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Student Union
Education goes Accessible 2014 symposium, January 9th 2014
Welcome to Education goes Accessible 2014 symposium on January 9th, 2014 (9.1.2014) at Otakaari 1. The opening words will be presented by dean Risto Nieminen and the keynote will be addressed by Erja Heikkinen/OKM.
Program
8.45 Registration
9.10 Welcome! Martti Raevaara
9.15 Keynote 1, Risto Nieminen / Aalto SCI
9.30 Keynote 2, Erja Heikkinen / Ministry of Education
- Opetusneuvos Erja Heikkinen, torstai 5.9.2013, Turun yliopiston “Osaaminen tietoyhteiskunnassa – korkeakoulujen rooli” -seminaarin esitys “Korkeakoulujen yhteiskunnallinen vuorovaikutus ja yhteiskuntavastuu“
10.15 Workshops
Lunch (decided by workshops: list of restaurants)
Workshops continue until 14.00
14.00 Coffee
14.15 Keynote 3, Panu Artemjeff / Ministry of the Interior
- Panu Artemjeff, Good Relations project
14.30 Keynote 4, Johanna Naukkarinen / LUT
- Johanna Naukkarinen / LUT
15.00 Workshop reports by moderators, max 5 min each
15.30 Panel: What is accessiblity in Aalto education?
16.30 Closing remarks
We develop inclusive, multi-cultural and accessible education in the workshops. Thus select and join a workshop that is related to your work and learning environment of Aalto University. Here the collaboration with AYY, all service units and campus facility will be acknowledged. Parallel workshops have themes like changing our present library into a modern future learning center, MOOCs and SPOCs, accessible communication, effective webcasting etc.
Enrol now at https://wiki.aalto.fi/display/AGA/
Wanted: The learning promotion deed and the international deed of the year 2013!
The time has come to reward the learning promotion deed and the international deed of the year. Has a professor of yours, a student association or someone else done something special to enhance learning or internationalization in Aalto? If yes, propose their deed for the learning promotion deed or the international deed of the Year-award! The price can be awarded to any person, group or organization within Aalto.
Please send your proposal these forms by 31st December 2013:
Learning promotion deed: https://lomake.ayy.fi/koulutuspolitiikka/ehdota-vuoden-2013-oppimisen-edistamistekoa-nominate-the-learning-promotion-deed-of-the-year-2013-foresla-arets-garning-for-inlarningsframjande-i-aret-2013/
International deed: https://lomake.ayy.fi/koulutuspolitiikka/ehdota-vuoden-2013-kansainvalista-tekoa-nominate-the-international-deed-of-the-year-2013-foresla-arets-internationella-garning-i-aret-2013/
Please include a description justification why this deed should be selected to win the award. The prize will be awarded at the annual ball of Aalto University Student Union in February.
AYY appointed the Board for the year of 2014 – Lauri Lehtoruusu appointed as the chairperson
Aalto University Student Union
Release, 4 Dec 2013
For immediate release
The Representative Council of Aalto University Student Union (AYY) appointed the Student Union Board for the year of 2014 at its meeting on Wednesday, 4 Dec 2013. Student of Architecture Lauri Lehtoruusu (25) was appointed as the chairperson of the Board. Previously, Lehtoruusu has acted as the chairperson and vice chairperson of the Guild of Architecture. In addition, he has acted as a member of AYY’s Representative Council and the chief editor of May Day magazine Äpy.
Other nine (9) members of AYY Board are: 
- Niko Ferm, Aalto ELEC
- Pyry Haahtela, Aalto ENG
- Jenni Haavisto, Aalto BIZ,
- Annamaija Hutri, Aalto ELEC
- Tino Kantola, Aalto SCI,
- Pietari Keskinen, Aalto SCI
- Sofi Perikangas, Aalto ARTS
- Pauliina Mäkkeli, Aalto SCI
- Sanna Unkuri, Aalto BIZ
In accordance with the operating plan, the focus of AYY’s activities in 2014 will be new students, international affairs and the campus, in particular. ”We have gathered an excellent and wide-ranging team to meet the challenges of the next year!” Lehtoruusu rejoices.
The Board’s term of office begins in January and lasts for a calendar year. The new Board is organised at its first meeting. Aalto University Student Union AYY is a service and advocacy organisation for approximately 15,000 Aalto University students. AYY acts as the advocate of its members in academic and social affairs, in particular.
