What is guild?

What is guild?

Koneenrakennuskilta ry is the subject organization for mechanical engineering students in Lappeenranta University of Technology, LUT. It is loosely translated Machine Building Guild. In Finnish technical universities, all subject associations are called guilds. Our Guild is founded to plead the case of its members in university’s and student union’s matters and also to arrange different kinds of parties, sauna evenings and educational events.

The Guild was founded in 1974 and it has around 700 members. Every year about 70 new fresher start studying mechanical engineering in LUT, off which nearly all become members of the KRK. Together with the student union, fresher are guided to be charming ‘koneteekkari’, mechanical engineering students. KRK’s official color is orange which is also the color of our overalls.

Guild activities are surprisingly important and purposeful, even for guild activists. Visible activities (parties, events and activities) are only a small part of this great mission that the Guild of Mechanical Engineers is doing. A big focus of the guild's activities is also student advocacy and educational development. The guild works hard with the management of the education program to ensure that the future mechanical engineering graduates are the sharpest in their field, and are hired by every company that wants to hire them. In addition, the guild also tries to balance the burden of studying by organising various events. The most prominent of these are sauna nights organised by the host and hostess, excursions to companies in the sector and parties with different themes. These events are a big part of Lappeenranta's teekkari culture and you can't help but recognise teekkari or freshers with the orange -overalls in the hustle and bustle of the events.

The Guild also seeks to build relationships with the management of the programme and the university, as well as with various companies. These connections can, at best, lead to summer jobs or valuable relationships for students, which are a big part of modern employment. This relationship building is marketed to the incoming student as an ongoing networking activity. Its role is extremely important in the world of work as well as in staying in school. It is important to get to know students from different disciplines and build relationships for the future. Along side all of this, you'll often find lifelong friendships that will maintain the relationship with your place of study, Lappeenranta.

The most visible part of our collaboration with companies is the orange overalls that you incoming fresher will receive during the autumn or early spring. The company logos on these are sold advertising to get the company's name in front of the future top engineering talent. These overalls are also the most visible emblem of the Lappeenranta mechanical engineering, who are now known throughout most of Finland.