What are guilds?

Guilds have many roles, and they do much more than act as a simple club. They:

• Hold regular election so that everyone has a chance to help with the decision-making process.
• Organize events, such as sitsits (a traditional Finnish student event), trips, city tours, and much more.
• Offer post-study connections through joint events with local and national companies.
• Provide support by sharing course work, materials, resources, but most importantly, by introducing you to the city and many new people.

Ab-so-lu-te-ly not! A common misconception from students moving to Finland and starting their studies, is that the events organized by the guilds are only oriented towards international students, but let me tell you, it is absolutely the opposite. Guilds have been successfully trying to include members from the international community.

You have probably read about tutors, well, they are organized and managed in part by the guilds. Under their recommendation I went to two events. The first one of them was the sitsit. It is a formal dinner with randomly-assigned seats, and obviously I was sitting next to strangers. It was an amazing experience, even late at night when I was the only one who did not speak Finnish, in a room with more than thirty people, everyone was speaking English, to make me feel more included. I met some great people, and it is something that I will not forget anytime soon.

I am sure you will always be welcome and will find your place in your guild. I hope to see you there soon.