Based on the decision of AYY Board, the Student Union’s anniversary celebration will be organised from now on in May on Saturday near Flower Day. Therefore, the next year’s anniversary will take place on 14 May 2016. If you are interested in the organising of the 6th anniversary, now is the time to apply. The application period for the anniversary committee will open on 7 Apr and close at 28 Apr at ayy.fi/stop. The anniversary committee will be organised in May 2015 and the committee will work until the end of May 2016. The anniversary committee is led by Chairperson Sanna Unkuri who provides further information on the committee via e-mail sanna.unkuri@ayy.fi.
Student Union
Apply to represent students in Aalto University’s Equality Committee
The University’s Equality Committee is looking for two student members. Student representatives can have effect on the University’s equality affairs and plan the future operations of the committee. Please apply by 15 Apr at https://www.halloped.fi/fi/aalto
AYY is looking for a coordinator for the development cooperation week
The development cooperation week is part of the communication and global education project coordinated by the National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) that is implemented with the project grant of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The development cooperation week has been organised in nearly all Finnish student unions for several years. The development cooperation week aims to increase the students’ awareness of development issues and developing countries, to inspire students to engage in development issues as well as to provide insights on the situation and culture of developing countries.
The steering group consisting of the student union coordinators in different cities coordinates the planning and implementation of the theme week on the national level and meets a few times a year. The coordinator is responsible for the arrangements of AYY’s local theme week. The coordinator gathers a team of volunteers, which consists of students who help to implement the theme week. The planning work takes place in the spring. Most work is to be done during the theme week organised in the autumn and the reporting process will take place approximately one month after the event.
Coordinator is responsible for:
- planning and organising of the local week
- participating in the steering group
- producing material on the local level
- reporting on the project
- regular contacts and project-related communications
- leading the meetings of the team of volunteers
Requirements for the applicant:
- higher education studies
- experience in project work
- interest in development cooperation issues
- commitment to the project during the spring and the autumn
Considered advantages:
- previous experience in event production, development cooperation and team management
- fluent Finnish skills
The coordinator’s position provides an excellent opportunity to learn about development cooperation in practice. The team of volunteers and the national steering group help the coordinator in his/her work. The content and communications related to the week are planned in cooperation with AYY’s staff. It is also possible to divide the coordinator’s position between two people.
A one-time fee of approximately €1,400 is paid for the coordinator of the development cooperation week. The work will begin in April 2015 or as agreed. The fee will be paid after the coordinator has submitted the required reports on the development cooperation week.
Applications and CVs should be submitted to milla.ovaska@ayy.fi by 5pm on Wednesday, 8 Apr 2015. The coordinator’s orientation period will take place at SYL’s office in Helsinki on 20-21 Apr 2015. It is important that the dates of the training session are suitable for the coordinator’s schedule at least to a large extent.
Further information on the position and the development cooperation week: International Affairs Specialist Milla Ovaska, milla.ovaska@ayy.fi, tel. 050 520 9446.
ARTS student: Respond to the indoor air questionnaire
Indoor air problems cause concern in School of Arts, Design and Architecture . Please fill out this indoor air questionnaire aimed at students and staff and help us know where we are at the moment.
The purpose of the questionnaire is to determine problems connected to the working environment and symptoms caused by indoor air. Further investigations will be started based on the findings and necessary amendments will be made. The questionnaire will be repeated annually.
The results of this questionnaire will be published on Wednesday 20 May. There will be a briefing at Arabia campus and the event can also be watched via a video link. Further information and an invitation to the event will be available later.
The questionnaire is filled out in the Webropol online service and you will only need a few minutes to complete it. Due to the confidential nature of the survey, respondents fill out the questionnaire anonymously. At the end of the survey, you may leave your e-mail address to enter into a competition; there will be a draw for three bundles of two cinema tickets to Kino Sheryl open to all respondents.
Please set aside a few minutes and respond to this survey! This questionnaire is open until 15 April. https://www.webropolsurveys.com/S/3F79EF2DF82159AC.par
What to do when experiencing symptoms?
If a student is experiencing symptoms connected to poor indoor air quality, he or she must contact Public Health Nurse Johanna Eklundh at the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS). A physician at the FSHS will provide an expert opinion, which the student must forward to the office of Learning Services that is responsible for measures connected to guaranteeing accessibility for students. It is also recommended to forward the statement to designated members of staff at the Learning Services to guarantee the fulfilment of students’ privacy protection. Pulma Föhr-Siltavuori and Leena Koskinen handle the issue at the Learning Services.
