News

The coronavirus is causing changes to the autumn’s events. The Board of Aalto University Student Union has decided to postpone the AYY10 Annual Ball and events of the Anniversary Week until spring 2021 and to cancel Aalto Afterparty and Otasuunnistus. The events originally planned to take place in September were, after all, expected to attract several hundreds of attendees – the Annual Ball even a thousand.

Aalto University Student Union’s #seetalent campaign encourages employers to pay attention to diversity in the working life and reminds them of the benefits of diverse communities. Aalto University is an international and multicultural university, so the Student Union wishes it were easier than at present for international students to find employment in Finland.

Housing is one of Aalto University Student Union’s most important member services. In this blog, Service Manager Riitu Nuutinen writes about the operating principles and goals of the housing services and addresses current issues in AYY’s housing.

AYY opens a scholarship application form for its members, through which AYY members can apply for one-time financial support to cover housing costs.

COVID-19 situation in Finland has eased, but there are still restrictions on the Otaniemi campus. All visits to the university premises must be arranged in advance and the premises cannot be visited unexpectedly.

Aalto University Student Union will immediately withdraw the technical students’ songbook (Teekkarilaulukirja) from the market. The reason for this is the mention of the old, racist lyrics of Teekkari Hymn preserved in the songbook. AYY apologises and wishes to develop its own activities. In addition to addressing the songbook issue, AYY is currently preparing other measures to promote anti-racism and equality.

Some students are in a particularly challenging situation: international students are not, in principle, covered by Finnish social security, and the loss of job earnings may have left students even more lonely in the absence of any other social safety networks.

AYY is looking for a peak season worker for the Student Union’s member services for a three-week part-time employment relationship. The duties mainly include distributing academic year tags at the distribution point in Otaniemi to members who have paid the membership fee and, if necessary, assisting in other student union member service tasks.

Bookings for AYY’s rental facilities can now be made until 10 Jan 2021.

The Student Center is a joint venture by Aalto University Student Union (AYY), Aalto University Business Students (KY) and Teknologföreningen (TF). The plan is to build a building for all students to the Otaniemi campus, next to the metro station entrance and the Harald Herlin Learning Center.

The economic policy report of Professor of Practice Vesa Vihriälä’s working group presents tuition fees for all students as one way of coping with the corona crisis. Tuition fees are also believed to encourage students to graduate faster and accelerate their transition into working life.

Visit the renewed museum of Aalto University Student Union in the autumn