The new academic year and new studies will start soon, so perhaps you are also thinking about whether you should join the student union. In our opinion, of course it should and should! If you’re about to start your studies at HAMK, you’ve probably already familiarized yourself with the Starter Kit of Digital Skills and its HAMKO section, but here’s a brief summary of why membership of the student union is worth it:
Top 3 reason to join your Student Union:
- Supervision of interests: One of our most important missions is to work as a supervisor of interests in all HAMK’s campuses and schools in order to make HAMK even better place to study. Supervision of students’ interests is carried out in many ways, like by representing students in the internal work groups of HAMK, by lobbying among the local decision-makers and by taking care of the student representation for example in the school administration. Check out different ways to take part in HAMKO’s actions!
- As a member of HAMKO, you will get an official student card as a sign of your membership. You can include access ability to your AMK student card as well as HAMK library card and HAMK Moves sport pass. In addition, you have access to Slice digital student card with thousands of student benefits all over Finland.
- Member benefits: You get discounts from trains, busses, restaurants, student overalls, TimeTravels’ HAMKO trips and many other places. Always remember to ask for student discounts! And remember that there are benefits all over Finland, not just HAMK localities. So, you benefit from the membership even if you don’t live in the same place where you study.
Yay! All you have to do is fill online joining form.
We get quite often questions about filling the application form, so take a look at our answers to frequently asked questions.
The most Frequently Asked Auestions about becoming a member and filling out the form
1. I don’t have my school email address yet. Can I join anyway?
You will need your HAMK email address (@student.hamk.fi) when you join HAMKO. If you haven’t activated your HAMK usernames and email yet, do it in HAMK’s authentication service. If you have problems activating the credentials, contact ServiceDesk IT. Instructions for making a service request ticket can be found in the IT instructions.
2. I don’t know or remember my student number, where can I find it?
You can check your student number from Pakki. Even if you don’t need the student number that often, it’s good to learn where it can be found if needed. You find the 7-digit student number for example from the page under the hat icon. Note that student number is not the same as the study number. The Study number (OID) is a long series of numbers, which consists of series of numbers and dots of different sizes.
3. I have a long name, how I fill it to the form?
The name should correspond to the name that is also in HAMK’s system.
4. I’m a part-time / exchange / master’s degree / study path student. Can I join HAMKO?
In short: yes you can!
Part-time (18-100 and 24/7 studies), exchange and Master’s students are degree students. So they are entitled to all the same benefits as degree students studying full-time (8-16 studies). You can use both the AMK card and Slice’s digital student card as normal.
The membership of study path students, on the other hand, differs from the membership of degree students. Since pathway students do not have the study right, they are not entitled to all the same benefits as degree students, such as Kela’s meal subsidy or VR and Matkahuolto’s student discounts. Path students are, however, entitled to e.g. To the benefits found at Slice, as well as to get student overalls and a HAMK Moves sports pass at the membership price.
5. I study at Professional Teacher Education / Open University studies. Can I become a member of the student union?
Although we would love to accept everyone as a member, unfortunately the conditions for membership and getting a student card are not met in these situations.
Only degree students can join and get a student card. The result of studies at a vocational teacher studies is not an actual degree, but a qualification. In open university students aren’t either degree students. The only exception is exchange students. Even if they do not complete the entire degree at HAMK, they have are degree students at the higher education institution in their home country.
6. What email does the activation code goes to?
The code needed to join will be sent to your personal student email. Remember to check both, the Important and Other boxes as well as the Spam box.
7. How will I know if my photo is good for student card?
A good general guideline for the photo is that it doesn’t have to be an official passport photo, but it should look like a passport photo. The photo must therefore be taken from the front and your face must be fully visible. Mirror selfies and strongly tilted images are more suitable for other connections. So take care that e.g. your forehead is not out of the picture! You must be easily recognizable, the picture must not have sunglasses, a hat or a hood in front of the face. Your card will not start the order unless the picture is approved.
The image is printed on the card in small size, and the card owner must be able to recognize the card from the image.
8. Can I pay subscription online or do I have to come to HAMKO’s office?
Online payment service is provided by Paytrail. You can pay via internet banking or for example with Visa or MasterCard.
The cash payment is possible only at our service point in Hämeenlinna University Centre during opening hours. We strongly recommend to make the payment online, your membership will not completed and the card is not ordered before you make the membership payment.
9. When do I get my student card?
A new student’s membership is valid from the moment your presence as a degree student at HAMK begins – i.e. from the beginning of August or January. So you can use Slice’s digital student card right from the beginning of August/January.
On the other hand, the first plastic AMK student cards of the autumns will arrive at the HAMKO office at the end of August. The first ones of spring arrive in mid-January. The normal delivery time is approx. 1-2 weeks. You will receive a notification of the arrival of the card to your student.hamk.fi email address.
10. I am a part-time student, I live far from campus and I have home teaching in the evenings or on weekends. Can I receive a card by post?
Yes you can. An arrival notification is sent to everyone’s student email, and you can e.g. reply to it to indicate the need to receive a card by mail. You should also use Slice’s digital card.
If you later have more questions about student union membership, joining or even student cards, please contact hamko@hamko.fi. We are happy to help!