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The interview questions for ÅAS’ Board and Student Union Council’s Presidium have now been published.
The Student Union Council will interview candidates for ÅAS’ Board, the Finance Department and the Presidium on Monday, 4 December, i.e., the evening before the 1/24 Council meeting.
Because the Student Union’s official operative language is Swedish, most of the questions are published in Swedish. Not every question will be disclosed beforehand, meaning that each candidate will be asked some surprise questions during the interview.
You can take a look at the questions in the Swedish version of this news article.
On Tuesday 5 December The Student Union Council will decide who will be elected to the Student Union Board, and other positions.
You can read the candidates’ applications in the Swedish version of this news article.
We have now opened the application period for the Student Union’s Financial Board!
For more information, read the news article in Swedish, or contact Lina (sopo-vasa@studentkaren.fi) or Kajsa (sopo-abo@studentkaren.fi).
N.B. In order to apply, you need to be proficient in Swedish as the Student Union’s official language is Swedish. For the time being, ÅAS is unfortunately unable to translate all the operations to English.
Do you want to coordinate and organize one of the most traditional events in Åbo? We are now looking for a coordinator of Shrove Tuesday!
Shrove Tuesday( a.k.a Fastlaskiainen) falls on February 20th 2024. As coordinator, you will have the opportunity to develop the event even further as you will oversee the overall coordination of the event. The assignment demands the ability to cooperate and take initiative, the ability to organize and good stress management skills. The coordinator will receive an fee of 500 euros. The job requires knowledge of Swedish and preferably Finnish.
The application can be sent to evenemang-abo@studentkaren.fi. Deadline for application is on 26 November. The Board of the Student Union will select a suitable candidate on 29 November, and the newly elected coordinator will begin working on the coordination of Shrove Tuesday immediately.
The Student Union Council has decided to make a donation to All Our Children that promotes equality for children and young people, and works on eradicating racism and discrimination.
The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University (ÅAS) has always strived to be an inclusive and safe place for all students, regardless of their background or experiences. This year, when ÅAS’ presidium considered which organisation to donate to, All Our Children was an obvious recommendation. All Our Children is an organisation devoted to promoting equality for children and young people, with a special focus on eradicating racism and discrimination.
– We are determined to not only talk about the fact that everyone is welcome in our organisation, but to also work for it actively. Racism and discrimination have no place in our society, and not in our student union. We cannot stand idly by when we see disturbing news about racism in our government, or anywhere else in society. We must act and try to resolve the situation, says the Chair of the Student Union Council, Ines Latvala.
The Student Union is here for all students, regardless of their background, and ÅAS strives to create a community where everyone can feel included and welcome. Active work in condemning and eradicating racism is not only right, but a necessity. ÅAS stands side by side with organisations such as All Our Children in the fight against racism and discrimination. By donating to their work, the Student Union of ÅAU hopes to be able to contribute to a better and more inclusive future for everyone.
Together, we can make real difference and show that racism has no place in either our operations or in society.
The Student Union of ÅAU (ÅAS) is looking for a new Board for 2024. The Board uses the administrative and executive power of the Student Union, and the new Board will be elected on 5 December 2023 at the Student Union Council’s meeting.
Please note that in order to apply for the ÅAS’ Board, you need to be proficient in Swedish as the Student Union’s official operative language is Swedish. For the time being, ÅAS is unfortunately unable to translate all its operations to English.
You can find more information about applying for the Student Union Board in the news article in Swedish.
Any questions? Contact us
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding the Board’s work or applying for the positions. You can visit us at our offices in Kåren (Åbo) and in Havtornen (Vasa) during the Service Point’s opening hours, or send us an email.
Person responsible for Board elections in Vasa
Lina Sjöberg, sopo-vasa@studentkaren.fi
Person responsible for Board elections in Åbo
Kajsa Viitamäki, sopo-abo@studentkaren.fi
The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University has elected a new Student Union Council for the period 1 January 2024–31 December 2025. 25 elected members of the Council with respective deputy members were chosen.
