The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University Elects Board for 2026 – Svea Välimäki chosen as Chair of the Board   

From left to right: Emilie Jäntti, Anton Gröning, Svea Välimäki, René Närhi, Lina Kronström, Emilia Melén, Karin Holmberg och Santeri Kylämäki.

Press release 26 November 2025 
The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University 
For immediate release 

The newly elected Representative Council of Åbo Akademi Student Union has today selected the board and presidium for the 2026 term. In the coming year, the Student Union’s activities will be led by a Chair of the Board who aims to strengthen advocacy work on both campuses as well as a Chair of the Student Union Council focused on making the council’s work more visible and increase interest in positions of trust. 

At its inaugural meeting on Thursday 27 November 2025, the Student Union Council elected the Board and Council Presidium for the year 2026. In addition, a Vice Chair and two expert members were appointed to ÅAS’s Financial Board. 

Svea Välimäki,  elected as Chair of the Board for the coming year, is studying English at Åbo Akademi University. Välimäki has previously served as Vice Chair of ÅAS’s board and has been active in several associations in Turku. As Chair of the Board, Välimäki aims to strengthen the Student Union’s advocacy and clearly communicate to students how they can influence their university. 

– I want to strengthen the Student Union’s visibility and advocacy on both our campuses and continue clarifying the Union’s role as the shared voice for all students. My hope is that every member feels secure knowing we are advocating for their interests. I want to maintain an ongoing dialogue with ÅA’s leadership and staff to convey students’ questions, needs, and concerns. Students’ voices should not only be heard, they should be taken seriously and influence decisions, says Välimäki.  

Lina Kronström was elected Vice Chair of the board. Anton Gröning, Santeri Kylämäki, and Karin Holmberg were elected as board members. The council decided to extend the application period for the two remaining board positions, hoping to find interested candidates from Vaasa. 

New Student Council Chairperson Aims to Highlight the Council’s Work 

Emilia Melén, De Rättvisa, who served as Chair of the Board during 2025, was elected as the Chair of the Student Union Council. 

-I’m really looking forward to the coming year, and it will be fun to get to know everyone in the new council. Next year, I want to focus on making the council’s work more visible and bringing the Student Union’s activities closer to its members. At the same time, I want to increase interest in taking on positions of trust by more clearly showcasing the work of the council and elected representatives. Thank you for your trust, I’ll do my best!

The rest of the presidium consists of First Vice Chair René Närhi (Gemensamma Vasa) and Emilie Jäntti (Liberala Studerande). 

The Financial Board has a new Vice Chair.

Minna Ingi was elected vice chair of the Financial Board. Jarkko Kaplin and Riina Forsman will continue as expert members of the Financial Board which manages the Student Union’s properties and investments. 

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For more information, please contact  
Veera Gustafsson  
Secretary General, The Student Union of ÅAU  
gs@studentkaren.fi  
tel. 02 215 4652  

The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University (ÅAS) is now looking for a vice-chair for its Financial Board for 2026-2027.

To apply for a position in the Financial Board you need to know Swedish quite well. The administrative language of the Student Union is Swedish.

The Financial Board consists of a Chair, a Vice Chair and four members. The chairperson and vice-chairperson of the Finance Board must be members of the Student Union. As the Vice Chairperson of the Finance Board, you participate in the board’s meetings and activities. The Vice Chairperson also serves as the deputy to the Chairperson of the Finance Board. This role can be effectively carried out alongside full-time studies.

If you have any questions, you can contact the following people:

Chair of the Financial board

Hamish Simpson, edo@studentkaren.fi

Contact person in Vasa
Angelica Loo
angelica.loo@abo.fi

Contact person in Åbo
Emilia Melén
so@studentkaren.fi

My name is Veera, and I work as the Secretary General of the Student Union of ÅAU (ÅAS). The Secretary General’s tasks include leading the Student Union’s Advocacy Sector. I work closely with the staff and the Board (especially the Chair of the Board), but also with the Presidium of the Representative Council (that is, the Chair and two Vice Chairs), the Executive Director of ÅAS, and external partners such as the Secretary Generals of other student unions. 
Depending on who I’m working with, my role can look a little different – sometimes it’s about developing our activities, and sometimes it’s about putting decisions into action. 

