The Representative Council of Aalto University Student Union appointed the board for the student union for the year 2013 at its meeting on Thursday, 29 Nov 2012. Student of Engineering Piia Näränen (28) was appointed as the chair of the board. Näränen has previously acted as the first vice chair of AYY’s Representative Council and the chair of Athene, the guild of the Degree Programme of Information Networks.

Other nine (9) members of AYY Board are:

• Jori Jämsä, 22, Aalto SCI, Engineering Physics and Mathematics (Vice Chair)
• Laura Euro, 27, Aalto ARTS, Spatial and Furniture Design
• Perttu Karjalainen, 22, Aalto BIZ, Management
• Mariko Landström, 23, Aalto SCI, Engineering Physics and Mathematics
• Ilmi Salminen, 21, Aalto SCI, Information Networks
• Henna Hietanen, 24, Aalto CHEM, Bioproduct Technology
• Jani Laamanen, 25, Aalto CHEM, Wood Processing
• Tuukka Pykäläinen, 23, Aalto ARTS, Industrial Design
• Tuisku Suomala, 23, Aalto SCI, Industrial Engineering and Management

The term of the new board will begin in January 2013 and will last for one calendar year.

Press release

Free for publishing: 15 Nov 2012

The Aalto University Student Union (AYY) awarded the International Deed of the Year prize to SIK International under the Electrical engineering guild. In addition a special mention was awarded to Aalto International Coalition and the authors of the open letter to student organizations.

SIK International was awarded for its outstanding efforts to integrate international students into the student community. It has organized a great variety of activities and provided the students a comprehensive set of information in English. It is also remarkable that a balanced mix of Finnish and international students have been involved in organizing these activities.

Aalto International Coalition was awarded a special mention for a great step forward in fixing the underrepresentation of international students in decision-making. The coalition formed by international students managed to get two seats in the representative council. The representatives have been able to work despite language barriers thanks to interprets provided by AYY.

Bernardo Clementino and Andrei Kalesnik were also awarded a special mention for the open letter they wrote to student organizations. They collected 184 signatures from international students and managed to raise a lively discussion on how international students could become involved in student organizations.

With the award, AYY wants to draw attention to the importance of high-quality internationalisation for Aalto students. International students must have an opportunity to participate in the activities of the academic community at all levels.

The prizes will be awarded at the international sitsit dinner party on 15 November 2012.

Aalto University Student Union AYY is the service and advocacy organisation for approximately 15,000 Aalto University students. AYY acts as the advocate of its members in academic and social affairs, in particular.

Further information:

Hanna Sauli, Specialist, International Affairs. international@ayy.fi, tel. 050 520 9446.

Announcement
21 Sept 2012
For immediate release

Aalto University Student Union (AYY) proposes Student of Architecture Noora Laak and Student of Engineering Kati Penttinen for the Board of the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) for the year of 2013.

Noora Laak is a 26-year-old architecture student, majoring in the history of architecture. In her current position as AYY’s Vice Chair, she has been primarily responsible for the Student Union’s strategy and the economic adjustment plan and its implementation. Previously, Laak has actively engaged in the official posts in the Guild of Architects and acted as the Vice Chair of AYY’s Representative Council.

”The time as AYY’s Vice Chair has provided a perfect vantage point for the various student union activities and the core of student influencing. After a long advocacy period, immersing in economic affairs and strategic policies has been instructive and encourages me to seek new challenges within the student movement” Noora describes. ”Working for the students’ better and fairer future is extremely inspiring and I definitely want to get my hands in clay again next year. The student movement of my dreams is a strict sparring partner of the state and the maker of bold and unconventional initiatives!”

”Noora is an experienced trustee and has dipped herself in the cold waters when being responsible for cutting pressures required by the difficult economic situation and when working on AYY’s first strategy. Noora has flourished into a real multi-tasker” says the Chair of AYY Board Voitto Kangas.

Kati Penttinen is a 23-year-old student of Bioinformation Technology who has studied cognitive science as a minor subject. At the moment, Penttinen acts in AYY Board and is responsible for social policy, sports and new students. In AYY, Kati has rationalised the tutoring activities of the Student Union, participated in creating the first equality plan, considered the development of OLL and created the Student Union’s basic income view. Kati’s strong background in the positions of responsibility has been formed by the duties in Bioinformation Guild Inkubio and the student representative’s duties in the administration of Aalto University.

“When acting in AYY, I have been able to sail at the forefront of changes when the traditions and routines of the new student union have slowly formed. I get more and more eager and I have not lost my enthusiasm, quite the contrary. Socio-political issues are particularly close to my heart. Even though well-being issues are sometimes perceived as tinkering, there have been storms in this field in recent years. Along with the reform of student financial aid and the interim report on FSHS experiment, the debate will certainly not calm down next year either” Penttinen estimates.

”Kati is not an archetype of a soft social policy actor, but she demands results from herself and her fellow operators. As a sportsman, Kati would be an active centre” describes Kangas.

SYL will appoint the board for the year of 2013 in the union meeting in Tampere on 23‒24 November. SYL represents the Finnish university students at the national level and comments on education policy, social policy and international affairs.

Further information:

Chair of AYY Board Voitto Kangas, 045 631 7689, voitto.kangas@ayy.fi
AYY’s Secretary General Teemu Halme, 050 520 9415, teemu.halme@ayy.fi
Noora Laak, 050 520 3386, noora.laak@ayy.fi
Kati Penttinen, 040 537 2092, kati.penttinen@ayy.fi