June 17-19 2008, Jyväskylä, Finland cbms2008.it.jyu.fi  
title
 CBMS2008 Home :: Useful to Know

Useful to Know

Welcome to Jyväskylä!

The venue Jyväskylä is located 270km north of the capital Helsinki within good flight, rail and road connections from all parts of the country. It is the main city of the central Finnnish Lake district, a lively university town with about 130,000 inhabintants counting those living in the environs.

The University of Jyväskylä (http://www.jyu.fi/en) plays a very active role in many scientific fields both nationally and internationally. Both the University and the city have been hosts of numerous international scientific congresses.

The city of Jyväskylä houses special expertise in the fields of paper manufacturing and paper machinery as well as energy production, environmental, information and welfare technology. Jyväskylä Science Park has a strong presence in the areas of digital media, software production and telecommunications, as well as in industrial automation and measuring technologies.

The city of Jyväskylä offers its visitors a showcase of production by Alvar Aalto, the world famous Finnish architect. Examples of his works include municipal buildings and the University, as well as town plans, interiors and furniture design displayed in the Alvar Aalto Museum.

Welcome to Finland!

Situated between the 60th and 70th degrees of latitude, Finland is the second most northern country in the world. The land border with Russia is the eastern boundary of the European Union. Two thirds of the country, 338,000 km2, is covered by forest, one tenth by water, while less than one tenth is cultivated land. There are 188,000 lakes and 180,000 islands.

Finland has a population of 5.2 million, of which two thirds live in urban areas. Finland has two official languages, Finnish a Finno-Ugric language, and Swedish, which is the mother tongue for 6% of the population. Sami (Lappish) is spoken as their native language by some 1,700 people.

Finland ranks among the top countries in its R&D investment, and its economy is strongly based on high-tech exports.

Climate

Due to its location at the Arctic Circle, Finland enjoys 'White Nights' i.e. the sun does not go below the horizon for over 70 days in mid-summer in the north of Finland. At the time of our Congress we still have the longest days and even in the Jyväskylä region it is possible to read nearly through the night without any electricity. The average daily temperatures are around 18-22 degrees centigrade, night temperatures may be lower.

Currency

Finland belongs to the European Union. The local currency is Euro (divided into 100 cents). One Euro equals approximately to 1.4 USD. International credit cards are accepted at all hotels and in all department stores and most shops.

Finnish Visa Formalities

EU citizens and most of other nationals do not need an entry visa to Finland. For visa regulations contact your travel agent or the nearest Finnish embassy or consulate (more information).

Health Regulations

No vaccinations are requested when entering Finland from any other country.

Insurance

The organisers cannot be held responsible for injury to Congress attendees or for damage to or loss of their personal belongings, regardless of the cause. Attendees are advised to make their own insurance arrangements.

Recreation Possibilities

Jyväskylä offers a variety of opportunities for a possible dinner/supper-time touring to experience the local, ethnic and global culture. Just take a walk through the downtown pedestrian zone and pick your choice of restaurants, cafes, or pubs. You may find a nice choice of them in the shore streets of Lake Jyväsjärvi as well. There are also daily boat cruises on the nearby lake route.

Advices for planning your CBMS'08 trip

Please, note that, following the CBMS 2008 Symposium, there will be the national holiday Juhannus (Midsummer Festival) in Finland starting 20 June and ending 22 June. This holiday usually causes changes in the opening times of hotels, restaurants, shops, banks etc. Many Restaurants and some hotels are closed on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Banks are closed on Friday. The shops that are open on Friday 20 June close by 13:00 in the afternoon.

When making your travel arrangements please also notice that the national holiday will affect the flight, train and bus schedules. On Thursday the closing day of the Symposium the normal week day schedules will be valid. Friday and Saturday mainly follow Sunday schedules. On Saturday June 21 there will be no flights between Jyväskylä and Helsinki. The final summer schedules will be confirmed during May 2008. Some information about hotel and transportation schedules during the time of Midsummer Festival is provided below (as of 05 March 2008):

Hotels

Flights

All flight schedules can be seen on the web. But there may still be changes in the schedules.

Trains

Final summer schedules will be available in May (small changes may occur).

Buses

Final summer schedules will be checked in May (changes may occur).

Further Information About Finland