FOR THE FRESHMEN
Welcome to Kaplaaki, future Industrial Engineering and Management student!
Congratulations on your excellent choice of study program! This coming fall, you’ll embark on your journey toward a Master of Science in Engineering, alongside around 150 other new students in Industrial Engineering and Management. Kaplaaki is the student organization for Industrial Engineering and Management in Lappeenranta, dedicated to supporting you throughout your studies and ensuring you have plenty of fun to balance the hard work.
After the intense effort of entrance exams and high school finals, it’s a good idea to take a breather this summer before diving into your studies. First, remember to confirm your study place on the Opintopolku portal. Next, it’s a good idea to start looking for housing online, such as with LOAS Student Housing Foundation, the City of Lappeenranta, or private rentals. Scroll down to check out our freshman magazine, Fukslaaki (or Maisterilaaki for master’s freshmen) for more information about the upcoming fall, Kaplaaki, and instructions on joining our communication channels.
Your studies will start with an orientation specifically for first-year students, known as freshmen, at our university. This orientation period spans two weeks, known as “fresher weeks.” The first of these weeks is solely for orientation activities, and academic studies start in the second week. Freshman weeks include both daytime and evening events; the university organizes daytime activities, while the various guilds at LUT take charge of the evening programs. You’ll find the freshman week schedule below. Don’t hesitate to dive in—it’s the best way to meet new people and form friendships that we hope will last throughout your studies and beyond.
See you soon <3
– Kaplaaki Board
IS-Laaki
IS-Laaki is Kaplaaki’s dedicated freshman magazine created for the new students accepted into LUT University’s Industrial Engineering and Management program. By reading it, you’ll get a glimpse into your future guild, prepare for the fall, and see who’s eagerly waiting to meet you this coming semester. In addition to greetings and photos from the Kaplaaki board and officers, you’ll also find messages from Kaplaaki’s IN-tutors, specially written for you as new students. The laaki offers valuable information about Kaplaaki, local vocabulary from your new university town, and an introduction to Finnish student culture. It’ll help you prepare for freshman week and offer orientation tips. Within these pages, you’ll find all the key points new students need to remember. So, settle down—perhaps on a sunny terrace or a cozy couch—and browse.
You can read the latest IS-laaki by clicking the image below!
Freshman week schedule
Here’s the evening program schedule for the upcoming freshman weeks, making it easier for you to plan transitions between daytime and evening activities and to prepare with the right gear for each evening. If you’ve already moved to Lappeenranta before the start of freshman weeks, be sure to join the Back2Uni event on Saturday, August 24th!
Kaplaaki Freshman Committee
Shortly after freshman weeks, a freshman committee will be formed from new Kaplaaki freshmen to organize the Fuksijaosto Party (known as “FJB” in Skinnarila) alongside Kaplaaki’s freshman representative. This committee consists of about 20 freshmen who are divided into smaller teams based on their interests. Team responsibilities may include tasks related to graphic design, advertising, catering, and programming. Together with the freshman representative, committee members handle all aspects of event planning independently, guided by a “senior advisor board” comprising the previous year’s Freshman Coordinator (FV) and EI sector, who share their tips from organizing the prior FJB event.
The FJB event is highly regarded in Skinnarila, providing Kaplaaki freshmen a fantastic opportunity to get involved in guild activities, gain insight into event organizing, and, most importantly, meet fellow freshmen and make new friends. The freshman representative will announce the application process in the fall, and selected members will be invited to a committee meeting to plan event details.
For more information, feel free to ask the tutors or the freshman representative. Don’t hesitate to join the freshman committee!
Kaplaaki events
Kaplaaki organizes a wide range of events, and member input is always considered in the planning process. Throughout the year, Kaplaaki hosts events almost weekly, with some of the most popular including various *sitsit* (formal dinners), sports events like the Kaplaaki Kyykkä Championship, the Freshman Committee Party, the Rankka excursion, and, of course, the annual highlight—the anniversary celebration and its next-day brunch, *sillis*.
We also organize events with our partners. At case events, you’ll get the chance to solve real-world cases provided by companies, learn about their operations, and build industry connections. You can also get to know companies through excursions and our own recruitment event, Firmafoorumi, which was first held in 2022.
Many of our events are centered around freshman weeks and Wappu, both of which are organized by LTKY (Lappeenranta Student Union) but carried out by the guilds. Freshman weeks kick off a new student’s journey from freshman to *teekkari* (engineering student), culminating in the *teekkarikaste*, a baptism ceremony at Wappu that officially inducts freshmen as *teekkaris*. Wappu spans an entire month in Lappeenranta, during which Kaplaaki hosts events both for its members and for the wider community.
The best way to stay updated on upcoming Kaplaaki events is through our social media! Next, we’ll give you a brief overview of the most common university events, so you know what to look forward to alongside your studies.
Sitz parties:
A sitz party (sitsit) is a traditional academic table celebration filled with singing, eating, drinking, and, of course, speeches. Each city has its own sitz culture, and in Lappeenranta, sitz parties come with traditions that go back many years. Nearly all the necessary songs can be found in the Lappeenranta songbook, Punamusta, although students have often added their own verses to many songs, along with unwritten rules you can only learn by attending. Sitz parties are one of the most cherished student traditions, and every teekkari should experience at least one.
Kaplaaki actively maintains and carefully modernizes these sitz traditions, often incorporating unique themes. Our annual sitz calendar includes, for example, fuksisitsit for first-year students and the ever-popular kaverisitsit (friend sitz).
In Lappeenranta, sitz parties are led by toastmasters (known as “toasts”). If you’re interested in becoming a toastmaster, feel free to reach out to projekti@kaplaaki.fi.
Annual party:
Kaplaaki’s annual celebration is the highlight of the spring semester, honoring the guild’s history with a formal evening gala. For many, this glamorous event is the absolute peak of the year. The festivities begin with a cocktail reception for invited guests, where they share greetings, expressions of gratitude, and often a creative gift for the hosting guild. The cocktail reception is followed by a formal dinner, typically a three-course meal accompanied by singing, speeches, and potentially award presentations or other special performances.
After the dinner, guests move to an afterparty, often featuring live music. The celebration usually includes additional events during the annual celebration week, and, of course, the traditional *sillis* (herring breakfast) the next day, where attendees can enjoy a sauna, hot tubs, and continue the celebration in a relaxed setting.
Excursions:
Kaplaaki offers its members the opportunity to explore the corporate world by organizing annual excursions and company visits. These excursions are arranged to companies within the working field of IEM, and they serve as one of Kaplaaki’s forms of corporate collaboration, helping to maintain close relations with partner companies, for example, by occasionally visiting our partners.
Throughout the year, Kaplaaki organizes both professional excursions and more casual ones. During the year, Kaplaaki organizes at least:
- Fuksikursio: An excursion in the fall for new students.
- Pukukursio: A formal excursion at the end of the year aimed at master’s students.
- Duunikursio: An excursion held during summer job recruitment season.
- Kotimaan Rankka: A three-day recreational excursion.
- KotiSeutuKursio (KSK): A recreational excursion traditionally held during Wappu.
Kaplaaki event calendar
On the Kaplaaki homepage event calendar, you can view upcoming events and either add them individually to your personal calendar or follow the entire calendar.
For a single event, select the event, press “see more details,” and in the calendar view, click the three-dot menu and choose “copy to calendar” to add the event to your personal schedule.
You can follow the entire calendar through this link!