Freshers´ Day
Why is Freshers’ Day organized?
The aim of the event is to group new students, ie freshers, to introduce them to student culture and to maintain student culture. And of course have fun!
What is Freshers’ Day?
The Freshers’ Day is a checkpoint tour for new students, which often also has an after party per the students ’request. Fresher’s Day often begins after lunch, often resulting in either full-day or afternoon classes being canceled. Freshers’ Day is held in the center of Helsinki, and students on the campuses of Haaga, Malmi and Pasila commute to the checkpoints on their own. Bus transfers to and from Helsinki will be arranged for Porvoo students. The Vierumäki campus has its own version of the day.
The checkpoint tour is attended with your own class group with the help of tutors and the checkpoint map. There are usually about 27 checkpoints, and in addition to Helga, they are held by various partners and Haaga-Helia associations. On the checkpoint you perform various fun tasks that earn points. It is possible to get 0-100 points from regular checkpoints and 0-200 points from the Helga checkpoint. There may not always be logic in determining points, but the checkpoint holders have been instructed to score groups of students who exude good group spirit in a rewarding way. A group shout or song with a theme can also help get extra points from the checkpoints.
Freshers’ Day always has a theme that encourages students to dress. As a dress code, we recommend student coveralls + themed costumes! All groups participating in the Freshers’ Day will also be automatically entered into a competition that will reward the groups that have had the best score, best costumes and best team spirit in the checkpoint round. The best scores are calculated based on the returned scorecards and the best costumes and team spirit are evaluated together with the checkpoint holders and organizers.
How to participate in the Freshers’ Day?
Tickets for the Freshers’ Day are purchased from Helga’s online store Kide.app. Different tickets for different degree programs will be created in Kideapp under the event. For example, SEBBA A, GLOBBA A or EXCH A. Freshers’ Day tickets are purchased together with the tutor of your own group so that everyone is sure to choose the right group and get their tickets. Fresher’s Days ticket includes the checkpoint tour, after party and coverall patch. Sometimes it’s also possible to buy a ticket for just the after party.
The bus from Porvoo leaves at 14:00, so it will be in Helsinki 15:00, when the checkpoints open. Porvoo’s goodie bags should be picked up from Pasila by one of the tutors.
Each participant is asked to remember
Like all other events at Helga, Freshers’ Day is an event free from harassment and bullying. This means that any harassment, bullying, humiliation or other inappropriate behavior is not acceptable. If you see or encounter improper behaviour, please contact us or the harassment contact persons designated for the event immediately. Helga’s tutors have also been trained to assist in such situations.
We wish you a wonderful Freshers’ Day!
Freshers’ Day spring 2025
Here is current information for the Freshers’ Day in the spring 2025. (Please see above for general instructions for Freshers’ Day)
Where do I get the ticket: You can buy a ticket in our online store Kideapp. Please write your group’s ID on the ticket, e.g. Tripa 4. If you don’t know your group’s ID, you can ask your tutor for it. Please note that the ticket automatically includes afterparty. The separate afterparty tickets are intended for non-freshers who want to come to the afterparty or for those who cannot participate in the checkpoint tour, but want to come to the afterparty. Tickets here: https://kide.app/events/891e93ec-8443-4a0e-ae34-1ebe3108e339
Good to know about Helga’s membership: As a member of Helga, you get a ticket to the Freshers’ Day at half price! Did you also know that with a longer membership you get coveralls for free. You can buy Helga’s membership here: https://kide.app/en/community/af08e27e-2fcc-4cdb-990f-ad37c9dac9c4
What do I wear? On Freshers’ Day you are supposed to dress in coveralls + according to the theme together with your group. The theme this year is Zoo. As a reminder, the event is outdoors, so wear warm clothes.
Where is the event? Around Töölönlahden puisto. You can check the route via the HSL App. We aim to implement accessibility in the whole event. Personal assistants participate in the event for free. Please let us know if you have any concerns or wishes regarding accessibility arrangements. You can send an e-mail to the address: ohjaus@helga.fi. Afterparty is organized at Maxine.
About safety: All Helga events follow the principles of a safer space, which all ticket buyers commit to. The event also has personal harassment contact persons, whose contact information is visible on the event map. You can identify the harassment contact persons by a chest strap that they wear in the event and their pictures are published on Helga’s social media before Freshers’ Day. You can also contact the harassment contact persons via the form at the end of this page: https://helga.fi/palvelusi/asiantuntija-apu/#mika-mattaa
Safer space rules
Be open
Meet new topics and individuals without prejudice, take everything that comes and the situation as an opportunity to learn new things and develop
Respect
Give others space, pay attention to your choice of words, and remember the diversity of event participants
Don’t assume
Respect everyone’s right to self-determination and do not make assumptions about, for example, the gender, background or family relationships of others
Intervene
If you witness harassment or other inappropriate treatment, do not remain silent
Encourage
Take responsibility for the experience of other participants. Listen and cheer.
Relax
Mistakes and questions are allowed.
Where can I get help? You can ask more information from your tutors or from Helga ohjaus@helga.fi