop when the Student Union moved to Kauppurienkatu 2 in the early 1960.

In fact, he has the first membership card of the Student Union of the University of Oulu (OYY). In fact, he got it by chance.

When he lived in the first student house of Oulu, Domus Botnica, Kauppi heard a rumour that the Student Union, whose office was also in the same building, would soon give out membership cards. Kauppi and his roommate Pekka Keränen knocked on the office door exactly at 4 pm and got their cards: Kauppi got number 1 and Keränen number 2.

Later the membership card has proven useful by giving him VIP entrance to the opening ball at student house Rauhala.

“The cannon fired, the rector spoke and got the university’s first key. Fireworks were set off, students had pea soup and beer, and then the cannon fired again.”

On the side of his studies, Matti Kauppi participated also in guild activities. He was one of the founders of Syntaksis, guild for biology students in the University of Oulu, and as elected secretary, he wrote the minutes of the founding meeting. In 1960s, students in Oulu worked hard to ease the student housing shortage: Kauppi, too, collected paper and sold Money-Moles, mole mascots, to fund the construction of Välkkylä student village.

Kauppi participated also in the march from city centre to Kuivasjärvi in November 1966 as a part of big student stunt. On the first of November, more than a thousand students marched long route to dig a hole and fill a field. It was a symbolic act: the location for the future university was a boggy field, and the students wanted to do their share by digging the foundations for the university. The stunt wasn’t a protest but a positive demonstration, whose purpose was to show gratitude on the university’s location.

In the Oulu Student Magazine, the stunt was described as follows: “The cannon fired, the rector spoke and got the university’s first key. Fireworks were set off, students had pea soup and beer, and then the cannon fired again.”

Even before the university, Oulu Teacher School had been active for several years. Pedagogy students launched the “Operation Boulder”, selling ore boulders for raising money for student housing. The Teacher School also had their own student union, who produced a student magazine, organised interest clubs, arranged parties, and organised the first known traditional May Day event in Oulu. Instead of putting a student cap on Frans Mikael Franzén, in 1958 the cap was put on Uno Aro’s bronze statue Kaarnavenepoika (“Bark Boat Boy”). At that time, the students thought that bishop Franzén would be too prestigious to cap, and the head of the statue wasn’t the size of a student cap.

Matti Kauppi looks back and says that he didn’t really meet the pedagogy students. Well, many of them lived in the same building, Domus Botnica in Toivoniemi, and sometimes Kauppi would run into them in student activities. He remembers that the pedagogy students organised rollicking parties, one of which led to burying a radio ceremonially into Merikoski tailrace channel.

“But we were good boys.”

Matti Kauppi retired from his job as an assistant professor in 2000. The University of Oulu provided him with everything: wife, degree, job, most of his friends and acquaintances, direction for his life.

The university wouldn’t let go

Students who started with Matti Kauppi had clear goals: to get the qualifications to teach biology and geography and out to the world!

Kauppi, too, was about to move on from the university towards graduation and teaching. When he reached the point where he was ready to move on to the working life with respect to his studies, Kauppi decided to stay and deepen his knowledge. In 1965 he met his future wife Anneli, who started studying physical chemistry and biochemistry. Matti Kauppi decided to follow her back into the student life.

“When I was supposed to leave the university, I decided to study chemistry and biochemistry instead.”

For many years, they did studies in pedagogy, different field studies, extra courses on computers — everything that is needed to teach in the university. Along the years they wrote also their doctoral theses. Anneli Kauppi studied the structural and functional differences of using stools of broad-leaved trees in coppice forest, whereas Matti Kauppi developed methods for using sensitive lichens as a tool for studying pollution.

“When I was supposed to leave the university, I decided to study chemistry and biochemistry instead.”

Matti Kauppi had worked already on the side of his studies as a course assistant for a professor. After that, his career continued in the University of Oulu in different temporary jobs as teacher, assistant, and garden amanuensis, as well as few times as acting associate professor. Lichens remained his main study interest, and he did cooperation with international researchers. Some publications include also his wife Anneli.

