Over 2,200 new students start at LUT University this autumn

The new academic year begins on Monday 2 September with 2,220 new students starting their studies on LUT’s campuses in Lappeenranta and Lahti and regional units in Kouvola and Mikkeli. Before courses start, an orientation will be held at each location to introduce first-year students to life in the new city. The orientations fall on the timeline from 20 to 30 August.

“Things get busy when first-year students arrive on campus to find out about their studies, the student community, and their new university city,” says Tanja Karppinen, project manager of LUT’s First Year Experience.

This autumn, 1,614 new students will start on the Lappeenranta campus and 548 on the Lahti campus. Additionally, there will be 39 new students in Kouvola and 19 in Mikkeli. A total of 279 tutors will be guiding the entire group.

New programmes and lively student events

LUT’s first master’s students in social and communication sciences will start their studies on the Lappeenranta campus this autumn. The university is offering three new master’s programmes in the field.

Additionally, a new master’s programme in mechatronics will begin on the Lahti campus. It focuses on the sustainable development of machines and equipment, and a related professorship was established at the end of 2023. The Kouvola unit, in turn, will see the start of a new master’s programme in food processing technology.

The start of the autumn term will feature various student events.

“At the Lappeenranta Beach Party, first-year students traditionally take their tutors for a plunge in Lake Saimaa. That’s known as the ‘tutor baptism’. Then, after their own plunge, the new students are inducted into the student community and become full-fledged members of their student guilds,” says Hanna Veteli from LUT’s student union (LTKY).

In Lahti, students take part in events such as picnics and urban orienteering to get acquainted with the student culture and new city.

“This autumn, Lahti will also see lots of recreational events with students in colourful guild overalls, as the number of student associations grows,” says the student union's community specialist Pia Kuosmanen.