Further information:
Chairperson of AYY Board 2014 Lauri Lehtoruusu, lauri.lehtoruusu@ayy.fi, 050 5737125
AYY’s Secretary General Janne Koskenniemi, janne.koskenniemi@ayy.fi 050 520 9415
AYY’s Piia Kuosmanen appointed as SYL’s President for the year of 2014
RELEASE
30 Nov 2013
For immediate release
Bachelor of Science Piia Kuosmanen has been appointed as the President of the National Union of University Students in Finland for the year of 2014.
Piia is a 29-year-old student of information networks from Aalto University. This year, she has acted as the Chair of AYY Board. Previously, she has acted as the Vice Chair of AYY’s Representative Council, the chair of her guild and as a student representative in administration in Aalto University’s organs. As a leader, Piia is a determined and inspiring visionary, who makes people stand behind common goals and achieve them.
”Next year, it is time to discuss how to make Finland’s higher education system the best in the world. High quality education is the cornerstone of our country’s future! SYL will speak on behalf of education and work towards the construction of common solutions, so that students, and society as a whole, would have a better tomorrow” says Kuosmanen right after her appointment.
The following persons will operate in Kuosmanen’s SYL Board in the year of 2014: Jari Järvenpää (TAMY), Hilkka Kemppi (LYY), Mari Kröger (JYY), Petra Peltonen (TYY), Marko Rosenholm (HYY) and Pirre Seppänen (HYY).
The two-day general assembly of the National Union of University Students in Finland will be held in Korpilampi, Espoo, on Fri–Sat, 29–30 November.
Further information:
Campaign Manager Hannu Jaakkola, 040 724 3883, hannu.jaakkola@ayy.fi
Piia Kuosmanen, piia.kuosmanen@ayy.fi
We want more international students – tuition fees will reduce the number of international students
Aalto University Student Union
Statement
11.11.2013
A working group of the Ministry of Education and Culture wants to increase the number of international students in Finland to 60,000 students. As the most important means, the working group proposes tuition fees for students coming from outside the EU/EEA area. Aalto University Student Union also wants to have more international students. ”At an international university, networks are created, ideas are processed in multicultural groups and the future success of Finland is constructed”, says Chairperson of AYY Board Piia Kuosmanen. “Tuition fees, however, do not implement this objective. Direct expenses of international education are already covered by the students’ own consumption and, moreover, are a very profitable investment.”
According to the International Student Barometer, free education is the most important reason to come to study in Finland, along with the quality of education and research. Finland’s competitive advantage is the reputation of a reliable and equal country of education. When tuition fees were tried out in Finland, only 6% of international students required to pay tuition fees accepted their place of study at Aalto University. Not even all of those students, who received a full scholarship covering both the tuition fees and the living expenses, came to Finland. In Sweden and Denmark, the number of students coming from outside the EU and EEA countries has collapsed along with tuition fees and has not recovered in spite of a massive increase in scholarship funds. Tuition fees in general are not expected to generate revenue due to expenses caused by scholarships and administration, among other things – the expenses of Aalto’s tuition fee trial are almost twice as high in comparison with the revenue.
Education export discussion should take into account the benefits brought by international students to the Finnish economy. International students finance their living with savings and scholarships and use Finnish services during their study period. According to the report of the Education Exports Vision Working Group of student organisations, the consumption of 20,000 international students who currently study in Finland, brings approximately EUR 170 million to our national economy on an annual level. Half of the international students are employed in Finland within one year of their graduation. They bring new know-how, cover with tax revenues their education and the education expenses of those who have left Finland, and patch our negative dependency ratio. According to the survey conducted by AYY, two-thirds of international students would like to be employed in Finland and only 16% are planning to leave Finland after their studies. Even if students are employed elsewhere after their graduation, their education cannot be regarded as a poor investment. ”The current leader of the African Union, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn, for example, is a former student of engineering in Tampere” says Kuosmanen. ”Personal contacts and ties to our northern country of those who have studied here are major opportunities for Finland and the Finnish export industry.”
Similarly to Ms Lipponen’s working group, AYY wants to make Finnish education a success in international education. We want to see that Finnish education is exported to the world as consultancy services, training abroad organised by university training companies and as open online teaching.
Piia Kuosmanen, Chairperson of AYY Board
Janne Koskenniemi, Secretary General
Further information: Specialist for International Affairs Milla Ovaska tel. 050 520 9446