One of Kauppi’s duties was building the University’s Botanical Gardens. They were originally built in Hupisaaret islands, where the city gardens used to be before they were moved to a more spacious area in Peltola. Work on the Botanical Gardens began in the spring 1961. The plants came from Helsinki Botanical Gardens and Raikko Ruotsalo delivered them to Oulu. With the plants came also specific set of instructions on plant placement.

University, too, was first planned to be located in Hupisaaret islands. In the first few years, the university didn’t have one united location but instead it was scattered in different rental spaces. The suggestions for university’s location included Sanginsuu, Virpiniemi and Koskikeskus near the city centre.

Matti Kauppi was instructed to select the trees and bushes in Hupisaaret that were not to be removed when the university comes. Kauppi did as was told, but in the end, the university found its place in Linnanmaa. The Botanical Gardens followed the campus in 1983.

Life, career, friends

Matti Kauppi retired from his job as an assistant professor in 2000. In a way, the University of Oulu provided him everything in life: wife, degree, work, most of his friends and acquaintances, direction for life.

“Contents of life, work and pleasure too,” Matti Kauppi describes the university’s role in his life.

“Its meaning is one-hundred-per-cent important,” Anneli Kauppi adds.

As a child, Matti Kauppi thought to become plant breeder or biology teacher. If there wouldn’t be a vacancy in the university, it would also be nice to work as gardener.

He didn’t become biology teacher, like many others, and like he was originally supposed to. Not a plant breeder or garden director either, although he did work as the latter for a year.

But 81 years of his life Kauppi has been in a good shape, maybe thanks to his gardening hobby.

The university has given him this memory as well:

On the university’s opening day, Matti Kauppi wanted to see the fireworks that he city of Oulu organised over the Koskikeskus. When the view wasn’t satisfying enough from his own balcony, he went up to the fourth-floor balcony in Domus Botnica.

The fireworks had drawn a lot of students to the balcony. Suddenly Kauppi was pushed aside – some important-looking man cleared space in the balcony. The reason was the prestigious guests: governor Kalle Määttä’s spouse Jenni Määttä and president Urho Kekkonen’s spouse Sylvi Kekkonen were also interested in the fireworks.

“I remember that there I was, watching the fireworks over the Mrs Kekkonen’s shoulder.”

In addition to Matti Kauppi’s interview, other sources used in this article are Kauppi’s interviews in the Yliopiston arki project (“Life in the University”, interviewers Tiina Kuokkanen and Tiia Salo) and in Aktuumi volume 2/08, Oulun korkeakouluseura’s (nowadays Oulun yliopistoseura, “University Society of Oulu”) publication on the opening ceremony of the University of Oulu, the history of OYY Uunosta Välkyksi – Oulun yliopiston ylioppilaskunta vuosina 1959–2009 (2009) edited by Anna Nieminen, and an issue of Kaleva published on the 4th of October 1959.

The story translated by Essi Ranta. All quotes have been translated from Finnish to English.

Matti Kauppi

» One of the alumni who started their studies in the University of Oulu autumn 1959.
» Graduated from the University of Oulu as master in 1965, licentiate in 1972, and doctorate in 1980. Subject for master’s thesis was grazing’s effects on the vegetation of seaside meadows in Liminganlahti, subject for licentiate thesis was using lichens as fertilizers and indicators for pollution. The subject for doctoral thesis was using lichens in studying air pollution.
» Started off by working as an assistant in the plant anatomy course in the University of Oulu spring 1962. Worked in different positions in the University of Oulu until 2000.

“A lot has changed in Oulu since the university was founded, and quite many of the changes have happened thanks to the university. I can only be glad that I have been given a chance to tell about this in the pages of Oulu Student Magazine after 60 years. I wish joy and confidence for everyone working and studying in the University of Oulu!”