Together with the Board and the Council 

As the title suggests, I act as secretary in many of the Student Union’s bodies, for example during Board and Representative Council meetings. The Council meets around eight times a year and decides on the major matters of the organisation, such as the budget and action plan, and appoints student representatives to various bodies within Åbo Akademi University. 
The Board meets every other week (except during the summer and Christmas holidays) and makes more day-to-day decisions – for example, choosing the Fastlaskiainen coordinator, organising events, or deciding who represents ÅAS at different occasions. 
Together with the Chair of the Council and the Chair of the Board, I make sure that decisions are carried out. 

 Budgets, Grants, and Balance 

In addition to administrative tasks, I’m also responsible for financial follow-up. I handle grant applications, support the Board with corporate partnerships, and make sure each month that we stay within the budget set by the Council. 
I also help the Board with financial matters, such as event budgeting or planning new purchases. 

 Strategy Work and Development 

In 2025, one of the Secretary General’s key tasks has been to update ÅAS’s strategy. In this process, my role has been to gather input, listen to different opinions, and weave them together into a shared vision..The strategy is one of our most important documents – it guides nearly everything we do in our everyday work through our values and long-term goals. 

Excel, History, and a Love for Numbers 

Besides all that, I really enjoy working with Excel and data! Over my years at ÅAS, I’ve worked a lot on collecting and analysing data to understand how our organisation has developed – for instance, when it comes to scholarships: how has their size changed over the past 20 years? 
I also love digging into old minutes and annual reports to see what ÅAS used to be like and how we’ve evolved over time. 

You can contact me about almost anything! And if I don’t know the answer, I’ll help you find the right person who does.  

Would you like to represent ÅAS members at FSF’s General Assembly?

SYL’s General Assembly will be held on November 14–15, 2025. The Assembly is an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with the Finnish student movement and influence what FSF will work on in the coming year. ÅAS is represented at the Assembly by a delegation consisting of six delegates and their alternates.

The Assembly takes place over two days. The meeting agenda is divided so that the first half is handled on the first day and the second half on the second day. On the evening of the first day, various working groups meet to address specific matters, which are then brought up the following day. When registering for the Assembly, participants also register for the working group that seems most interesting to them.

During the Assembly, SYL’s action plan and budget for the following year are discussed, and the SYL Board for the next term is elected. Member organizations (the student unions) usually review the material beforehand, comment on the content, and propose amendments. At the Assembly, all material is then reviewed, and participants vote on the final version.

In addition to the meeting itself, there is also political debate, where participants can raise topics relevant to the student movement. Invited guests often deliver greetings from various organizations. Other activities may also be included, such as optional evening events for those interested.

A delegate’s task during the Assembly is to follow the proceedings and vote on various issues. No special preparation is required, and each delegate votes as they see fit. The ÅAS group usually discusses actively before and during the Assembly so that delegates are well informed about the votes.

For alternates, the role is to be available if needed, to replace a regular delegate in case they cannot be present, for example during votes.

According to ÅAS’s administrative regulations, the Student Union Council elects representatives of the Student Union to, among other things, SYL’s General Assemblies. In its latest meeting, the board was authorized to fill the remaining positions. If you are interested in participating and representing ÅAS at the Assembly either as a delegate or an alternate, you can submit a freely formulated application to so_karen@abo.fi no later than October 24 at 9:00. The Student Union Council will elect the delegates at its following meeting.

Scholarships are offered from the Agneta and Carl-Erik Olin Fund to individuals pursuing a licentiate or doctoral degree at Åbo Akademi University, who have been regular members or senior members of the Student Union of Åbo Akademi University. Applicants are expected to have held positions within the Student Union and/or its student associations. The fund is owned and maintained by the Åbo Akademi University Foundation.

