News in English

Exchange students rioted in Hervanta

Late November, a group of exchange students attending institutes of higher education at Tampere ran amok at Mikontalo and Teekkarisauna in Hervanta. The incident has resulted in a police investigation.

A group of several dozen students, mostly exchange students, were having a party at Mikontalo on the last day of November.

During that evening and night some of them tore and broke roofing sheets, lights and downstairs glass doors. Some of the damage was done with tools. Also, a washing machine and a shopping trolley were thrown out of a window. The damage is estimated to amount to several thousand euros.

Toas has handed the matter over to the police. The case is being investigated as malicious damage. Even the police do not know the details of the events. All they know is that there were several people involved. Any eyewitnesses are asked to contact the police at the following number: 071 874 5800.

Some of the very drunk partygoers continued from Mikontalo to Teekkarisauna near TUT. They thrashed the premises and some small property has gone missing.

A few days after the events in Hervanta, a group of exchange students caused indignation at the Town Hall Independence Day reception, where the mayor had invited some foreigners who study at Tampere.

The nature of the reception was not clear to all guests, since some students showed up inappropriately dressed and brought their own drinks.

"We have received an official apology and consider the case closed", says Raija Arasalo, Secretary of Public Relations for the City of Tampere.

VR tightens discount policy

VR changed its discount policy at the beginning of December. Their 50 percent student discount is now available only to students studying in Finnish schools.

According to VR, the reason for the change are EU regulations, according to which all Union citizens must be treated equally regardless of nationality. If the discount were given to Finns studying abroad, it should also be given to everyone studying in any EU country.

Because of this change, approximately 4400 Finns studying abroad will be left without a discount when travelling in Finland. Students who got their student card before the change get the discount until their card expires.

City centre campus loses 120 parking spaces

The gravel parking area at the corner of Kalevantie street and Kanslerinrinne street will no longer be used from late January/early February on.

The City of Tampere has been renting the site to the University since 2001. It has been clear from the beginning that the contract is temporary and will end when the City finds use for the site. That is why the time of notice before the contract ends is only a month long and it was not possible to notify about the change earlier. The city has now sold the site.

The gravel parking area included 120 parking spaces, which means 15 percent of the total number of the UniversityÂ’s parking spaces. From February onwards, the city centre campus will have a total of 644 parking spaces. The loss is not going to be compensated for.

The UniversityÂ’s Facility Manager Taina Vimpari says that more parking spaces will be lost in April, when the Atalpa expansion work starts. The work will take about a year and 60-80 parking spaces will be out of use during that time. Forty of them will remain permanently out of use.

Risk of longer queues for dental care

FinlandÂ’s shortage of dentists is beginning to have an effect on FSHS. The average waiting time for a check-up in Tampere is eight months.

“The queue is permanent and I am afraid it is going to get worse," says Annukka Vuorinen, senior dentist at FSHS.

Three of the dentists at the Kalevantie health centre were on sick leave for the first week of the third study period. Several appointments had to be cancelled even though other staff were working overtime.

A big problem troubling the whole country is a lack of substitutes. When employees are ill or have their holidays, substitutes are practically impossible to find.

The Universities of Helsinki and Oulu intend to increase their teaching of dentistry, but there is no idea how long it will take before this has a positive effect on the situation.

In Tampere, over 1000 students are currently in queue for a check-up appointment. Vuorinen says that invitations to book an appointment have been sent out to most of the students who entered the queue last spring. After receiving the invitation, students should be able to get an appointment within a couple of weeks, if the times available suit their schedules.

Sarkomaa: No tuition fees in Finland

According to Sari Sarkomaa, Minister of Education and Science, education at all levels must remain tuition free in the future. Sarkomaa said in an STT interview that not even the reform of the Universities Act in the making gives the universities the right to collect tuition fees.

Leena Palotie, professor and gene researcher, stated in an interview in Turun Sanomat (12th January) that tuition fees are a necessity for ensuring the development of universities. She says that universities need money to keep Finland among the top research countries in the world.

Students allowed to make more money

This year, students are allowed to earn 30 percent more money than previously before losing their study grant. This reform applies to all income gained from January 2008 on.

The maximum monthly income per study grant month is now 660 euros, whereas last year it was 505 euros. The maximum monthly income per a month without the study grant is now 1970 euros instead of the previous 1515 euros. If the income exceeds the maximum, Kela will require the extra study grant back with an interest of 15 percent. It is possible to cancel the study grant beforehand.

The student grant will rise this year as well. From August onwards, students at institutes of higher education will receive a student grant of 298 euros per month. At the moment the sum is 259, 01 euros.

Translations: Reija Kontio