ViikkiAreena is a working life group that is jointly coordinated by the subject organisations of the University of Helsinki's Association of Agricultural and Forestry Students (MMYL). ViikkiAreena offers students and the entire university community opportunities to get a broader picture of companies' activities, latest trends, and career opportunities. ViikkiAreena focuses on current themes in various fields, and it aims to improve students' working life skills. In addition, you can meet Viikki alumni and get to hear their career stories. Every year, ViikkiAreena is organised by a team of students from the organisations that are part of MMYL. Participation in ViikkiAreena, either as a team member or visitor, is intended for all students, no matter what stage of their studies they are at.
ViikkiAreena produces a podcast called Ständillä, and the content is designed to meet the needs of the students. Podcast episodes have topical themes and offer new perspectives on current student discussions. The purpose of each podcast is to bridge the gap between students and working life by talking to business guests. The podcast is named Ständillä [On the stand] because a trade fair traditionally revolves around companies' stands, i.e., their presentation points. Now a company stand can even be present when you’re sitting on the couch at home!
"The best thing about ViikkiAreena has been its interdisciplinarity and getting to know new people outside of my own bubble. At the same time, I've learned a lot about working on a complex project and gained hands-on experience producing podcasts.” – Essi, the Podcast team
“ViikkiAreena is one of the best ways to meet new people from different organisations in the faculty. From the very beginning, project work has taught me a lot of lessons about both coordinating a large group and utilising one's own strengths. I have been able to develop the communication and marketing strategy for an event, make logos and marketing materials, and update social media and websites. ViikkiAreena combines the different fields of the faculty in the best possible way. ViikkiAreena can be used by a team member, an event visitor, and a podcast listener!” – Anni, Communications team
“Interdisciplinarity, working together, and boldly putting new ideas into practice have been ViikkiAreena's best assets. ViikkiAreena is a great place to learn and develop the skills needed for future working life. Project management skills, communication, podcast recording and scripting, and sales work are concrete examples of tasks in which I have gained valuable experience for the future with ViikkiAreena!” – Paulus, Manager
Both ViikkiAreena and Ständillä podcasts are currently held and recorded in Finnish.
Welcome to the Viikki-speksi! Speksi is an interdisciplinary, student-driven form of musical theatre in which viewers participate in the play by asking for improvisations. Viewers can shout “omstart!” at any point to have the scene, movement, or entire song re-presented in a different way.
An interdisciplinary family
Participating in Speksi's activities is a great way to get to know other students from outside your field, as it includes intensive exercises, talks, parties, and other events. Here, you will gain wonderful friends, which is why it is difficult to leave Speksi even after many years! In addition, you will get to participate in a great production and follow its development from idea to stage. Viikki-speksi welcomes anyone who is interested, whether you are a student on the Viikki campus or not! The recruitment for team members and team leaders traditionally begins in autumn, while the association's election meeting is always held at the end of spring in May. There are a variety of positions you can apply for, e.g., actors, musicians, dancers, directors, costume designers, make-up artists, lyricists, and lighting and sound technicians. A lot of the work on both the board and in the production does not necessarily require previous experience - curiosity and a desire to learn can go a long way!
So, it is definitely worth coming along to check out our events! You can also become a member of Viikki-speksi ry even if you do not participate in the production itself. This way you can get involved in the events organised by Speksi, and you will also get information about the various excursions and the other hustle and bustle.
If you're not completely convinced yet, here are a few comments from the board:
“Going to Speksi was the best decision of my freshman year, and through that I found my beloved university community in a big world. Speksi offers activities for many different people, and during the development of the Production you will learn a lot of skills that will be useful in the future as well!” – Veera, publicist
“The board of Viikki-speksi has been able to see how a musical theatre consisting of more than 60 people from different art forms is built. During the year, you will inevitably learn cooperation skills, as well as get to know great people. It's worth applying!” – Panu, Sponsor and Corporation Relations Manager
“It has been amazing to be involved in building the Viikki-speksi for many years and to see how our activities are rooted in Viikki’s student culture. Through the Viikki-speksi, I have found an interdisciplinary and artistic group of students with whom I can share the joys and difficulties of my university study. I recommend the Viikki-speksi to just about anyone with even the slightest enthusiasm for the theatre industry!” – Madeleine, president
Did you know that it is possible to create luminescent trees? Or create plastics out of bacteria? Or to cure a cancer by using genetically modified viruses? Have you ever heard of synthetic biology? And even if you have not, would you like to discover some of the secrets that lie behind all these incredible biological applications? And much more, would you like to carry out a project of your own invention? If so, iGEM is what you might be looking for!
iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) is the largest international synthetic biology competition between students that aims to solve real-world, scientific issues. Teams apply standard molecular biology techniques to assemble projects and design innovative biological systems. After several months of hard work and creative thinking, teams present their findings at the Giant Jamboree conference, and can be rewarded with medals for outstanding performances.
iGEM competition provides its participants a unique opportunity to put into practice their knowledge in order to develop a scientific project from scratch. This will involve a thorough and creative research, brainstorming and expert feedback, but also many other tasks related to the funding of this project, its promotion via social media, blog and website, and the collaboration with the team’s local community to enhance scientific outreach and education. iGEM is also a way of getting to know people that share a common interest in synthetic biology; this is both inside the team and internationally, thanks to collaborations with other iGEM teams, together with the Giant Jamboree and other conferences that might be held during the year.
The Aalto-Helsinki iGEM team is the oldest Finnish team participating in iGEM competition, and it is formed by students of Aalto and Helsinki Universities. Each year, 10 new members are recruited by the former team upon an application process. Since synthetic biology is such an innovative and open field, teams are usually stronger when all their members have different study backgrounds. Therefore, we encourage you to apply regardless of your knowledge in synthetic biology! Application process should start by next January; we hope to see yours included! Until then, you can follow our advances on this year’s competition on social media (Instagram: @aaltohelsinki_igem; Twitter: @AaltoHelsinki; Tumblr: Aaltohelsinki) or on our webpage (https://www.aaltohelsinki.com/).
The University of Helsinki and the City of Helsinki promote entrepreneurship through the operations of the Helsinki Think Company. Think Company offices are located on all the university campuses: in the city centre, Viikki, Meilahti, and Kumpula. Each office strives to meet the needs of the scientists on its own campus and to evolve with them. Overall, the purpose of Think Company's activities is to support the skills development of students, researchers, and entrepreneurs, as well as harness academic skills for working life and social impact.
Here's how to jump in:
The Viikki premises are centrally located on the Viikki campus, and you can always stop by to say hello during opening hours. On-site hosts are happy to answer any questions you may have about Think Company, and they can direct you to current content. Up-to-date information on opening hours and upcoming events and programmes can be found at thinkcompany.fi.
Follow Think Company on social media @helsinkithinkco or send a message to helsinki@thinkcompany.fi
The project ended in 2022
Project Lekhani is MMYL's development cooperation working group. Founded in 2018, Project Lekhani continues MMYL's tradition of development cooperation that has been operating for more than 30 years. At the heart of the project are nutrition security, sustainable agriculture, and the status of women in Nepal. In Helsinki, the project offers students a place to work on these themes, and of course get to know other project members and have fun! In practice, together with our Nepalese partner SADED-Nepal, we fund the maintenance of a teaching space in Nepal and financially support the participation of women in sustainable agriculture training.
By getting involved, you will become familiar with development cooperation through a variety of practical activities. You will learn to recognise the importance of your own knowledge and skills! At Project Lekhani, you will also become acquainted with the development cooperation actors and experts, both in Finland and abroad.
Perhaps the most important and unifying motivator for everyone involved in Project Lekhani is the desire to participate in something meaningful while studying. At Project Lekhani, you will be able to promote a more sustainable future in Nepal and follow its development in real time. This is the great reward you will get as a member of this organisation.
“I’m one of the founding members and former chairman of Project Lekhani, so the organisation has become very familiar. I am currently in contact with our Finnish partners. I have learned a lot from Project Lekhani. I have learned project coordination skills, I have learned to be a better communicator, I have gained the confidence to present the project on various occasions, I have met important food security experts, I gained tremendous experience from a trip to Nepal, and most importantly, I have lifelong friends from Project Lekhani. All in all, I can recommend this organisation to anyone who is interested in development because there is something for everyone to do!” - Oskari, ECGS student
You can easily get involved at any time of the year. The most common time to jump on board is during the spring. However, you can contact our members at any time and indicate your interest in joining. You can approach us through Project Lekhani's social media accounts, but also by requesting our contact information from MMYL members.
There are no prerequisites for joining. For many of our members, Project Lekhani is their first practical experience of development. Project Lekhani is specifically designed for learning, and we don’t expect our new members to know anything about development, food security, or Nepal. Yes, you will learn these things quickly in a relaxed environment. It doesn't matter what your field of study is, the most important thing is to have an open and curious mind about development cooperation!
