In May 2018, the Aalto University Student Union joined SOA – The Finnish Association of Student Housing Organisations.

SOA is an advocacy and cooperation association for student housing communities. Its members include 20 student housing communities from all over Finland, and the umbrella organizations of higher education students, SAMOK and SYL (the National Union of University Students in Finland).

“AYY has looked into SOA’s operations, and we decided to join it because of the broad cooperation possibilities it offers,” says Noora Vänttinen, Chair of AYY’s Board.

SOA offers its members training and other events. SOA also collects statistical information from its member communities, which is utilized both in advocacy work and in the development of the member communities’ own activities.

Housing is one of AYY’s most significant member services. AYY has 2 500 student apartments and it offers a home to 3 200 students in the Helsinki Capital Region.

AYY is continuously developing its operations and housing services. The Student Union’s real estate strategy contains ambitious development goals for future years. Concentrating apartments of the right size close to the Otaniemi campus is an important goal, and the aim is to invest also in the visibility and open communications of the housing services.

“We think that it is important to network with other student housing communities. Closer cooperation and exchange of information will help us to offer higher quality housing services to our members,” says Riitu Nuutinen, AYY’s Service Manager.

Read more about AYY’s housing services: /en/housing
More information on SOA’s activities: http://www.soa.fi/en/soa-ry.html