Julkaistu 9.10.20191.2.2023

Anni Hyypiö

Oulun ylioppilaslehden entinen päätoimittaja. Twitter: @AnniHyypio

Lue lisää:

Frank opened its service for all students, the Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences SAMOK prepares for changes

September brought about some changes: Frank Students opened their digital service for all students in Finland. This means that now, if the student wants to get the digital student card, they don’t have to be a member of a student union who has an agreement with Frank. For now, the change applies only to those higher education students whose student union is not Frank’s partner. Armi Murto, Executive Director in the Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (SAMOK), states that possible impacts of the change become clearer later in the autumn. “The change in our operational environment has forced us to do a tremendous work in developing, but no one has given up, we keep the positive spirit up – even though this is a serious matter.”

In English

TEKSTI Anni Hyypiö

KUVAT Anni Hyypiö

In Finnish

The student utility service Frank Students informed on Monday, 16 Sept that they have opened Frank App service for all student in Finland. Every student in upper secondary and higher level can register in the service and make use of student discounts negotiated by Frank.

Opening the service means also that in order to get a digital student identity card, the student doesn’t have to be a member of a student union who has an agreement with Frank. Frank can verify the student status either through partner unions or through My Studyinfo service maintained by the National Board of Education.

Almost all student unions of Finnish universities of applied sciences (UAS) as well as student unions of the universities of Oulu and Vaasa have ended their partnership with Frank. Institutes of higher education also in Tampere have been outside of Frank’s scope. Now, for the first time, Frank can offer their student card for student in Tampere as well.

Digital card initially available for university students

For now, the change in digital student card applies only to students of universities whose student union is not partner with Frank. Therefore, students in upper secondary schools need to belong to either in the Union of Upper Secondary School Students in Finland (SLL) or the National Union of Vocational Students in Finland (SAKKI) in order to get a student card.

Tiia Lehtola, CEO of Frank, gives two reasons for this solution. First of all, there are different things to take into account when it comes to minor customers. Not all of them have the online banking codes that the new way of registering needs. Also, Frank wants to stagger the big change.

“We are now discussing this with the student unions, and we’ll move forward when we’re ready. When the service becomes accessible also for those upper secondary students who are not part of a student union, the next version of membership recruitment integration should also be available in Frank’s service. This way we still support the student unions’ recruitment of members.”

The service opened on the week 37. According to Lehtola, over thousand new students registered Frank’s digital student card during the first week. Most of the new users are students in the biggest universities of applied sciences in Finland, says Lehtola.

She is glad that users are university students from all over Finland – also from those universities that have ended their partnership with Frank.

“We are happy that the students have found Frank. We haven’t informed about it in particular, except for notifying about an application update and posting in our own channels. It seems that the possibility to use Frank has spread quite organically among the students,” Lehtola says.

According to Tiia Lehtola, Frank App has around 80,000 monthly users at the moment. She is pleased with the amount.

“I believe that the average number of active monthly users increases to over 80,000, and I see it’s possible to reach 100,000 users next year at the latest.”

First news came already in 2016

The majority owner of Frank is Kilroy travel agency, and national student unions the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL), the Union of Upper Secondary School Students in Finland (SLL), the Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (SAMOK), and the National Union of Vocational Students in Finland (SAKKI) have minor ownership.

In 2016 was the first time Frank informed about their plans to open the digital student card service. Already back then they told that the service would open first to university and UAS students. This year, on 29 August, Oulu Student Magazine wrote that the service would possibly open this autumn.

In the announcement sent to the student magazines, Frank gives two reasons for the change in Frank App: goal to make every student’s life better and the change in operational environment.

Now that the student status verification is not exclusive to student unions only, the student card market has drastically changed. Student status information of 1.3 million degree students in all 38 Finnish higher education institutions is available in the VIRTA higher education achievement register. In addition to active students, the number also includes students who have already graduated. According to the Central Statistical Office of Finland, in 2018 there were around 153,400 university students and 128,500 UAS students. In vocational training leading to a degree there were around 322,200 students and around 103,400 students in upper secondary school.

At the end of the year 2016, the information about Frank’s decision to open their digital student card service caused worry about student unions’ own member recruitment. According to the current Universities Act, a university student has to be a member of a student union in order to get a degree, but this applies neither to UAS students nor upper secondary students. That’s why offering a student card through the student union has been a strong method for recruiting new members.

