kolme fotoniikan opiskelijaa rakennuksen edessä

Tech stu­dents arri­ved at the cam­pus

New traditions to the student life

In Joen­suu, one out of eve­ry three people you see on the streets is a stu­dent, and now we also have a fair num­ber of fresh stu­dents of tech­nical sub­jects, also known as teek­ka­ris. At the begin­ning of Sep­tem­ber, more than 60 stu­dents of tech­nical sub­jects began their stu­dies in Joen­suu, brin­ging their own fla­vour to the life of Finland’s most mul­ti­discipli­na­ry science uni­ver­si­ty and vibrant stu­dent city.  

Joen­suu joi­ned the list of teek­ka­ri cities as the university’s educa­tio­nal offe­ring expan­ded to the field of tech­no­lo­gy. This autumn, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Eas­tern Fin­land star­ted offe­ring engi­nee­ring stu­dies in the degree pro­gram­mes of pho­to­nics and sus­tai­nable tech­no­lo­gies in Joen­suu and in the degree pro­gram­me of tech­nical phy­sics in Kuo­pio.  

Eli­sa Meh­to­nen and Emma Myl­ly­mä­ki, who stu­dy pho­to­nics at the Depart­ment of Phy­sics and Mat­he­ma­tics, say that their stu­dies have got off to a good start. Both stu­died phy­sics during their fresh­man year.  

“During my first aca­de­mic year, I stu­died in the phy­sics research line, but I ended up switc­hing to Master’s degree stu­dies in pho­to­nics under the new degree pro­gram­me. In addi­tion to mat­he­ma­tics and phy­sics, pho­to­nics also invol­ves a lot of gene­ral tech­nical stu­dies and for example, pro­gram­ming. That diver­si­ty att­rac­ted me,” says Eli­sa.   

Emma’s path also took her from the phy­sics research line to stu­dies in pho­to­nics. “I had to con­si­der switc­hing for a long time, but the diver­se and inte­res­ting ran­ge of cour­ses in pho­to­nics final­ly won me over.”  

kolme opiskelijaa laboratoriossa tekemässä mittausta
In their stu­dies, Eli­sa Meh­to­nen, Emma Myl­ly­mä­ki and Hen­ri Hyt­ti­nen get to stu­dy the fea­tu­res of light in the labo­ra­to­ry as well.

The­re is a need for pho­to­nics experts 

Pho­to­nics is a field of science and tech­no­lo­gy based on invi­sible and visible light, who­se Master’s degree stu­dies pre­pa­re you for research and pro­duct deve­lop­ment tasks in the field of pho­to­nics as well as for wor­king as a specia­list and in mana­ge­ment posi­tions.   

Tech­no­lo­gical stu­dies also sup­port busi­ness in the region. Com­pa­nies have been invol­ved in crea­ting the stu­dy con­tent and, especial­ly the final years of the stu­dies proceed in clo­se co-ope­ra­tion with com­pa­nies. The stu­dents are also well awa­re of the fact that the­re is a great need in com­pa­nies for high­ly qua­li­fied experts in the field of tech­no­lo­gy.  

Since the begin­ning of my stu­dies it has been clear that the­re is a need for pho­to­nics experts.

“Emplo­yers are fami­liar with the tit­le and areas of exper­ti­se of Mas­ter of Science in Engi­nee­ring. With this trai­ning, you are very like­ly to find a job in Joen­suu, but you can also start buil­ding a career abroad,” says Hen­ri Hyt­ti­nen, a pho­to­nics stu­dent.   

In Joen­suu, pho­to­nics experts work at Dis­pe­lix and Nanocomp, for example. The jour­ney of many who specia­li­se in pho­to­nics lead to posts at, for example, the Pho­to­nics Cen­ter on the uni­ver­si­ty cam­pus.  

