Lapland UAS opening event 2025

The Opening Ceremony Officially Kicks Off the New Academic Year!
The opening celebrations are spread over three days as follows:

Tuesday 2 September 2025
The week begins in Tornio with a stand day in Liikehuone from 10:00–13:00. Various organizations and associations have been invited to present their activities. Come say hello, enjoy some coffee, and meet both new faces and familiar friends.

Wednesday 3 September 2025
The stand days continue! On the Kemi and Rovaniemi campuses, stands will be open from 10:00–13:00. In Kemi, the stands will be located at the Market Square, while in Rovaniemi you’ll find them in the main lobby of the Jokiväylä campus. Various organizations and associations have been invited to present their activities. Come say hello, enjoy some coffee, and meet both new faces and familiar friends.

Friday 5 September 2025
Friday is the official opening day. The event will be held at Restaurant Valdemari in Rovaniemi, located on the bank of the Kemijoki River at Jäämerentie 9, Rovaniemi. As tradition dictates, the opening day includes a daytime program, a city orienteering checkpoint competition, and an afterparty.

Schedule:
13:00 – Program begins at Valdemari
14:15 – Church boat rowing on the Kemijoki River
(Note! The first city orienteering task starts at the same time!)
15:00 – City orienteering begins
15:00 – Pub quiz at Restaurant Valdemari
22:00 – Awards ceremony and afterparty at Restaurant Valdemari

City Orienteering Checkpoint Competition
Naturally, the day’s program also includes the legendary city orienteering! During the checkpoint round, tutors will guide new students in groups from one checkpoint to another, completing tasks, getting to know each other, and building connections in the heart of Rovaniemi. City orienteering kicks off the big autumn checkpoint events and serves as an easy introduction to the world of checkpoint competitions.

The competition is intended for new students starting their studies at Lapland UAS. Registration is available via the kide.app link found in your email. You can also ask your tutor for the link. Registration is free and helps us estimate the number of groups and assign them to tutors.

Note: Participants from Kemi and Tornio — you can also sign up for the event bus transportation to and from Rovaniemi via the same registration link (more details below).

Afterparty
The opening day culminates in the afterparty at Valdemari, where the city orienteering awards will also be presented! Tickets to the afterparty are free, but limited in number — make sure to get yours early so you don’t miss out on the evening fun! Remember to exchange your kide.app ticket for a physical ticket at the ROTKO stand by the Valdemari during the daytime event.

Bus Transportation for Kemi and Tornio Students
We have arranged bus transportation on the opening day from Kemi and Tornio to Rovaniemi and back.
10:30 – Departure from Minerva Campus, Tornio (Kauppakatu 58)
11:00 – Stop at Kosmos Campus, Kemi (Tietokatu 1)
13:00 – Arrival in Rovaniemi

00:15 – Return buses depart (Valdemari, Jäämerentie 9, 96200 Rovaniemi).
Buses will travel via Kemi to Tornio.

Bus seats must be booked in advance and are only for those participating in the opening day. Sign up for the bus via kide.app when registering for the checkpoint race— you’ll find the link in your email!

The event follows the Code of Conduct (https://lapinrotko.fi/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Code-of-Conduct-ENG.pdf), and ROTKO’s trained harassment contact persons will be present.

You can contact a harassment contact person if you experience harassment or any other inappropriate behaviour. You can also reach out if you witness harassment and wish to discuss it. All conversations with harassment contact persons are confidential.

You may also contact a harassment contact person after the event.

You can find the harassment contact persons and their contact information here:
https://lapinrotko.fi/toiminta/edunvalvonta/hairintayhdyshenkilotoiminta/hairintayhdyshenkilot/