When membership in a student union is not necessary to get a student card, what happens to student unions and their member recruitment?

In 2016, Turun Sanomat (12 Dec 2016) and Kaleva (15 Dec 2016), among other papers, wrote about the student unions’ concerns.

In Frank’s announcement sent on September 16, three student unions assured that, in addition to the student card, there are other benefits in joining the union.

“The situation of joining the student union is about to change regardless of Frank, when the student can get the card already before joining the student union. By collaborating with Frank, we can make the it as easy and tempting to join the union as possible. Of course, there are other benefits of being a member in student union than just the card. If the user acquisition goes well, we can tell this message even more effectively than now also to those students that we wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise,” comment the three Secretary Generals Heikki Luoto (SLL), Hanna Huumonen (SAKKI), and Eero Manninen (SYL).

Change is in the air, but of what kind?

There was one student union with ownership in Frank that didn’t give their comment in the announcement. It is SAMOK, the union that represents the UAS students in Finland. Most of the UAS student unions have terminated their contract with Frank, and SAMOK themself has been about to sell their part of Frank, according to the position adopted in the SAMOK general assembly in autumn 2018.

Armi Murto, Executive Director in SAMOK, stated that the ownership hasn’t been sold yet. Still, it remains the objective, she says.

“We try to take steps towards that. It is the decision that has been made, and I try to implement it to the best of my ability.”

As newly selected Executive Director in SAMOK, Murto deems it regrettable that the cooperation between Frank and the student unions hasn’t been successful.

“We have been aware that some kind of changes are coming to the student card market, and the student unions have prepared for the big changes to the best of their abilities. At the moment, I hope that our objective on selling the ownership is carried out as soon as possible, and that we can conclude our general assembly’s hope.”

Does this change in Frank mean turbulence in the field of student unions?

“At least it has brought changes with it as well as caused worry. The change in our operational environment has forced us to do a tremendous work in developing, no one has given up but keeps the positive spirit up – although this is a serious matter,” Armi Murto formulates.

According to Murto, at this point it is still hard to predict how the opening of services affects the student unions’ actions. The student unions have contemplated whether the change takes away their potential members.

Then again, Murto estimates that the student unions have now focused on developing and expanding their membership activities, communicating about their work in representing students’ interests, and about other important work that they do for UAS students. She thinks it has been great to see the developing work in the student unions.

“They have found different solutions: they have tightened the collaboration among themselves and found different alternatives when it comes to service providers, for example, with the student cards. They have exceptionally prepared for the change in the operational environment by focusing on what they should: developing their own actions. Then again, the concern for member decrease is valid and I understand their concern.”

According to her, the possible effects of the change come clearer later in the autumn: “It is always smart to go through what kind of effects are possible and how to react to them. This autumn, we’re focusing on that the student unions recruit members and with positive attitude. After that we see whether their development work has borne anything, and we can evaluate what to change in the future.”

The union looks forward

At the moment, around half of the 140,000 Finnish UAS students are part of the student unions. According to Armi Murto, the degree of unionization has been on the rise during SAMOK’s history.

“Over the years, there have been some slumps, but they have been turned to rise.”

SAMOK, too, follows the development of student unions’ members amount. According to Murto, the union has just drawn up the budget for 2020, and as a part of it, they have predicted a slump in number of members because of the changes in their environment.

Financial planning is done as realistically as possible, according to Armi Murto, and based on member reports from the student unions.

“Regardless of this, we look forward and hope to offer the best service in student representation and influencing for UAS students.”

Translation: Essi Ranta.

More on changes in the student card: More Choices for a Student Card in Oulu: OYY Terminated Contract with Frank and Made a Deal With Pivo for Electronic Student Card

The illustrations uses Prettycons’s and Good Ware’s icons from flaticon.com.

