Academic year at the University of Helsinki starts with the Opening Carnival, which is held at the central campus after the ceremonial opening. Kaisa-talo was packed with student organisations and students on Monday 4 September.
One of the highlights of student life during the autumn term is the Fresher Adventure. Teams roam the university and the city centre wearing team costumes, going from one obstacle to the next in a series of playful challenges. The team with the funniest costume is also awarded a prize.
The Helsinki University Library offers researchers in the university community a wide range of services to support both open access publishing and data management. The library's academic experts visit university campuses regularly to promote the services. They have participated in the opening events of graduate schools and have held Open Access kiosks in the lobbies of campus buildings under the "Ask anything about Open Science" banner.
The University of Helsinki's Open Science Prize of was awarded to the Helsinki Urban Rats research project, which makes extensive use of citizen science. At a ceremony held during the International Open Access Week, the award was accepted by Vice Rector Anne Remes, Tuomas Aivelo, founder of the City Rats research project, and the project's researchers Karolina Lukasik and Heta Lahdesmäki.
Wellbeing at work became more proactive in the library in 2023, when a new wellbeing team was set up. Under the leadership of the wellbeing team, efforts have been made to improve both the physical and mental wellbeing of members of the work community. The lessons learned from the expert presentations have been applied to the library's everyday practices. The wellbeing team also organizes parties and regular recreational activities. Popular events include the library staff's own "The Song of My Life" (imitating the popular prime time television show) and the "The Book of My Life" reading club organised by the library staff. During the summertime there have been games of football.
The library wants to be a part of building a responsible future and therefore offers traineeships for people at different stages of their studies and careers. In 2023, the library has also hosted a traineeship for a guide dog, Bondi. During his working days, Bondi has been getting used to meeting strangers in the hustle and bustle of the library.
The library celebrated the Child at Work Day on Fri 24.11.2023. University staff members' children and also adults who were enthusiastic about robotics in everyday life had the opportunity to get to know and test the library's return robot.