Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

student nation Student nations or simply nations ( la, natio meaning "being born") are regional corporations of students at a university. Once widespread across Europe in medieval times, they are now largely restricted to the oldest universities of Sweden and Fin ...

s (in Finnish, sg. osakunta, pl. osakunnat; in Swedish (student)nation) are student organisations within which a large proportion of extra-curricular student activity takes place. Though membership is not compulsory, the nations provide one of the main nodes of student social life, along with the faculty-based organisations (''ainejärjestöt'') at the universities. The first Finnish student nations were originally established at

The Royal Academy of Turku The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...

. When the Academy moved to Helsinki after the

Great Fire of Turku The Great Fire of Turku ( fi, Turun palo, sv, Åbo brand and russian: Пожар Або) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned ...

taking the name Imperial Alexander University in Finland, the nations moved along with it. Their institutional form is based on the original nation system of the

University of Uppsala Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. The university rose to significance during ...

. After Finland had gained its independence from Russia, the university was renamed as the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

. Today there are 15 nations, each one representing a historic region or province of Finland. Four of these nations represent Swedish-speaking regions which overlay some of the remaining 12 regions, which are Finnish-speaking regions. For example, Åbo Nation and Varsinaissuomalainen osakunta ("

Finland Proper Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper ( fi, Varsinais-Suomi ; sv, Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The regi ...

Nation") both represent a very similar geographic region, though the former is Swedish- and the latter Finnish-Speaking. In addition to the nations at Helsinki University, there is also an association for Swedish-speaking students, Teknologföreningen, at

Aalto University Aalto University ( fi, Aalto-yliopisto; sv, Aalto-universitetet) is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the He ...

, and it is also legally a ''nation''. The 16 nations, those at Helsinki University and Teknologföreningen, have a special legal status as their existence and overall purpose is regulated by the Universities Act. Therefore, organizations termed "nations" at other Finnish universities founded in the 20th century are not ''nations'' in the legal sense of the word, but instead ''associations'', regulated by the Associations Act. For example, at the

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

, there are four student nations established in the 1920s.

Student nations at Helsinki University

Finnish-speaking

* Eteläsuomalainen osakunta (ESO) * Savolainen osakunta (SavO) * Karjalainen Osakunta (KO) *

Hämäläis-Osakunta Hämäläis-Osakunta (HO, colloquially Hämis) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking and established in 1653 at The Royal Academy of Turku. In 1828, the academy moved to Helsinki adopting the name ''univer ...

(HO) * Keskisuomalainen Osakunta (KSO) *

Kymenlaakson Osakunta Kymenlaakson Osakunta (KyO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finnish-speaking and established in 1933. Kymenlaakson Osakunta's home region is the province of Kymenlaakso in south-eastern Finland and constitutes from ...

(KyO) * Varsinaissuomalainen osakunta (VSO) *

Satakuntalainen Osakunta Satakuntalainen Osakunta (SatO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki. It was established in 1654. The nation is headed by the inspector and the curator. The current inspector is Jari Yli-Kauhaluoma, Professor of Pharmaceut ...

(SatO) *

Wiipurilainen Osakunta Wiipurilainen Osakunta (WiO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsink ...

(WiO) *

Etelä-Pohjalainen Osakunta Etelä-Pohjalainen Osakunta (EPO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in He ...

(EPO) *

Pohjois-Pohjalainen Osakunta North Ostrobothnian Nation ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjalainen Osakunta, PPO) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki. PPO is Finnish-speaking and established in 1907. Originally formed by students from the northern former Oulu and ...

(PPO)

Swedish-speaking

Nylands Nation Nylands Nation (NN) is one of the 15 Nations at Finnish universities, student nations at the University of Helsinki, Finland's oldest, Swedish-speaking Finns, Swedish-speaking and established in 1643 at The Royal Academy of Turku. In 1828, the Aca ...

(NN) *

Vasa nation Vasa nation (VN) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language ...

(VN) *

Åbo Nation Åbo Nation (ÅN) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, it is Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germani ...

(ÅN) *

Östra Finlands Nation Östra Finlands Nation (ÖFN) is one of the 15 student nations at the University of Helsinki, Swedish-speaking and established in 1924. The nation is formed to represent the interests of Swedish-speaking students coming from Eastern Finland, nowad ...

(ÖFN)

Student nations at Åbo Akademi University

* Nyländska Nationen (NN)
Åbolands Nation (ÅSNA)
* Åländska Studentlaget (ÅSL) * Österbottniska Nationen (ÖN) * Östra Finlands Nation (Öffen)

Student nations at Aalto University

* Teknologföreningen (TF)

Student nations at the University of Turku

* Satakuntalais-Hämäläinen Osakunta (SHO) * Savokarjalainen Osakunta (SKO) * Varsinaissuomalainen Osakunta (TVO) * Pohjalainen Osakunta (TPO)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nations At Finnish Universities * Student societies in Finland fi:Osakunta#Suomen osakunnat