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Become a member

Hey HAMK student, join your own Student Union, HAMKO! Student Union membership is a way of influencing things that are relevant to you, namely your studies and student life at HAMK. As a member, you can stand for election and vote in the Council of Representatives elections and apply for the Student Union’s Board.

By joining HAMKO, you will receive a student card, which is a proof of student status and gives you access to thousands of student discounts and benefits all over Finland. In addition to the plastic AMK student card, HAMKO members have access to Pivo digital student card. So one could say you can get two cards in price of one!

Please note, that the use of digital student card requires strong identification with Finnish bank ID.

1. Who can become a member?

All HAMK students studying for a degree, and who are present and studying in education leading to a degree can join HAMKO. Including

  • Full-time students,
  • Part-time students,
  • Exchange students, and
  • Master’s degree students.

Study Path Students

As a study path student, you can become a member too. They get a special Study Path student card, since Pivo and AMK student card are not available for them. Study path students card does not include VR and Matkahuolto discounts.

Other that Degree or Path Study Students

If you are studying at a professional teacher education, contract training, an open university of applied sciences, or if you are completing an education package that only consists of parts of a degree, unfortunately you are not eligible for a student card.

The conditions for obtaining a student card are not met if you are studying in

  • a professional teacher education,
  • a contract training,
  • an open university of applied sciences or
  • if you are completing an education package that only consists of parts of a degree.

In these cases unfortunately you are not eligible for a student card.

2. Membership fees

Membership fee for new members includes the cost of manufacturing the student card, joining fee and membership for the chosen period. The membership fee can be paid for at one time for the whole study period or in several installments. If you are planning to graduate sooner than the target date, it is advisable to pay the membership fee for the period that you are sure you will be studying at HAMK.

Membership periodsPrice for a new member
Semester (autumn or spring)€28
1 year€41
1,5 years€54
2 years€67
2,5 years€80
3 years€90
3,5 years€106
4 years€119

3. Tips for application form

  1. You need to give your HAMK email address (@student.hamk.fi). If you haven’t activated your HAMK username and email yet, you can do it online in HAMK Identity Service in page id.hamk.fi. If you have problems activating your username, please contact Service Desk.
  2. You will receive a code in your student mail with which you can log in to the form.
  3. Is the personal identification number mandatory? Not really. But if you want to use Pivo’s digital student card, you need to have it in your information.
  4. You can leave a student number field empty.
  5. Pay attention to the photo for the student card: A good guide to choosing a photo is that it does not have to be an official passport photo, but it should be similar to that. Therefore, the image should be taken from the front and your face should be fully visible (make sure, for example, that your forehead is not cropped out). You need to be easily identifiable, so don’t put on sunglasses, hat or hood.
  6. Payments are made via Paytrail, which means you can use online bank, Mobilepay or, for example, Visa or MasterCard.

Of these sample photos, the face photo on the left is excellent for a card.

Be sure to choose a photo that will easily identify you.

4. About delivery of AMK student card and Pivo digital student card

The delivery time for AMK student card is about 1-2 weeks, but in September it is possible that the delivery times are slightly longer than usual since there are so many cards ordered. Remember, however, that you can start using Pivo digital student card earlier.

When your AMK student card arrives from the print, it will be delivered to your campus, and you will receive a notification (from the local student association) when your card is available for pickup. In the Hämeenlinna university centre, the card can be picked up from the HAMKO office.

Part-time students’ cards are not automatically sent to the campus, but they first receive a notification of the card’s arrival by email to student mail.

How to start the use of the Pivo digital student card?

Pivo’s student card is free of charge, but since Pivo is a mobile payment application, you need Finnish online bank credentials and your payment card information to activate it. Please note, that the use of digital student card requires strong identification with Finnish bank ID.

This is how you use Pivo’s student card:

  1. Download Pivo to your phone and activate the application by following Pivo’s instructions.
  2. Select Student card from Pivo’s main view.
  3. Accept the terms of use of the student card, select your education level and educational institution and follow Pivo’s instructions.
  4. Add a photo to the student card using Pivo’s instructions. You can change the picture every six months.

If you can’t find Pivo app from your app store, check that the country is Finland in the app store settings.

Problems with Pivo? Here you find answers to most frequent questions.

5. Deferring or resigning

Membership of an absent student may be deferred until they return to their studies. Referring must inform to the student union before the absence period. Read more about deferring your membership here.

If your studies end earlier than your membership, read instructions on how to proceed on this page.

If you have questions about joining HAMKO, please contact us by email hamko@hamko.fi. We are happy to help!

Become a member!

Hey HAMK student, join your own Student Union! HAMKO promotes your interests and as a sign of your membership you’ll get an official student card with thousands of student benefits all over Finland.

Become a member Renew membership