Start­ing Your Studies at Karelia UAS

Details regard­ing the acad­e­mic calen­dar and the orga­ni­za­tion of your courses are avail­able on this page.

At Karelia UAS you will use your own computer for your studies. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) means that you can utilise study mate­ri­als, programmes and Karelia IC system at home regard­less of date or time.This will make your studies more flex­i­ble, increase your infor­ma­tion secu­rity and make your own study process more personal. 

You can start your studies with your exist­ing device, e.g. computer or tablet. When proceed­ing, you should consider purchas­ing a computer which meets the require­ments of your studies. In some study fields you learn to use demand­ing profes­sional soft­ware which is avail­able in defined facil­i­ties at your campus. 

Note! Chrome­book comput­ers are not compat­i­ble for Karelia UAS studies!

Recom­mended computer (social- and health care, busi­ness econom­ics and inter­na­tional busi­ness, tourism as well as master’s degree studies)

• Laptop (Windows or macOS oper­at­ing system)
• Chrome­book comput­ers are not compatible!
• Minimum 8 GB main memory (RAM)
• Minimum proces­sor Intel Core i5, Apple Silicon or similar
• 5 GHz WLAN (also 2,4 GHz)
• Minimum screen size 14” (Full HD or better)
• Hard disk minimum 256 GB SSD
• Good battery that lasts several hours
• Camera, head­phones and microphone
• Extended warranty period is recommended

Recom­mended computer (busi­ness infor­ma­tion tech­nol­ogy, civil-/build­ing services engi­neer­ing, mechan­i­cal engi­neer­ing, forestry studies, energy and envi­ron­men­tal engi­neer­ing, indus­trial management)

• Laptop (a desktop can be used in Busi­ness infor­ma­tion technology)
• Apple Mac comput­ers are not compatible!
• Chrome­book comput­ers are not compatible!
• Recom­mended 16 GB main memory (RAM)
• Windows 10 (or newer) oper­at­ing system
• Minimum proces­sor Intel Core i5, recom­mended Intel Core i7 or similar
• 5 GHz WLAN (also 2,4 GHz)
• Minimum screen size 15” (Full HD or better)
• Hard disk minimum 512 GB SSD
• DirectX 11 compat­i­ble GPU (min 4 GB memory, 8 GB recom­mended) (Nvidia GPU is manda­tory in mechan­i­cal engineering)
• Good battery that lasts several hours
• Camera, head­phones and microphone
• Extended warranty period is recommended

Recom­mended computer (commu­ni­ca­tion)

PC

• Laptop
• Chrome­book comput­ers are not compatible!
• Recom­mended 16 GB memory
• Windows 10 (or newer) oper­at­ing system
• Minimum proces­sor Intel Core i5, recom­mended Intel Core i7 or similar
• 5 GHz WLAN (also 2,4 GHz)
• Minimum screen size 15” (Full HD or better)
• Hard disk minimum 256 GB SSD
• NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPU
• Good battery that lasts several hours
• Camera, head­phones and microphone
• Extended warranty period is recommended

Or MAC

• MacBook Pro
• Chrome­book comput­ers are not compatible!
• Recom­mended 16 GB memory
• Minimum proces­sor Intel Core i5, recom­mended Intel Core i7, Apple Silicon or similar
• 5 GHz WLAN (also 2,4 GHz)
• Minimum screen size 13” (Full HD or better)
• Hard disk minimum 256 GB SSD
• Good battery that lasts several hours
• Camera, head­phones and microphone
• Extended warranty period is recommended

We verify diploma certifi­cates from Finnish National Agency for Educa­tion or from the certifi­cate copies attached to the appli­ca­tion form. Be prepared to provide the orig­i­nal certifi­cates upon your arrival. If you need to present the orig­i­nal certifi­cates, we will contact you via email. The student selec­tion is condi­tional until the certifi­cates have been veri­fied. The univer­sity may rescind the admis­sion deci­sion if the appli­cant has provided incor­rect infor­ma­tion and would not be enti­tled to the study place with correct information.

You can travel to Joensuu from Helsinki Airport by train or by domes­tic flight. There are several trains daily from Helsinki to Joensuu (about 440 km north-east of Helsinki). Travel time is 4,5 – 5 hours. Due to railway track main­te­nance, some trains to Joensuu may replaced by buses (only between Kouvola and Joensuu). In that case, the travel time is longer.

Trav­el­ling from Helsinki Airport to Joensuu: Commuter trains P and I operate between Helsinki Airport and Helsinki city centre. 

1) Take commuter train P to Tikkurila. (Please note: commuter train I do NOT go via Tikkurila!)
2) Trans­fer to Inter­city or Pendolino train going to Joensuu at Tikkurila railway station (Joensuu is the last destination).

How to travel from Helsinki City Centre to Joensuu : Take the Inter­city or Pendolino train from the main railway station directly to Joensuu. 

Where to buy train tickets? 

• In advance from the VR (Finnish rail­ways) website OR VR Matkalla App OR 
  • from the ticket vending machine at the airport, Helsinki main railway station or Tikkurila railway station, or 
  • from any R-kioski, for example at the airport or Tikkurila railway station

Buying online several weeks before the trip is the cheap­est option. If you buy just before the trip, the price is much higher. It is NOT possi­ble to buy a ticket from the conduc­tor on the train. 

• Student discounts: please famil­iar­ize your­self with the crite­ria for student discounts on the VR webpage! The valid student card is always checked by the conductor.

Domes­tic flights
Finnair flies 1-2 times a day between Helsinki and Joensuu. Travel time is 50-60 minutes.
The Joensuu airport is located about 11 km from the city centre. There is a bus/minibus connec­tion from the airport to the city centre after each flight. Airport infor­ma­tion.

Long-distance buses
You can check the timeta­bles and buy tickets from the Matkahuolto website. Buses from Helsinki leave from the Kamppi bus termi­nal once a day. Travel time is 6 hours and 15 minutes.

Karelia UAS is still actively follow­ing the instruc­tions of the author­i­ties and respond­ing to them if the virus situ­a­tion changes.  Check regu­larly Karelia’s Coro­n­ainfo webpage as there you find the latest infor­ma­tion regard­ing coming to campus, masks etc.