Podcast: Colours of UniTurku | Bright Red: KATKO

Colours of UniTurku is a podcast by international student ambassadors of the University of Turku, introducing the unique student life and colourful student organisations in Turku, Finland.

You can also listen the episode on Spotify.

Text alternative for the podcast episode:

Host: Hi everyone, and welcome to Colours of UniTurku, a podcast about student organisations at the University of Turku. For those not familiar, student organisations are kind of like a hobby group where students gather around things they like or things they study. I am Almira, also a student, and today's theme is red. I'll be talking to Veera from KATKO. Thank you for joining us, Veera. Could you introduce yourself and your organisation?

Guest: Hi! Thank you for inviting me! I am Veera, I am 4th year student of Adult Education. My organisation is KATKO, it’s a student organisation for Educational Sciences in University of Turku.

Host: That’s nice, because I am also studying Educational Sciences but as an international Master degree and I am really thinking of joining your organisation. 

Guest: (laughs)

Host: And what is your role in this organisation?

Guest: So, my role in KATKO is just as a student. So, I am not in any specific position other than being a student and enjoying KATKO and what it has to offer for me.

Host: In a way that’s the best position

Guest: (laughs) Yes

Host: Because you just enjoy and not do hard work. How do you join the board of KATKO? 

Guest: So, every fall… there is fall meeting, board meeting and the next board will be chosen during that meeting. And there will be like an election if there is competition or too many people wanting to join, then there will be like a small election going on with questions and everything. And it’s pretty cool! Yeah, that’s how you join

Host: I like how organisations work and function, that they have a board, and then they have student members. And that’s good that we have you who gives a different perspective because some organisations sent their board members to us then you have a different perspective. What date has this organisation been founded?

Guest: Our organisation, KATKO was founded in 1971 actually, yeah.

Host: Oh wow that’s a lot

Guest: Yeah (laughs)

Host: I didn’t expect that

Guest: Yeah, pretty old

Host: And how many members do you have now? 

Guest: We have around 400, just about, yeah.

Host: This surprise me a lot. Because I checked your pictures and it usually wasn’t that many at the events, but I understand that not everyone comes. And do you have international students?

Guest: We do, but only a few. We wish there will be more. We have around maybe 10. Not a lot of people join, the international students, they do join some of our events though and that’s very nice.

Host: Yeah, we hope that our podcast will help to get more people on board who join KATKO. And what is the purpose of your organisation?

Guest: The purpose of KATKO is to oversee the rights of students of Educational Sciences in this university. And to host events like parties and get togethers and such events, yeah.

Host: And do you know what are the upcoming events, maybe for next year?

Guest: Oh, next year maybe… There is a sits party but for friends, everyone can bring a friend in from outside. So I am very excited about that. I am not sure… what parties we will have. Hold on. Let me think of it. There might be like a cruise ship but it’s not just for KATKO, it’s for all educational students all over Finland who are coming on a cruise.

Host: Wow. It’s really nice! And how do you join this cruise? 

Guest: The members of KATKO will receive an email, and there is gonna be information. And also on social medias probably about this cruise and how to join.

Host: I also received the list of the events for the rest of the year, and there was this event where you gather and just discuss educational sciences.

Guest: Oh yes, we do have that! It’s cool. I haven’t been there, sadly I wasn’t in Finland last time it was held and I would like to go in a future. It’s like we… not we, cause I didn’t go there, but people gather in Proffan Kellari, I think, the bar and talk about education (laughs) just out of passion for it, I guess, yeah. 

Host: That’s also like a really nice aspect, because I feel with organisations people think that it’s all about partying, and if you are not a party person, you think why would I join the organisation, but then having something related to subject as well is also very important.

Guest: Yeah 

Host: And I think that for internationals that’s also interesting because we are lacking the Finnish perspective in education, although we take class. So that would be so much fun to hear your perspective in educational sciences and we can have some international one.

Guest: That’s actually an amazing idea to have like international perspectives at that evening and overall in KATKO. Because even at events we do talk about education a lot and like current events revolving around education. So getting the international perspective would be great as well, like broaden the horizons.

Host: And what is the best thing about being a member of your organisation?

Guest: Oh, the best thing is the people around me, the members of KATKO, the students are so great. I have so many friends from KATKO and doing things together is I think the best thing.

Host: Yeah that sounds very fun! Why did you personally join the organisation?

Guest: For me I started studying in 2019. I just heard everybody who starts Educational Sciences joins KATKO, that’s just what everybody does. And I wanted to be a part of community and join other students in the activities they were doing, and join the events. So I wanted to be part of it, yeah.

Host: What is the coolest thing you have done so far as a member?

Guest: Oh… I am not sure. So many cool parties and stuff that I’ve been attending. Recently, we had paintball as like a excursion. So we all went… not all, but few of us went to play paintball and that was lots of fun, that was really cool. 

