How to Apply (incom­ing student exchange)

Acad­e­mic year 2024-2025

Appli­ca­tion process

1) Partner univer­si­ties nomi­nate students for exchange by 15 April 2024.
Nomi­na­tions are done in Sole­MOVE system, instruc­tions for this are sent to the inter­na­tional offices of the partner insti­tu­tions in Febru­ary 2024. More infor­ma­tion from mobil­ity (at) karelia.fi.
2) Karelia’s Inter­na­tional Office creates user IDs for the nomi­nated students in the Sole­MOVE system. The nomi­nated students will receive an email from Sole­MOVE with login infor­ma­tion and instruc­tions.
3) Students fill in and submit the Sole­MOVE online appli­ca­tion with the required attach­ments by 30 April 2024, and confirm their place once they receive infor­ma­tion on the accep­tance.
4) The appli­ca­tions are processed in May 2024 by Karelia’s depart­men­tal coor­di­na­tors and Inter­na­tional office. 

Docu­ments you need to attach to your online application

  • Tran­script of Records in English (=courses completed so far)
  • Copy of ID or Passport
  • Learn­ing agree­ment (please check the detailed infor­ma­tion below; your appli­ca­tion cannot be processed without the learn­ing agree­ment)
  • EU curricu­lum vitae
  • Moti­va­tion Letter, needed only if you apply for training/placement or indi­vid­ual project super­vised by Karelia UAS.

Learn­ing Agreement

Erasmus+ students from Euro­pean coun­tries:
Please use the online learn­ing agree­ment (OLA) or digital learn­ing agree­ment, if possi­ble! Your home univer­sity will guide you with the first steps. Complete the Learn­ing Agree­ment by the end of April.

If your home univer­sity is not yet using an online/digital learn­ing agree­ment, please upload your Erasmus+ learn­ing agree­ment for studies (signed by you and your home coor­di­na­tor) as an attach­ment to your appli­ca­tion in the Sole­MOVE appli­ca­tion system by 30 April.

Tips for OLA:
– Karelia UAS in Finnish is Karelia Ammat­tiko­rkeak­oulu Oy.
– The receiv­ing respon­si­ble (signing) person is the depart­men­tal coor­di­na­tor of your study field. (click)
– The receiv­ing admin­is­tra­tive person is Antonia Stavri­dou, Inter­na­tional Officer, email: mobil­ity (at) karelia.fi.

Erasmus+ students from non-Euro­pean coun­tries:
We will contact you person­ally and send you the correct learn­ing agree­ment template to be used. 

For other exchange students, please use the template here: Learn­ing agree­ment.
Fill in the infor­ma­tion on the Karelia courses you wish to select. Sign your learning/training agree­ment and ask your home university’s inter­na­tional coor­di­na­tor to sign it. Upload the docu­ment to the Sole­MOVE appli­ca­tion system by the appli­ca­tion deadline. 

Studies at Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences

Famil­iar­ize your­self with the list of courses offered for the exchange students. If you need further infor­ma­tion e.g. on the suit­abil­ity of the courses for you or possi­bil­i­ties of projects and prac­ti­cal place­ments, please contact the depart­men­tal coordinators.

Semes­ter dates for exchange students

  • 2023-2024: Autumn semes­ter 17 August – 15 Decem­ber 2023. Spring semes­ter 8 January – 31 May 2024
  • 2024-2025: Autumn semes­ter 15 August – 20 Decem­ber 2024. Spring semes­ter 7 January – 30 May 2025.

Timetable and impor­tant information

  • May-June 2024:
    Appli­ca­tions are processed at Karelia UAS.
    Apply for accom­mo­da­tion from Student Housing Company Joen­suun Elli as soon as you have received infor­ma­tion of accep­tance.
    Apply for a visa/residence permit for studies (if applic­a­ble) as soon as you have received the letter of accep­tance. Please see the instruc­tions on the Finnish Immi­gra­tion Service website.
    Partic­i­pate in the Pre-arrival webinar, which will be orga­nized for new incom­ing exchange students in June 2024. 
  • August 2024
    Studies begin with Orien­ta­tion days on 15 August 2024. New exchange students should arrive in Joensuu before that. The incom­ing students will be informed about the arrange­ments and/or any changes in due course.

-> Link to the main page for exchange students.