General Information

Oulu - Your Host City

Oulu is situated on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, 160 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle and Lapland. The city is well served by air connections from Helsinki (55 minutes) and Stockholm (1 hour 10 minutes). The current population of Oulu is approximately 125 000.

The Oulu region is one of the fastest growing urban areas in Finland. Oulu is the major university, science, industry, shopping, service and cultural centre in Northern Finland with an intense growth in high technology industries. Through the years Oulu has established its position as an attractive host city for many international and Scandinavian workshops.

Apart from the diverse variety of tourist attractions, the city also has the capacity to host large-scale events. The exotic sunlight nights at midsummer and arctic ice, snow and darkness in winter are memorable experiences for visitors. Its proximity to the sea, fine parks, museums and art galleries, the colourful Market Place and the great variety of shops and restaurants make Oulu an inviting destination for the event participant.

Travel Information

The city of Oulu is well served by air connections from Helsinki and Stockholm. Finnair has numerous daily flights between Oulu and Helsinki. Between Stockholm and Oulu there are up to four daily flights with SAS.

The location of Oulu airport is 15 km south of the city centre and the conference hotels.

There is a regular local bus service - route no. 19. A single fare from the airport to the city centre costs approximately 3,50 Euros.

Taxis are available at approximately 25 Euros. An airport taxi costs 17 Euros per person and has to be requested in advance from tel. +358-600-30081.

You can also take a train from Helsinki to Oulu. The fastest train connection takes less than 6 hours, and a return ticket costs about 120 Euros. In order to get to the Helsinki railway station from the Helsinki airport, take bus number 615 or the Finnair bus. Reserve at least 35 minutes and 4 Euros for the transfer.

Information on bus connections between Northern Sweden and Oulu is available at the Matkahuolto and Bothnian Arc X-Press websites. You can also call "Länstrafiken i Norrbotten" for timetables tel. +46(0)926 756 95.

The university of Oulu - the venue for the event - is located 6 km from the city centre. Buses no 4, 6, 7 and 19 take you directly from the city centre to the university in 15 minutes. There is a bus approximately every 10 minutes. A single bus ticket to the university costs 2,30 Euros. A taxi costs up to 15 Euros. To call a taxi from a mobile phone, dial +358-600-30081

University and airport timetables here.

Accommodation

Hotels listed as symposium hotels offer good value room rates for the event participants of NRS/FWCW'04. The same rates are valid 2 days prior and after the Symposium.

Participants should contact the hotel of their choice directly and reserve a room. In order to have the symposium room rate, you should indicate NRS when doing your reservation.

For late arrivals, hotels request credit card information. Accommodation will have to be paid at check out.

Registration

The registration and information desk at the venue will be located outside the Symposium lecture room L5. The opening hours during the symposium will be:
Monday 16 August: 11-17
Tuesday 17 August: 8-17.30
Wednesday 18 August: 8-17

Conference and local information will be available at the registration desk, along with the notice board.

Cancellation Policy

For cancellations received at the latest on 16 July 2004 at 16.00 Finnish time, a refund of 50% of the total sum will be made after the Symposium. For cancellations thereafter, no refunds will be made.

A registration is considered binding when the participant's information has been stored in the registration data base and the participant has received the first e-mail confirmation of the received registration including a registration number.

All changes to registrations and cancellations should be directed to:
Congress Oulu
Marko Sulonen
E-mail: marko.sulonen@ouka.fi
Tel. +358-8-558 41325
Fax +358-8-558 41711

Insurance

Neither the Symposium Organising Committee nor the Symposium secretariat accept any liability or responsibility for illness or injury to persons, or for the loss of, or damage to property, or for any financial loss of any person attending the Symposium. Participants and accompanying persons should make their own arrangements in respect of health and travel insurance.

Venue

NRS will take place at the Linnanmaa campus of the University of Oulu, 6 km from Oulu city centre. The event concentrates in the area of lecture rooms L5 and L6.

Buses stop at entrance T (on Erkki Koiso-Kanttilankatu) which is the nearest to lecture rooms L5 and L6. You can also use entrance X.

Local bus timetables:
City centre - Linnanmaa
Linnanmaa - City centre

Lunch

During the Symposium, lunch is served in restaurant Aularavintola, in the vicinity of the lecture rooms. When registering for the Symposium, please indicate any special requirements and dietary restrictions that you may have.

Internet Access

A wireless Internet access will be available during the Symposium in the Symposium premises. Visitor accounts (valid 24 hours) will be available free of charge from the registration desk. You will need a laptop equipped with a WLAN (IEEE 802.11b) card. Some PCs will also be available for internet access onsite in room SÄ105.

Badges

Admission to the the Symposium lecture rooms is permitted only for those wearing the official Symposium badge.

Language

The official language of the Symposium is English. Simultaneous interpretation will not be available.

Visa

If you need an invitation letter from the organisers in order to obtain a VISA, please e-mail a request to Ms. Sari Luukkonen. Please note that an invitation letter can only be sent to you once your registration payment has been received.