Host: Wow! It’s really nice because most of organisations they do sits parties, and then just normal dancing parties, and then we heard about quizzes already, but paintball is very new. 

Guest: Yeah

Host: Do you have some events which are very unique to KATKO?

Guest: Oh, unique events… I am not sure. We have a lot of traditions that are similar to other organisations and… it’s just like our own version of it, but I am trying to think if there is anything really unique events… like of course sits parties like with different themes, unique themes and such like that. Nothing comes to mind. Different organisations do have their sports excursions as well, like we had the paintball, and then there was like air acrobatics and stuff, the last one. I didn’t join but it looked like a lot of fun (laughs)

Host: It sounds like a lot of fun! 

Guest: Yeah

Host: I already asked you for the coolest thing, but do you have a specific funny memory?

Guest: Specific funny memory… Of my own memories, I am not sure, like everything is fun that we do, nothing specifically sticks out. But I actually asked around a little bit. And I wasn’t here last spring cause I was on exchange, but I heard that there last spring there was a party going on, the evening gown kind of party and KATKO ordered a lot of alcohol from Germany. Like 750 kg of alcohol, like a huge package from Germany. And delivery guy, he didn’t bring them to where it supposed to be brought, he just kind of left it somewhere at like pavement (laughs) on a side walk.

Host: Oh my god!

Guest: Yeah, so like a huge amount of alcohol just laying there on a side walk. But it was all found, and the people holding the event, they all got together and they all had to carry (laughs) carry together, it was a lot of alcohol. So they all got together and did it together. I think that also speaks to like the… how things are in KATKO, like people are ready to like step up and come help each other a little bit like that.

Host: Even if we look at your Instagram, you look like a family in a way, because everyone is so friendly and I visited KATKO office a few times, once I got my overall from there and then I think for something else which I don’t remember, and you always had fun together and you felt like you are really close. 

Guest: Yeah, that’s true, we do have close community with the students and we like… not just events that we go to, just hanging around in Educarium, the building that we are mainly in, and stuff like that, it’s really cool. It is kind of like a family I think. And a lot of people found their friend groups through KATKO and like continue being friends even after studying.

Host: Nice! And I also know we have an organisation for teacher studies, so if you wanna become a teacher, it’s OPEX…

Guest: It is, yeah

Host: And what is the relationship between KATKO and OPEX? If you are a teacher, can you join KATKO and how does it work?

Guest: Mmm… I haven’t heard about any teacher trainees or people who study to become teachers joining KATKO. Because they do have OPEX. We are in the same building, our studies are mainly surrounded in Educarium. And we have the small little room for the students to hang out in, in a building as well, where you can make coffee. It is just for OPEX and KATKO people. But yeah… surprisingly, we don’t have many events together with OPEX, because OPEX is its own thing, and we have our own rooftop organisation INDEX. And we do more with INDEX than with OPEX. But we share more space with OPEX in a campus. So we are kind of close like that. 

Host: And maybe for our listeners, what is INDEX?

Guest: So, INDEX is a rooftop organisation that has the societal sciences… (laughs) I am not sure what it’s called in English actually. It’s different student organisations from different fields that related together. It’s all at Educarium and Publicum.

Host: Okay! I think in English it’s called social sciences

Guest: Social Sciences, thank you! 

(both laughing)

Guest: So INDEX is a rooftop organisation for social sciences

Host: And you also said you have events together with them

Guest: Yeah, we do, quite a lot actually. There are freshmen events, and then some others as well, like sits parties and stuff like that, sometimes. And this Pubivits… hold on! Trying to think of it in English. We have together with INDEX the Pub… Pub competition kind of… when you are trying figuring out answers to questions…

Host: Yeah, Pub Quiz?

Guest: Pub Quiz! We have Pub Quizzes in Publicum with INDEX together.

Host: If you ever have Pub Quiz in English, I am joining 100%! Happy to join KATKO only for Pub Quizzes with INDEX

Guest: (laughs) I’ll try to sell the idea (laughs)

Host: Yeah, maybe at least like once a year, English version would be nice

Guest: Yeah, that’s actually a good idea, yeah

Host: So, as a KATKO member, do you have any message for our viewers? 

Guest: I think you should join KATKO if you study Educational Sciences, you should definitely join KATKO or… find people from KATKO and go say hi. Because we are friendly people, we like meeting new people and taking people in, yeah, definitely. I can definitely recommend joining KATKO

Host: I think from the next year I will, that was a very good promotion!

Guest: (laughs)

Host: So, thank you for joining us today, Veera! If people want to know more about KATKO, where they find you? 

Guest: So they’ll find us on Facebook and Instagram on KATKO or KATKO ry. And also KATKO has its own website, also in English. Or physically in Educarium, 4th floor. Yeah, on campus!

Host: So if you want to find them online, all these links will be in the podcast description along with the links to the University of Turku, the Student Blog and UTU Instagram Account. So please follow all of us! Thank you everyone for listening and see you next time!

Guest: Thank you so much for having me!