“Since the begin­ning of my stu­dies it has been clear that the­re is a need for pho­to­nics experts both in Joen­suu and elsew­he­re in Fin­land,” says Eli­sa.   

opiskelija tekemässä valoon liittyvää mittausta
Pho­to­nics brought Hamza Kha­lid to a comple­te­ly new envi­ron­ment in Joen­suu.

All pho­tons lead to Joen­suu  

An educa­tion in tech­no­lo­gy also att­racts inter­na­tio­nal talent to Joen­suu. Hamza Kha­lid came to Joen­suu from Pakis­tan and has had a litt­le over a month to get acquain­ted with the cam­pus and the city.  

“I came to Joen­suu for my Master’s stu­dies in pho­to­nics. I have a background in phy­sics, and I have stu­died pho­to­nics in a few cour­ses during my Bachelor’s stu­dies.”   

The science of light waves even­tual­ly att­rac­ted Hamza to Joen­suu, alt­hough other options were avai­lable.  

“I could have gone to Oulu to stu­dy elect­ro­nics, but pho­to­nics led me to Joen­suu. I’m inte­res­ted in various laser tech­no­lo­gies, len­ses, nano- and mic­rop­ho­to­nics and other pho­to­nics applica­tions. The world is chan­ging, and light plays a big role in it,” says Hamza.   

The world is chan­ging, and light plays a big role in it.

Hamza has been slow­ly get­ting to know the city of Joen­suu and the stu­dy rhythm of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Eas­tern Fin­land.  
 
“I didn’t know anyt­hing about Joen­suu befo­re coming here. Based on a few weeks’ expe­rience, I can say that Joen­suu is a real­ly peace­ful city. Get­ting used to the weat­her con­di­tions and the peace and qui­et takes time, but on the other hand, the city cent­re is bust­ling with life.”   

“In Pakis­tan, I got used to stu­dying main­ly through lec­tu­res. Stu­dying and sche­du­ling stu­dies is much more inde­pen­dent here in Joen­suu. The new way of stu­dying will defi­ni­te­ly teach you self-mana­ge­ment skills. My futu­re is still open.  I might want to stay in Joen­suu to pur­sue doc­to­ral stu­dies or work in a local com­pa­ny after gra­dua­ting,” says Hamza.  

kolme opiskelijaa haalareissa ulkona
Pho­to­nics stu­dents can be iden­ti­fied by their purple ove­ralls. In the spring, during May Day par­ties, a teek­ka­ri cap with a tas­sel is placed on the head.

Pranks and new May Day tra­di­tions  

In Fin­land, teek­ka­ris are famous for their unique tra­di­tions, which are now being brought to stu­dent life in Joen­suu as well. One of the big­gest events is May Day, and next spring the teek­ka­ris will join the par­ty for the first time in Joen­suu. Howe­ver, the­re may be other events alrea­dy during the win­ter, whe­re the­se stu­dents can stand out from the other uni­ver­si­ty stu­dents. 

“Each stu­dent cont­ri­bu­tes to crea­ting the cul­tu­re in Joen­suu, and fresh­men are encou­ra­ged to par­tici­pa­te in the joint plan­ning work. On May Day It would be nice to arran­ge, for example, a teek­ka­ri bap­tism or some other simi­lar tra­di­tion,” Eli­sa and Emma say.  

“I think we’ll mana­ge to come up with some pranks, too. I belie­ve that the cul­tu­re will be on display in Joen­suu in a posi­ti­ve way,” says Hen­ri with a grin.

Getting to know the terms

Teekkari– a student of a university of technology or a student studying technical subjects at a multidisciplinary university. The student first completes the Bachelor’s degree and then the Master’s degree in engineering.

Freshman – A first-year university student.

Teekkari prank – An event or small prank organised by the teekkaris, which is usually on display in the streets and can be inspired by topical issues, for example.

Photonics – Science and technology focused on light waves. Photonics is the production, transmission, modification and measurement of light.  



This material was produced as part of the activities of the City of Joensuu Innovation Ecosystem Agreement (ERDF), co-funded by the European Union and the city of Joensuu.

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