Edited on the 18th of October, 2019 at 8:57 am: Edited the amount of information in VIRTA service, added information that the 1,3 million includes not only the current university and UAS students but also graduated students. Added the Central Statistical Offices’s information about amount of students in universities and universities of applied sciences as well as in vocational and upper secondary schools.

Julkaistu 8.10.20191.2.2023

Anni Hyypiö

Oulun ylioppilaslehden entinen päätoimittaja. Twitter: @AnniHyypio

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Halloped represents the students’ voice in the decision-making – You can be the one to start the domino effect

"If the students are not included in the decision-making process, their voice can easily be forgotten", writes Sanna Kangasniemi. According to her, students’ viewpoints and visions should be seen and heard in the university.

In English Kolumni

TEKSTI Sanna Kangasniemi

In Finnish

What to do if the the quality of food has declined, the weight of the curriculum is too heavy, or the schedule doesn’t match the reality? You can contact a halloped, the student representative in the university administration. Hallopeds do valuable work for a better university and act as student representatives in working groups and administrative bodies.

If the students are not included in the decision-making process, their voice can easily be forgotten. They really are worth listening to — after all, students are the best experts on their studies and everyday life.

Both public universities and foundation universities in Finland are based on an idea of an academic community, and in the community’s core are professors, university staff, and students. This is to make sure that the academic community uses all their know-how when making decisions. These three groups also lead the University of Oulu by representing in different bodies according to the Universities Act and the Regulations of the University of Oulu. Hallopeds are exactly what is needed to ensure that the students’ viewpoints and visions are seen and heard in the university.

As student representatives, hallopeds have the chance to familiarise themselves on how the management of a big scientific institute works. Hallopeds learn meeting and negotiation skills and broaden their own views on decision-making in different administration levels. There are many places where student representation is needed. The University Board of Directors has the highest decision-making powers in the university. Among other things, the Board decides on the essential objectives for actions and finances as well as on the strategy. In addition to the Board of Directors, hallopeds get to represent in the University Collegium, Education Council and Education Management Group, the Faculties’ boards, councils, education committees, and degree program teams. There are also Health and Wellbeing Working Groups, Equality and Diversity Working Groups, and two Restaurant Working Groups.

Hallopeds learn about the University’s quality management and personnel matters as well as education development. The student representative also gets to connect with other representatives in the academic community. Discussing and exchanging views are valuable part of the job.

Besides the internal administrative bodies, the student representatives influence in bodies external to the University of Oulu, such as in the boards of Uniresta Oy, Oulun ylioppilasapu ry (“Student Help Association in Oulu”) and PSOAS, in national FSHS Council and in local Board of Directors of FSHS Unit in Oulu. So, the students’ voice isn’t limited to the university’s walls.

I have myself worked as a student representative on the other side of the dual model, in the university of applied sciences. I participated in decision-making process in internal and external bodies, like campus’s student well-being groups, campus’s study collegium and degree program team. As a student representative, I quickly noticed that not everything is as simple as it seems to students. For example, in the Oulu University of Applied Sciences the need of another study psychologist had been recognised and acknowledged, but it took over a year of lobbying and multiple inquiries and consultations between different bodies to actually make the decision of hiring a study psychologist. The university is run by a huge administrative machine that observes and makes decision which have an effect on, among other things, students’ well-being, education quality, and university’s reputation.

However, I have noticed that even a one small decision can have a domino effect, where one thing or person causes a chain of events. That is why I encourage everyone to apply for halloped: you can be the first domino to cause the change.

There are over 100 student representatives in the administration chosen by OYY’s Executive Board or the Student Council. You can apply for halloped from the beginning of October at halloped.fi.

Translation: Essi Ranta.

Julkaistu 4.10.20191.2.2023

Sanna Kangasniemi

OYY:n sosiaalipoliittinen asiantuntija, jonka mielestä jokainen päivä on mahdollisuus.