66 candidates ran in the elections.
1219 votes were cast of which 20 votes were rejected, which gives a voting activity percentage of 23.07 %. 5370 persons were entitled to vote in the elections.
The preliminary election results
Based on the preliminary election results the Council seats will be distributed as follows:
| Gemensamma Vasa | 8 seats |
| FNT-Listan | 8 seats |
| MK-Listan | 3 seats |
| De Rättvisa | 3 seats |
| Rödgröna Listan | 3 seats |
These results are preliminary. The result will be confirmed by the Election Committee’s meeting 9 November 2023.
The Student Union of ÅAU (ÅAS) has ordered a new website from the Tammerfors-located company Aate, and now the website with its new graphic layout has been published.
ÅAS’ wishes about the website were that it should visually reflect the Student Union’s strategy. The site should be welcoming, joyful, and bold, as well as trustworthy and professional – and we really think that Aate nailed it. The structure and accessibility have also been improved during the project, and we hope that you can now find the information you are looking for a little bit easier.
The Student Union’s external communication languages are Swedish and English, and we have also made a big effort in translating webpages into English, so now you can find almost all the pages in both language versions.
We hope that you contact us if you notice any oddities on the website, and we will do our best with Aate to fix any possible issues. Comments and requests can be sent to ÅAS’ Communications Specialist Mari Frelander (kommunikation@studentkaren.fi).
Don’t you know who to vote for? Don’t panic – the election compass is here!
The National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) has published an election compass for all the student unions that will organise student union council elections this year.
With the help of the election compass you can get to know the candidates for ÅAS’ Student Union Council Elections. Answer questions about things that are important for students, and after you answer all the questions, the compass will tell you whose opinions are closest to your own.
ÅAS’ election compass can be found here.
Who would you like to see as a recipient of Brahelyran? Who do you think we should call as an honorary member?
The Student Union of ÅAU celebrates 105 years in 2024. In connection with the festivities, we hand out the customary badges of merit. The highest decoration, Brahelyran, is not awarded every year, but only after careful consideration to people who have made a particularly great contribution to the union. The Student Union may also call honorary members. At the next jubilee we would like to pay special attention to those who receive these honors. We would like everyone to have the opportunity to nominate people who they think deserve them.
According to ÅAS’s regulations for scholarships and awards, 50 members of the Student Union can submit a written proposal to the Presidium, whereafter 21 council members need to finalize and approve the nomination. This applies when proposing an honorary member and/ or Brahelyran.
ÅAS’s current honorary members can be found here.
Recipients of Brahelyran 1994–2019
| Nr. | Namn | År |
| 31 | Johan Nikula | 1994 |
| 32 | Johanna Aminoff-Winberg | 1994 |
| 33 | Elisabet Kurtén | 1994 |
| 34 | Bengt Stenlund | 1999 |
| 35 | Anne Peltonen | 1999 |
| 36 | Gunnar Högnäs | 2004 |
| 37 | Patrik Fellman | 2004 |
| 38 | Lena Backman | 2009 |
| 39 | Markku Suksi | 2009 |
| 40 | Ludvig Forsman | 2012 |
| 41 | Anna Litonius | 2012 |
| 42 | Stefan Wallin | 2014 |
| 43 | Tommy Sandås | 2019 |
| 44 | Monika Antikainen | 2019 |
The honours will be awarded at the Annual Ball
The honours will be awarded at the Student Union’s Annual Ball on 17 February 2024.
As a Student Union member, you can influence the election of honorary members and recipients of Brahelyran in two ways: gather at least 50 of the Student Union’s members and send in your nomination to the Presidium (fo@studentkaren.fi) or send an email to the Secretary General (gs@studentkaren.fi) and the Board will take the nomination into consideration. The Board’s unanimous proposal is sent to the Presidium.
Deadline for nominations is 13 November at noon.