The scholarship is awarded to one or more individuals for a total period of 18 months, with a monthly stipend of 2400 euros. Scholarship recipients are expected to engage in full-time research and produce a research report.

The application is in free-form, but should include:

• A curriculum vitae/ resume detailing the applicant’s activities within the student union and its special associations.
• A research plan prepared by the applicant, outlining the purpose of the research, materials, theoretical framework, working hypotheses, methodological approach, as well as any travel plans or need for laboratory facilities. The research plan should be condensed to one page.
• Information about any other funding applied for or received for the same purpose, as well as the number of scholarship months being sought.
• A statement from the supervisor, which should be sent directly to the General Secretary of the Student Union of Åbo Akademi University, Veera Granroth (gs@studentkaren.fi).

Applications should be submitted to the Senior Council of the Student Union of Åbo Akademi no later than May 15, 2025, at 3.00 p.m. Applications are to be submitted via electronic form, which can be found here. The supervisor’s statement should be sent directly to the General Secretary of the Student Union via email.

Decisions regarding scholarship distribution will be communicated in early June. Scholarship recipients are required to report on the use of the scholarship to the Senior Council no later than two months after the end of the scholarship period.

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The service points in Åbo and Vasa will be closed during the summer.

The service point in Åbo will be closed from 30th April. But don’t worry, on Monday 6th May 2024, from 12:00 to 13:30 p.m., ÅAS will host a pop-up service point in Arken, giving you another chance to collect your student card sticker before the summer. The service point will reopen on 26 August!

The service point in Vasa will be closed on 9th May, but will be open for one last day before the summer on 13th May. The Vasa service point will reopen on 2 September.

For inquiries or other matters regarding the service points, please contact kansli@studentkaren.fi (Åbo) or havtornen@studentkaren.fi (Vasa).

Looking for someone else from the ÅAS staff or board? You can find our contact information here!

Scholarships are offered from the Agneta and Carl-Erik Olin Fund to individuals pursuing a licentiate or doctoral degree at Åbo Akademi University, who have been regular members or senior members of the Student Union of Åbo Akademi Univeristy. Applicants are expected to have held positions within the Student Union and/or its student associations. The fund is owned and maintained by the Åbo Akademi University Foundation.

The scholarship is awarded to one or more individuals for a total period of 44 months, with a monthly stipend of 2400 euros. Scholarship recipients are expected to engage in full-time research and produce a research report.

The application is in free-form, but should include:

• A curriculum vitae/resume detailing the applicant’s activities within the student union and its special associations.
• A research plan prepared by the applicant, outlining the purpose of the research, materials, theoretical framework, working hypotheses, methodological approach, as well as any travel plans or need for laboratory facilities. The research plan should be condensed to one page.
• Information about any other funding applied for or received for the same purpose, as well as the number of scholarship months being sought.
• A statement from the supervisor, which should be sent directly to the General Secretary of the Student Union of Åbo Akademi University, Sandra Österlund (gs@studentkaren.fi).

Applications should be submitted to the Senior Council of the Student Union of Åbo Akademi no later than May 22, 2024, at 3:00 PM. Applications are to be submitted via electronic form, which can be found here (application form in Swedish). The supervisor’s statement should be sent directly to the General Secretary of the Student Union via email.

Decisions regarding scholarship distribution will be communicated in May or early June. Scholarship recipients are required to report on the use of the scholarship to the Senior Council no later than two months after the end of the scholarship period.

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During the autumn enrollment ceremony, two deserving teachers at Åbo Akademi Universty are awarded the titles of Teacher of the Year or Educational Visionary of the Year.

Do you have a teacher who excels in teaching, is inspiring, pedagogical, present, and knowledgeable? If so, suggest them for Teacher of the Year!

Have you collaborated with staff or had a teacher who inspires, encourages innovation, is student-centered, and innovative? Nominate that person for Educational Visionary of the Year!

Submit a well-motivated nomination here by June 4 at 12 p.m.