Social programme 2011

Helsinki Summer School isn’t just about the classroom experience. It’s also about meeting new people and having fun! HSS arranges a wide range of social events to help students get to know both each other and Finland.

The Social Programme of Helsinki Summer School has been produced in co-operation with the City of Helsinki. This makes it possible for us to offer the events to you either free of charge or at affordable prices.

The detailed information (times, locations & prices) about the Social Programme events will be updated to HSS Extranet.

Tuesday 9 August. OPENING CEREMONY
The Opening Ceremony officially kicks off the Helsinki Summer School session and lets you get a glimpse of your new friends from all over the world. There will be a few words of welcome from HSS staff and live music!

Tuesday 9 August. RECTOR'S RECEPTION
After the opening ceremony, the day continues with the Rector's Reception with a buffet serving and and plenty of time to mingle!

Tuesday 9 August. WELCOME PARTY
The HSS kick-off continues with our Welcome Party.This is the perfect chance to meet everybody and to start making lots of new friends! See you there!

Wednesday 10 August. CITY TOUR
This guided bus tour is a great way to get to know Helsinki! It covers the most important and interesting sights in Helsinki, including the Presidential Palace, Finlandia Hall, the Sibelius Monument and Temppeliaukio Church. You’ll also get a good idea of Helsinki’s local neighbourhoods.

Thursday 11 August. MÖLKKY TOURNAMENT
Mölkky is a legendary Finnish tossing game that is a perfect way of spending time together with your friends! You don't need any special skills to play Mölkky which is essentially about trying to make wooden sticks fall by throwing them with another wooden stick.

Friday 12 August. BALTIC SEA DINNER CRUISE
Finnish archipelago is famous for its beauty. We will be exploring it on a private cruise ship while enjoying a delicious Finnish meal on board.

Saturday 13 August & Saturday 20 August
WILDLIFE AND SAUNA TRIP
Finnish nature and sauna – this is a combination that will knock your socks off! You’ll have a chance to experience both on this trip to beautiful Finnish wilderness. We’ll be spending the day hiking and canoeing and after the exercise we’ll relax in a traditional Finnish sauna. Visiting sauna is a definite MUST -  you haven’t really experienced Finland until you’ve been to sauna. In all this is an event you won’t want to miss!  

Sunday 14 August. FINNISH ODDITIES EVENT
This event is about exploring some odd bits of Finnish culture - and having fun together doing so! Finns are crazy about Nordic Walking, that is a combination of walking and skiing. Finn also like to do Finnish style ballroom dancing that is popular among all generations. You'll get to both of these in this fun open air event that takes place by the beautiful Töölö Bay. You'll also be treated with traditional Finnish pie soup and "munkkis" that are Finnish style donuts

Wednesday 17 August. NIGHT OF FUTURE POSSIBILITIES
Join us for a night of opportunities! Come and see what the Helsinki Region universities have to offer. Representatives from our partner schools will be on hand to tell you all about the opportunities they have to offer international students.

Thursday 18 August. MOVIE NIGHT
Find out what the Finnish films are like, and what you can learn about the Finnish culture by watching one!

Monday 22 August, Tuesday 23 August and Wednesday 24 August
PARLIAMENT TOUR
We’ll take a guided tour of the most important state building in Finland, the Parliament House. This is the place where all the big decisions are made in Finland. The Parliament House is an impressive and interesting building with 1920’s architecture and interior design.

Thursday 25 August. FAREWELL PARTY
All good things must come to an end, but tonight is all about celebrating the time we’ve shared together! This is a great chance for us to get together one more time and reflect back on our Helsinki Summer School experience.

This is a preliminary programme. Changes are possible.