Student Benefit Week is back this October

The City of Vaasa welcomes students with the Vaasa <3 Students Week. During the week of 21–27 October, university students can explore the services offered by the City of Vaasa for free or at a reduced price by presenting their student card. The aim of Student Benefit Week is to lower the threshold for students to discover the city’s sports and cultural services and to encourage them to get to know Vaasa better. Many of the benefits will continue throughout the year, allowing students to continue to make use of the city’s services.

Exercise and culture – the cornerstones of a fulfilling student life

With around 14,000 higher education students, Vaasa is one of the largest student cities in Finland relative to its population. Students are a valuable asset to the city, contributing their skills and youthful energy. The City of Vaasa aims to communicate its strategic themes of happiness and well-being more clearly in students’ daily lives.

– Exercise and culture are at the heart of the week, as they are known to enhance happiness. We hope that this year, too, students will participate eagerly and make the city’s services an even more integral part of their study experience in Vaasa, encourages Director of Education Christina Knookala.

Student Benefit Week is here to stay

Student Benefit Week, now in its third year, has established itself at the end of October. Last year, the theme week was held at a later date than the year before. By changing the date, the city wanted to give both new and returning students more time to settle in. The change in timing has had a positive impact on the number of participants.

In 2023, a total of 1,024 students used the free or discounted services during the week, whereas in 2022, the corresponding figure was 705. In Autumn 2023, 610 students took advantage of free entrance to the swimming hall, over 200 visited Vaasa Museums for free, and more than 100 purchased a special offer ticket to the theatre. Overall, the number of participants in the 2023 Student Benefit Week increased by more than 45% compared to the previous year.

Benefits and offers in 2024

Vaasa Sport Services offers students free admission to the Vaasa swimming hall and its gym during Student Benefit Week. Students can also participate freely in the city’s group health exercise classes. During week 43, group exercise classes are open to all, in addition to students. More information on group exercise classes during Student Benefit Week is available here (in Finnish and Swedish).

The Vaasa City Orchestra offers tickets to the ‘Monta maailmaa’ (‘Multiple Worlds’) concert on Thursday, 24 October at 18 at a reduced student price. Students can attend the concert for just 2€. Reduced student prices also apply to other City Orchestra concerts throughout the year.

Vaasa City Theatre is offering discounted student tickets for all its performances during Student Benefit Week. The student price for performances in the Romeo Hall is 25€ and 15€ for the Julia Hall. Tickets for performances on the same day are available for 10€. Tickets for the same day can be collected at the ticket office one hour before the performance, subject to availability. As a special Student Benefit Week offer, behind-the-scenes tours conducted in both Finnish and English are offered to students. The tour takes about 45 minutes and costs 5€ per person. The behind-the-scenes tours will be organised at the following times:

• Tuesday, 22 October at 16.30: A behind-the-scenes tour for students in English. The tour begins in the theatre foyer.
• Thursday, 24 October at 16.30: A behind-the-scenes tour for students in English. The tour begins in the theatre foyer.
• Friday, 25 October at 16.30: A behind-the-scenes tour for students in Finnish. The tour begins in the theatre foyer.

Please note that the behind-the-scenes tour is not accessible to everyone. Register for the tour by email at Riina Kontiokoski: firstname.surname@vaasa.fi.

Wasa Teater offers students an additional 50% discount on the regular student price of 25€ for same-day performances, making tickets available for 12.50€. This offer applies to all performances taking place during Student Benefit Week for which tickets are available on the same day. Tickets can be collected at the ticket office one hour before the performance, subject to availability. All Wasa Theatre performances are subtitled in Finnish, Swedish and English.

During Student Benefit Week, Vaasa Museums are offering free admission for students to all exhibitions open during the week: Eastern Spirituality at the Tikanoja Art Museum as well as the Terranova basic natural science exhibition and the Vaasa400 exhibition at the Ostrobothnian Museum and The North Wind Forest exhibition by Ritva Kovalainen and Sanni Seppo at the Ostrobothnian Museum. Claim the benefit by showing your student card at the checkout.

The Vaasa City Library welcomes students to discover the services of the main library during Student Benefit Week. At the main library’s information desk, students can obtain a library card and collect badges for their student overalls. Students also have the opportunity to explore the library’s facilities and services through special library tours. Tours will take place at the following times:

• Monday, 21 October at 18: A library tour for students in English. The tour begins in the library lobby.
• Tuesday, 22 October at 18: A library tour for students in Swedish. The tour begins in the library lobby.
• Wednesday, 23 October at 18: A library tour for students in Finnish. The tour begins in the library lobby.