The beginning of the new academic year is approaching and maybe you are wondering if you should join the Student Union… Well, we of course think that you should! Maybe you already saw our video on Starter Kit of Digital Skills -course, but here is a short summary of why join HAMKO, your own student union with few tips for becoming a member.
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 HAMK library card and HAMK Moves sport pass and activate access ability to your AMK student card. In addition, you have access to Pivo 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.
So, now you are ready to join HAMKO!
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 six frequently asked questions:
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. You can activate your HAMK user ID and email at Patu service. If there are problems activating your user ID, please contact HAMK’s IT Services, it@hamk.fi.
I don’t know or remember my student number? Can I leave it blank?
You can check your student number from Pakki and we recommend you to do it. Even if you don’t need the student number that often, it’s good to learn where it can be found if needed. If you don’t know your student number yet, it can be added to membership register later. So, you can join HAMKO now and give us your student number later.
I’m a part-time / master’s degree / study path student. Can I join HAMKO?
Short answer: yes, you can!
Part-time and master’s degree students are degree students just like everyone studying for a bachelor’s degree as full-time student. So, they are entitled to all same benefits, they get the same AMK student card and of course access to Pivo digital student card.
However, study path students’ membership differs from degree students’ membership. Students in study paths are not entitled to all the same benefits, like Kela meal subsidy or student discounts from trains and busses. This means that they don’t get the same kind of student card as degree students. Study path students do get discounts at least from HAMKO’s events, student overalls and HAMK Moves sports pass.
How will I know is my photo good for student card?
Photo for student card must be a facial photo. The photo does not have to be an official passport photo, but it needs to like one. So, your face must show completely, and you must be easily recognizable. Make sure that for example your forehead isn’t cropped out! So, take a selfie following these instructions and you can be sure that your photo is ok.
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.
When do I get my student card?
The membership of a new student is valid from the moment the presence as a degree student at HAMK begins – this means the beginning of August. So, you can start using Pivo digital student card from the beginning of August. Please note that it is possible that there will be a short delay in data transfer after joining HAMKO.
First AMK student cards will arrive to HAMKO’s office in August or in the beginning of September. Normally the delivery time of AMK student card is about 1-2 weeks. You will be notified of the arrival of the card at your student.hamk.fi e-mail address.
If you have any other questions about HAMKO’s membership or student cards, for example, please contact us by email hamko@hamko.fi.
This blog post is an updated version of a post published in our old blog.