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Hi, 5 dualities of getting a PhD

Doctoral studies are unlike regular Bachelor or Master studies. In regular studies, the majority of the time is spent attending courses and taking exams, with the objective of increasing your knowledge and your ability to learn and retain information. On the other hand, in a PhD, you are expected to find information, understand it, make new information, and present it in a concise manner with meaningful conclusions. There is a dual nature in the experience of research aimed at a doctoral degree. The following 5 dualities of PhD studies may shine a light on what you can expect.

In English

TEKSTI Marcelo Goldmann

Still in school but no longer a student

Academic work is done usually at the university. However, you will become an employee, and no longer have student rights, such as the cheapest food at the cafeteria. You will still get a staff discount though, so it’s not too bad. Additionally, if you feel like still socializing at a student level, you will find it very difficult as your PhD will be literally a job, with work times, salary, holidays, etc. Some of your peers might still be frequenting social events, while you may not be able to due to your having to be in the office the next day in the morning.

More money but less money

In Finland, PhD salaries are very fair. However, they can be on average below the salaries offered by private companies. Nevertheless, coming from a student allowance to an actual salary (or grant) is a great upgrade. And speaking of grants, there is a caveat that if there is no salary budgeted for your position, you might have to rely on applying to numerous grants to sustain your work and livelihood. And in general, personal grants are usually not as large as salaries.

Flexible time and overtime

Normally, you will have a large amount of control on how many hours you spend at the office or laboratory and how many hours you spend outside of it. Of course you will have to agree with your Professor on that matter. Some research units like that their researchers do the classic 9-to-5 work, while others allow you to work flexibly as long as you get your results on time. This is a big advantage, as it allows you to balance your work life and personal life effectively. However, this can also lead to long work days and even work weekends, which will of course does not translate to extra pay. The author does not recommend taking work home or working on weekends.

A thankless gratifying endeavour

In the past they said that “great science is built on the shoulders of giants”. Nowadays, research appears to be built on the shoulders of thousands of tiny giants. And your scientific contribution might feel like a speck of dust in a universe of publications. Unless you happen to do some groundbreaking work that is published in a famous international journal, you may feel that your work is unappreciated. However, not only is your work one of those giants on which future researchers will stand, but also there are few things as gratifying as receiving that email that your paper was accepted for publication.

A great job in the future that will be hard to get

Getting a job after graduation is hard for everyone. However, for a PhD graduate, it might be even harder. There are two choices for a PhD graduate: a tenure track career path in Academia or a company job. Both have their pros and cons and their challenges. A tenure track is a pathway to a permanent position at a university, while a company job is self explanatory. Being granted a tenure track position can be very challenging due to the very few positions usually available and the high competition. Additionally, you might need to do a 2-year postdoc before you are even eligible for it. If you decide to go for a company job, you will find yourself with the similar issues regarding offer and competition. Your knowledge at this point will be very specialized so it might be difficult to find a position in a company that fits your expertise. But once you land either a tenure track position or a company job, you will be filled with great satisfaction and new challenges.

Naturally everyone’s experience will be different. Some people will have an easy time and some will have a very hard time. Most will have a combination of ups and downs. However, if you feel lost, you should always have a conversation with your PhD supervisor or advisor, and they will certainly guide you in the right direction.

Edited 26.9.2019 22.15: Clarified wording on tenure track career path and tenure track positions.

Julkaistu 26.9.20191.2.2023

Marcelo Goldmann

A Doctor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Oulu. "Life is like a rubber duckie, you gotta keep it afloat to see its splendor." Instagram: @marcelogman

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Preparing for Crowds at the University – Juvenes Tries Self-checkout Machines, Uniresta Developes Medisiina’s Lunch Lines

If you've ever visited the restaurants at the campuses at noon, you've seen it: the lunch lines are very long. Next year, the amount of people who eat at the Linnanmaa campus grows by several thousand, when Oamk moves there. The Kontinkangas campus' restaurant, Medisiina, has also been crowded. Juvenes is testing self-checkout counters in two of their restaurants, and Uniresta is also considering them.

In English

TEKSTI Helmi Juntunen

KUVAT Helmi Juntunen

In Finnish

Self-checkout has become a common practice in stores and supermarkets. In August, self-checkout machines have arrived in the Linnanmaa campus, in the Juvenes’s restaurants Napa and Foobar.

