Student well-being and health 

The Finnish Student Health Service FSHS (YTHS in Finnish) is responsible for student health care. The services of the FSHS are available to all students studying for a degree (Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees) at universities and universities of applied sciences who are registered as attending for the semester. FSHS student health services are not available to students in open upper secondary education or to incoming international exchange students.

Students do not have to pay the healthcare fee if they have social security coverage from another EU/EEA country or from Switzerland or the United Kingdom.

Students who have social security coverage from a EU/EEA country or from Switzerland or the United Kingdom and who are studying for any of the degrees listed above may use the services of the Finnish Student Health Service.

The FSHS is responsible for:

• organizing health and medical care for students
• promoting students’ health and learning ability, and
• promoting the well-being of the learning environment and community.

You can find out more about FSHS services and how to apply for them on the FSHS website.

Students pay the semesterly health care fee to Kela and should remember to pay the fee on their own initiative. Read more about the health care fee on the Kela website.

Service locations at Humak locations

FSHS’s service locations, including oral health services:

• Helsinki
• Turku
• Jyväskylä
• Kuopio

FSHS’s own service location:

• Otaniemi in Espoo (students at Kauniainen campus)

The FSHS service location for partners

• Nurmijärvi (only designated students can use the partner service locations)

The service point for multiform and online degree students is determined by the location to which the studies belong. However, the student can use FSHS’s own service point, which is most beneficial for them.

Humak supports the exercise activities of students by providing them with access to affordable university exercise options on campus. All Humak degree students can take advantage of low-cost exercise opportunities. Find out more about the opportunities on the providers’ websites:

Helsinki Metropolitan Area: Zone
Jyväskylä: uMove
Kuopio: Sykettä
Turku: CampusSport

The early support approach at Humak means an approach based on early intervention, supported by an open and confidential atmosphere between staff and students, and among students. If a member of the Humak community has a concern about a student or group, they have a duty to intervene. The experience of concern is a subjective emotion, so an individual’s own experience of concern is sufficient.

For more information about the policy, please contact your campus student councelor or the Head of Student Services.

A healthy, safe, and equitable learning environment is made up of many factors. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has published a guide with practical advice for institutions and their members on how to achieve a healthy, safe and prosperous learning environment. You can access the guide here (in Finnish only).

Assessment visits to learning environments are carried out every three years in higher education institutions and the implementation of the changes identified during the inspection is followed up annually with a follow-up visit. A student representative is always present at the inspections. The FSHS is responsible for the visits to the learning environments.

It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the learning environment. It is the responsibility of students to follow the instructions given and to report any safety deficiencies they find. Read more about Humak’s safety guidelines in the Security section.

Humak has a separate equality and equal opportunities plan for staff and students from 2021. A gender equality survey is carried out at Humak every three years, and practical measures to promote equality and equal opportunities are agreed on the basis of this survey.

Equality plan for students.

You can apply for an individual meeting with a student psychologist through your guidance counsellor or directly with the psychologist. An appointment with a student psychologist is free of charge and confidential. The appointments are organized 1-5 times (approx. 45 minutes per appointment). Most of the meetings are held remotely.

How do I book an appointment with a student psychologist?

You can access the services of a student psychologist either through your study counselor or by booking an appointment directly with the student psychologist by e-mail (ilse.lammila@humak.fi). Please write your personal details (name, starting year, student number) and what you would like to discuss, and you will receive suggestions for an appointment. If you cannot make it, please cancel your appointment at least 24 hours before the agreed time.

What kind of issues can I discuss with the student psychologist?

An appointment with a student psychologist is mainly to discuss problems related to your studies and related issues. These problems can be related to, among other things, study progress, motivation, learning difficulties, coping, or time management, for example. They may also go through different tasks or exercises related to studying. The first meeting is often mainly to take stock of the situation.

Visits from a psychologist are mainly for help with study-related issues.

Other services

Treatment for mental disorders and psychological assessment is provided by the FSHS.

In an acute crisis, you can go to the acute reception of your own welfare center without an appointment.

Mental health service line in SelfChat

Promotes the mental health and ability to study of students in Nyyti ry

The Rehabilitation Foundation is a forerunner of rehabilitation and our vision is to be the most engaging development environment for rehabilitation.

Humak has a joint student welfare group for the entire university of applied sciences, which is responsible for the university’s statutory tasks in matters concerning student welfare and directs the activities of regional student welfare groups.

Regional student well-being groups consist of teachers, study counselors, and students responsible for student well-being. Regional groups seek solutions to regional problems affecting student well-being and organize special support measures for the regions. The regional student welfare groups inform and implement the decisions of the Humak-level student welfare group.

Pausing the day is important and a short break will bring energy to the day. As a Humak student, you can take advantage of the break exercise app BreakPro. The break exercise app reminds you to pause work and study.

The programme includes over 120 videos, from short break exercise instructions to audio maintenance and mindfulness videos. The directors are Sami Kuronen, Samuli Edelman (FI), Benny Törnroos, Riko Eklund (SV) and Richard Stanley (EN, RU). The videos also have subtitles.

Check out more detailed instructions here.

The programme can be downloaded from the BreakPro website and installed on the Humak workstation itself, as it does not require administrator installation rights. Log in to the application with Humak’s email address firstname.lastname@humak.fi.