Emilia Melén is ÅAS’ candidate for the SYL Board

Press release 16 September 2026
The Student Union of Åbo Akademi University
For immediate release

At its meeting on 7 September 2026, the Student Union Council of the Student Union of Åbo Akademi University (ÅAS) elected Emilia Melén as ÅAS’ candidate for the Board of the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL). Melén has been active in the Student Union since 2024, was a top vote-getter in the Student Union Council Elections, and now wishes to work on behalf of students at a national level.

Emilia Melén is studying sociology at Åbo Akademi University and is Chair of the Student Union Council at ÅAS. Melén has been actively working on behalf of students as Chair of the Student Union Council in 2026, Chair of the Board in 2025 and as Board Member in 2024 – she has gained wide-ranging experience in advocacy work, which is a complex, demanding and challenging task.

– I am very grateful to have the honour of standing as ÅAS’ candidate for the SYL Board. I am also grateful that several of the people I have worked with at the Student Union have encouraged me to candidate for the SYL Board. During the time I have worked alongside these people, I have learnt a lot. I want to bring those lessons and skills with me to my work at SYL, and I see this as one of my greatest strengths.

Everyone should have equal opportunities to study

Melén’s goal on the SYL Board will be to make politics feel more relevant and accessible to students, whilst ensuring that students’ voices are heard directly by decision-makers. She wants to work towards a student life that offers greater flexibility to suit different life situations during one’s time at university.

– One issue I feel most strongly about is free education. I want to work to ensure that the abolition of free degree programmes is not an option in the upcoming Parliamentary Elections.

The language issue should not be forgotten

Emilia Melén also wishes to contribute to developing linguistic accessibility and multilingualism within SYL, drawing on the experiences of Swedish-speaking students at Åbo Akademi University.

– For me, it’s about ensuring that the language perspective is given a more prominent role and that more of ÅAS’ members, and students in general, feel that the SYL represents them too. I believe this would strengthen SYL’s significance for the student movement as a whole, whilst also creating greater added value for the member student unions.

For more information, contact
Emilia Melén
Chair of the Student Union Council, ÅAS
fo@studentkaren.fi
+358 50 381 4759