The contact person for staff in corresponding situations is Physician Taina Taube at the Diacor occupational health care services. In fact, if there is suspicion of symptoms connected to indoor air, employees are recommended to contact their responsible physician (Taube).
If a student or a member of staff notices poor indoor air in a particular room or space, they should write an e-mail about their observation to sisailma@list.aalto.fi. The message will be directed to EHS Manager Lasse Wallius and Occupational Safety and Health Representative Helena Härkönen. The message will be responded to within one week.
Further Information:
Tapio Koskinen, Chairman of the indoor air working group, tapio.koskinen@aalto.fi, +358505004350
Mari Tammisaari, Secretary of the indoor air working group mari.tammisaari@aalto.fi, +358504317423
Elisa and Aalto University Student Union start cooperation
Release
AYY and Elisa
25 Mar 2015
For immediate release 
The telecom company Elisa and Aalto University Student Union (AYY) have started cooperation. Due to the cooperation, the facility previously known as the living room of Teekkari Village will be named Elisa Living Room. Extensive cooperation will also be visible in AYY’s communication channels, such as the working life blog. With the cooperation, Elisa wishes to lower the barriers between the business and student world and tell the students about diverse employment opportunities in the ICT sector.
”Elisa is building the Finnish information society and we want to do this work together with Aalto University students. Aalto is familiar to us through interns and thesis and a suitable partner for us, and we appreciate the knowledge and attitude of Aalto students. Now that we begin cooperation with AYY, we hope to find new ways to operate together, which will benefit both parties”, says HR Manager Helena Nousiainen from Elisa.
”As a diverse and interesting company and employer, Elisa is a fine addition to the increasing number of our partners. I am excited about this cooperation and cannot wait for Elisa Living Room to open its doors”, comments AYY Board Member in charge of corporate relations Anni Rahiala.
Elisa is a telecommunications, ICT and online service company serving 2.3 million consumers, corporate and public administration organisation customers. Elisa provides services for communication and entertainment, and tools for improving operating methods and productivity of organisations. In Finland Elisa is the market leader in mobile subscriptions. Cooperation with Vodafone and Telenor enables globally competitive services. Elisa is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Large Cap with over 200,000 shareholders. Elisa’s revenue in 2014 was 1.54 billion euros and it employed 4,100 people. www.elisa.fi
Aalto University Student Union AYY is the service and benefit organisation of approximately 15,000 Aalto University students. AYY provides its members with student housing and festive facilities and works to achieve the excellent life of Aalto members by promoting well-being and development of teaching at Aalto University. www.ayy.fi
Further information:
AYY Board Member in charge of corporate relations Anni Rahiala, anni.rahiala@ayy.fi
Elisa Oyj, HR Manager Helena Nousiainen, tel. 050 502 9999, firstname.surname@elisa.fi
How could teaching be improved in Aalto? Participate in AYY’s video and share your perspective with the teachers!
During spring 2015 AYY will film a 10-15 min video to develop teaching of multicultural groups in Aalto and we’re now looking for potential students to share their opinions on the video. You don’t have to be a film-star or an experienced speaker, we’re looking for all kinds of students to share their experiences and feelings about teaching in Aalto. What has disturbed you in teaching in Aalto? How is teaching different in your country of origin? What is the teacher-student-relationship like? Is the concept of a good student the same in your country and in Finland? Have you had difficulties understanding the teaching or instructions you’ve gotten in Aalto? Has it been easy to understand Finnish academic culture? Do you know what is expected of you? Have you had difficulties understanding why your Finnish teacher/fellow student acts in a certain way? How has the cooperation been in group works? The video will be made for the teaching staff and it’s meant to open their eyes to understand the variety of students they have in their class. In the video we also give advice on how to develop teaching of multicultural groups, so we appreciate your ideas for that as well.
If you’re interested in joining the project and appearing on the video, send a brief description yourself and some experiences regarding the theme to international@ayy.fi by 9.3.2015. The filming will be done in March-April and you’re time is needed for maximum 30 minutes. All the persons appearing on the video will get a movie ticket as a reward.