In Finland, student nations (in Finnish, sg. osakunta, pl. osakunnat; in Swedish (student)nation) are student organisations within which a large proportion of extra-curricular student activity takes place. Though membership is not compulsory, the nations provide one of the main nodes of student social life, along with the faculty-based organisations (ainejärjestöt) at the universities.
The first Finnish student nations were originally established at The Royal Academy of Turku. When the Academy moved to Helsinki after the Great Fire of Turku taking the name Imperial Alexander University in Finland, the nations moved along with it. Their institutional form is based on the original nation system of the University of Uppsala.
After Finland had gained its independence from Russia, the university was renamed as the University of Helsinki. Today there are 15 nations, each one representing a historic region or province of Finland. Four of these nations represent Swedish-speaking regions which overlay some of the remaining 12 regions, which are Finnish-speaking regions. For example, Åbo Nation and Varsinaissuomalainen osakunta ("Finland Proper Nation") both represent a very similar geographic region, though the former is Swedish- and the latter Finnish-Speaking. In addition to the nations at Helsinki University, there is also an association for Swedish-speaking students, Teknologföreningen, at Aalto University, and it is also legally a nation.
The 16 nations, those at Helsinki University and Teknologföreningen, have a special legal status as their existence and overall purpose is regulated by the Universities Act. [1] Therefore, organizations termed "nations" at other Finnish universities founded in the 20th century are not nations in the legal sense of the word, but instead associations, regulated by the Associations Act. [2] For example, at the University of Turku, there are four student nations established in the 1920s. [3]
Turku is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately 205,000, while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 314,000. It is the 6th most populous municipality in Finland, and the third most populous urban area in the country after Helsinki and Tampere.
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country still was a part of Sweden. It was founded in 1640. In 1809, after Finland became a Grand Duchy under the suzerainty of the Russian Tsar, it was renamed the Imperial Academy of Turku. In 1828, after the Great Fire of Turku, the institution was moved to Helsinki, in line with the relocation of the Grand Duchy's capital. It was finally renamed the University of Helsinki when Finland became a sovereign nation-state in 1917.
The University of Helsinki is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Tsar Alexander I. The University of Helsinki is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available. In 2022, around 31,000 students were enrolled in the degree programs of the university spread across 11 faculties and 11 research institutes.
Åbo Akademi University is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland. It is located mainly in Turku but has also activities in Vaasa. Åbo Akademi should not be confused with the Royal Academy of Åbo, which was founded in 1640, but moved to Helsinki after the Turku fire of 1827 and is today known as the University of Helsinki.
The University of Turku is a multidisciplinary public university with eight faculties located in the city of Turku in southwestern Finland. The university also has campuses in Rauma and Pori and research stations in Kevo and Själö.
Teknologföreningen is the only student nation at the Aalto University. The only other university in Finland hosting student nations is the University of Helsinki. The Aalto University was formed in 2010 by a merger of three universities, before the merger Teknologföreningen was a student corporation of the Helsinki University of Technology. Therefore the majority of the members are students of engineering or architecture.
The Student Union of the University of Turku is a body to which, under public law, all University of Turku bachelor's and master's degree students belong. It is among the oldest student unions in Finland. Postgraduate and exchange students may become a member of TYY, but it is not obligatory. Visiting are ineligible to join TYY.
The Academic Male Voice Choir of Helsinki, abbreviated AS, colloquially also known as Akademen, is a Finland-Swedish academic male-voice choir in Helsinki, Finland. The choir was founded in 1838 by Fredrik Pacius and is the oldest extant choir in Finland. It is one of two male-voice choirs affiliated with the University of Helsinki, the other being the oldest extant Finnish-language choir, the YL Male Voice Choir. Furthermore, it is one of two Swedish-language choirs affiliated with the University of Helsinki, the other being the Academic Female Voice Choir Lyran.
The New Student House, originally named Osakuntatalo, is the current student house of the Student Union of the University of Helsinki, located in central Helsinki, Finland, at Mannerheimintie 5, right next to the Old Student House. It is part of the Kaivopiha building complex owned by the student union. The new student house houses the central office of the student union, the Ylioppilaslehti office, and premises for many nations and student organisations; part of the building has also been leased for third-party business and office use.
Nylands Nation (NN) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finland's oldest, Swedish-speaking and established in 1643 at The Royal Academy of Turku. In 1828, the Academy moved to Helsinki taking the name "University" and Nylands Nation moved there along with the other Nations. Since 1904 the house of Nylands Nation, a building designed by Karl Hård af Segerstad, has stood at Kasarmikatu 40.
Lilja is a red granite sculpture by Wäinö Aaltonen, located in Turku, Finland. It is located in Runeberginpuisto near the Aurasilta. It depicts the lily, the flower of the Turku coat of arms. In 1927, the statue was the first public art commission in Turku.
Hämäläis-Osakunta is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking and established in 1653 at The Royal Academy of Turku. In 1828, the academy moved to Helsinki adopting the name university and Hämäläis-Osakunta moved there along with the other nations. HO represents the historic region of Tavastia, so it recruits its members actively there. The building of the nation, built in 1931, is located in Kamppi, on Urho Kekkosen katu.
Eteläsuomalainen osakunta (ESO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking, established in 1905 and it has Uusimaa and Eastern Uusimaa as recruitment regions. Before 1905, Nylands Nation (NN) gathered both Finnish- and Swedish-speaking university students from Southern Finland, but seceded from NN in 1905 to form a similar, but Finnish-speaking nation.
Kymenlaakson Osakunta (KyO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking and established in 1933. Kymenlaakson Osakunta's home region is the province of Kymenlaakso in south-eastern Finland and constitutes from the cities of Hamina, Kotka and Kouvola and municipalities of Iitti, Miehikkälä, Pyhtää and Virolahti. The area of the town of Loviisa is a shared region with the Eteläsuomalainen Osakunta.
Östra Finlands Nation (ÖFN) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Swedish-speaking and established in 1924. The nation is formed to represent the interests of Swedish-speaking students coming from Eastern Finland, nowadays interpreted as the community of Sipoo and any place more to the east of it. While the official language of the nation is Swedish and most members are students at the University of Helsinki, any student studying at any university or applied university in the Helsinki region is welcome as a member.
Varsinaissuomalainen osakunta (VSO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking, established in 1906.
Etelä-Pohjalainen Osakunta (EPO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking and established in 1908.
North Ostrobothnian Nation is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki. PPO is Finnish-speaking and established in 1907. Originally formed by students from the northern former Oulu and Lapland Provinces, the nation now accepts anyone studying in the Helsinki region as a member.
Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Åbo or only Svenska fruntimmersskolan was a Girls' School in Turku in Finland, active from 1844 to 1955. Alongside its equivalent in Helsinki, Svenska fruntimmersskolan i Helsingfors (1844-1974), it was the first state school for females in Finland. From 1919, it was called Svenska flickskolan i Åbo.