“The purpose of self-checkout machines is to help with rush hours and to move customer service away from the traditional checkout counters. The main duties of the staff will be guiding and advising”, says the business controller of Juvenes, Fanni Kempas.

Kempas says that the pilot project will be supervised for a few months. After that Juvenes will consider whether they’ll implement self-checkout counters to their other restaurants. According to Kempas, the machines wont fit in all their restaurants due to differences in the way the restaurants work.

Self-checkout lanes have brought with them changes to both the way paying works and the way student status is checked. You pay the food first, and then you gather the food to your plate. Additional portions and desserts need to be paid separately.

The students use the Tuudo app to access the self-checkout machine and proceed to pay their lunch and possible additional items by card – you won’t be able to use cash. Self-checkout lanes are also available to the staff of the university, doctoral students and visitors.

Similar self-checkout solutions with Tuudo have been previously implemented in two student restaurants in the Capital Region, according to Tuudo.

In addition to the self-checkout project, Juvenes begins a project along with researchers of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland with the aim to research the flow of customers and queueing with the use of tracking devices. The goal is to make using the restaurant a smoother experience. The tracking devices used won’t gather data that would make it possible to single out people, so the customers’ right to privacy is not infringed upon.

In addition to Foobar and Napa, Juvenes owns two restaurants at the University of Oulu, Foodoo and Kylymä, as well as three cafés, Tellus, Juicebar and Café Hub. All of them are located at the Linnanmaa campus.

Uniresta: Self-checkout Is the Future

In addition to Juvenes, Uniresta has also considered self-checkout counters. Uniresta, which owned by the Student Union and Oulun ylioppilasapu, owns two student restaurants, Kastari at the Linnanmaa campus and Medisiina at the Kontinkangas campus.

“We are looking into it at the moment, but we didn’t want to be in the vanguard. Self-checkout is definitely a thing which divides customers. We’ve received feedback at Kastari that it’s wonderful to have a real person behind the counter”, says CEO Kaija-Liisa Silvennoinen of Uniresta.

Silvennoinen says that ultimately self-checkout machines would be useful. She says they are the future.

“The way I see the advantage of self-checkout is that the staff is freed to serve the customer better, when there is less mechanical work to do”, says Silvennoinen.

Silvennoinen says that the locations of the self-checkout counters would need to be carefully planned.

“In busy places they would help with the peak of the traffic. At first, when people are just learning to use them, it might slow things down a bit. I do believe that Uniresta will eventually have self-checkout counters”, Silvennoinen says.

According to Silvennoinen, more pressing matters to Uniresta would be the development of the lunch line in Kastari and increasing customer capacity, but the university makes the decisions when it comes to facilities.

At the Kontinkangas campus, the restaurant Medisiina has also suffered from congestion. Silvennoinen says that the problem has been acknowledged and solutions have been planned.

“For Medisiina we have a plan to develop the lunch line, but that would require an investment from the university. Uniresta has been active in the matter”, Silvennoinen says.

Uniresta would develop the line in Medisiina to be a single long line, where the staff could work in the middle and the customers would be on the two sides. According to Kaija-Liisa Silvennoinen, the plan is ready to be enacted.

“From the beginning of September, Cafe Galenos at Kontinkangas will offer a take away lunch option. In a similar manner, H2O Campus helps with the situation at Kastari. At least the staff of the university are patrons, which is somewhat helpful”, Silvennoinen says.

University of Oulu’s Head of facility services Arto Haverinen and cadastral surveyor Timo Haverinen said that the need to change Medisiina’s lunch line has been discussed for a while. The lines will be changed next year according to Uniresta’s plan.

More accurate schedule for the project or Kastari’s situation, were things neither could comment on at the moment.

Translation: Helmi Juntunen.

Julkaistu 13.9.20191.2.2023

Helmi Juntunen

Oululainen metamoderni antropologi ja mielten välisen etäisyyden avaruuscowgirl.