Uniforst, a forest students' cooperative founded in 2013, is a student-led company that aims to bring students and employers in our industry closer together. Uniforst's goal is to create the most desirable employees in the forest industry from forest students, and to offer customers high-quality employees flexibly and cheaply. Uniforst offers companies and organizations in our field a student workforce and students employment opportunities in the form of recruitment services. From the students' point of view, Uniforst is the easiest and most efficient way to find part-time or full-time employment or summer jobs.
Every year, Uniforst has employed numerous students in a variety of positions, especially in the forestry, banking and finance sectors. Uniforst also offers students training and events, with the aim of making forestry and other environmental and commercial students the most sought-after employees on the market. The topics of these trainings range from timber trade training to forest certification. The most popular Uniforst training event is the Leadership Academy, during which prominent figures from different fields and companies come to the students.
All forest students can become members of Uniforst, and a co-operative fee of € 50 must be paid upon joining, which will be refunded when the student graduates or if they wish to resign. The activity is easy to get involved in, as anyone can apply for the jobs offered by Uniforst, as well as anyone other than members who wish to participate in the training. However, joining as a member provides benefits such as a discount on the paid services provided by Uniforst, or a better chance of being hired.
“Getting a job through Uniforst is a great way to prepare for working life and build relationships outside the university on job opportunities. I am the CEO of Uniforst for the third year and have provided gold-worthy experiences related to entrepreneurship, responsibility, and understanding the demands of working life. I strongly recommend getting to know Uniforst.” – Arttu, CEO
“For students, work experience in their own field is one of the most important factors leading to permanent employment. At Uniforst, our goal is to make accumulating that experience as easy as possible. With two and a half years of Uniforst's board work coming to an end, an understanding of how best to achieve this goal will develop. If you are interested in board or white-collar work and want to influence the employment of students, you should check out our activities. And even if the employment contract does not attract Uniforst, it is always good to follow our open recruitments!” – Väinö, President
“My second term on the board of Uniforst is already halfway through! During this period, I have served as Vice President of Uniforst. The post has been very rewarding so far. The great thing, however, is that with these prospects, we will be able to organize nice activities for Uniforst employees again in the autumn and offer even more job opportunities!” – Emmi, Vice-President
Tähkä is a cooperative founded by agricultural students. It was started in 2016 and aims to connect employees and companies in the labour market. Tähkä introduces employees to companies and operates as an employee billing service. Companies can outsource the recruitment of workers for projects of different lengths, and Tähkä will find the best people to fill the vacancies. This rapid recruitment performed by a company in the industry makes it easier for other companies to find skilled workers; additionally, students gain important work experience in the job market.
Why should I join?
The task of the cooperative is to promote the working life skills of students in the Department of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Helsinki; Tähkä provides the students with work that complements their studies. Work assignments range from a few days to longer periods of time. We create networking opportunities for our members as well as teach employment skills that are not available through university courses.
We encourage our members to develop entrepreneurial skills, and we enable light entrepreneurship experiences through our billing service. In the current market, working life is constantly changing, so we want to provide members with relevant, up-to-date skills. In line with our values, we want to promote the importance of courage and a proactive attitude.
"Being an employee through Tähkä has taught me entrepreneurship in the form of cooperative entrepreneurship. It has also given me a picture of job placement, payroll, and light entrepreneurship. Working together has provided new and valuable friendships and working life networks." – Tähkä employee
How to get there and what is required?
You can get involved in this activity by paying the membership fee. As a member, you have access to various events, meetings, and training opportunities, and you get priority for work placements. Instructions for completing the membership application can be found on our website. If you want to influence Tähkä's operations and future, you can apply for a position on the board. Applying for these positions does not require previous experience, but you do need a positive and proactive attitude.
Viikki Brewing Society (VBS) is a student organisation for students interested in brewing beer and cider. The purpose of VBS is to promote beer skills and knowledge, and to inspire new people to make beer. As a member, you can take part in, for example, beer tasting events, brewery excursions, and beer brewing. For a small fee, members have access to equipment for making beer, and, if necessary, beginners are provided with instructions for using the equipment. In addition, we cooperate with Finnish small breweries and the University of Helsinki through various beer projects. If you are interested in our group, you can request more information through our Facebook page. If you want to become a member, our Facebook page contains a registration link and instructions for paying a small one-time membership fee. You can also find us on Instagram via “viikkibrewingsociety”. If you are interested in small breweries, brewing beer, or starting a beer hobby, feel free to join!