Information sessions for exchange students coming to Helsinki

Concerns mainly Erasmus students!

LETTER OF CONFIRMATION FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS

A Letter of Confirmation (arrival/departure certificate) is a document given to you by your home university. Erasmus and Erasmus ICM students will automatically receive a Letter of Confirmation (also known as a confirmation of stay, end of stay or departure certificate) via email at the end of their exchange. This document is electronically signed by the University of Helsinki. The dates on the certificate are the ones stated as the duration of your exchange in Sisu. No action is required to receive it. For exchanges ending on December 19, the email will be sent on December 19 to your email address you provided on Mobility Online.  

If your home university does not accept the electronic document, we can sign and stamp the departure certificates by hand (i.e. "end of stay" or "confirmation of stay" documents) within five days before your study right ends.

If you leave before December 19th, you can get the signature within five days before your departure date at the usual times of our Drop-in services and from the student services at Kaisa House.

If your home university specifies a different time frame, we must adhere to that. Bring the printed document with you for signatures. See the IT Helpdesk printing instruction page.

You can get a signature for your Departure Certificates before you leave as follows:
15.12.2025 Monday, from Int. Exchange Services Drop-in desk at the City Center Campus btw 12-13hrs, Main Library Kaisa, 3rd floor lobby, Fabianinkatu 30.
15.12.2025 Monday from Student Services desk at the City Center Campus btw 12-16, Main Library Kaisa, 3rd floor lobby, Fabianinkatu 30.
17.12.2025 Wednesday, Kumpula Campus btw 13-14hrs, Physicum, Campus Library, 2nd floor, Room Q (G231), Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2. 
18.12.2025 Thursday, from Student Services desk at the City Center Campus btw 12-16, Main Library Kaisa, 3rd floor lobby, Fabianinkatu 30.
18.12.2025 Thursday, Viikki Campus btw 13-15, Info center, 2nd floor, room 2050, Viikinkaari 11.

LEARNING AGREEMENT
For Erasmus students, most Learning Agreements should be digital (OLA). Only print out your Learning Agreement if your home university is not yet using the digital version. If your home university is not using the Online Learning Agreement and your Learning Agreement still needs to be signed by us, please send it as a pdf file to studentexchange@helsinki.fi. 
 

International Exchange Services organises this online event to inform you about the issues you may be worried about before you arrive in Helsinki and what to expect during the orientation week. We will tell you about the university-related paperwork for your exchange, such as the student certificate, arrival certificates, and learning agreements. We will try our best to answer your questions.

The pre-arrival online Zoom event for Incoming students for spring 2026 will take place on Friday, 12.12.2025, at 14-16. (Helsinki local time).

Guidance Corner provides low threshold advice and guidance services on, for example, wellbeing, digital skills and job seeking. Some of the Guidance Corner activities are regular weekly guidance and counselling sessions. Student services organises also a series of events about Student Life for international and exchange students in English. The Guidance Corners are located in the Kaisa House and in the Viikki Information Centre Korona. Read more on the guidance corner page!

Throughout the year, the University of Helsinki and its Student Union organise a variety of events and parties open to all students. Other student organisations and external parties, such as museums, also organise events for students. Exchange students are welcome to join these events, which we have listed in the Instructions for students under student events.

We organize online application clinics to guide you on how to make your application in the Mobility Online system of the University of Helsinki. There will also be a couple of online drop-in meetings for your last-minute panic questions. Please find detailed information about the dates and times of these online events on the following web page: Online support for exchange applicants.

Each autumn and spring, before the classes begin, there is an orientation week full of activities for all new international students. It is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to get to know the campuses and the university and to get all the official matters out of the way.

Please note that if you miss the orientation week, starting your studies will be more time-consuming and challenging as you will have to manage everything independently.

You will find detailed information on your faculty's orientation week activities on the Orientation and Tutoring page before the orientation week. Each faculty organizes its own orientation, please follow your own faculty's orientation programme by first selecting your degree programme on the Orientation and Tutoring - web page. 

We will be sending you newsletters, so please pay attention to the guidelines and instructions in the newsletters.

Spring 2025

• Orientation Week: January 7. - 9.2026

Autumn 2025

• Orientation Week: August 26th - 29th. Orientation presentation of the International Exchange Services (pdf)