Do you want to influence the University’s study affairs, grants and scholarships or bilingualism matters?
NEWS
Several committees at the University have open positions for student representatives.
Academic Affairs Council
This is a dream position for study advocates! The Academic Affairs Council is the University’s highest committee in the field of study affairs. Here, if anywhere, you will get to directly influence students’ affairs! HYY’s specialist in educational policy also serves on the council – you will be cooperating and serving as equal members of the council.
The duties of the Academic Affairs Council include especially the preparation and monitoring of strategic policies related to education provided by the University and the promotion and monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning. This position takes you straight to the heart of study advocacy work – you will get to bring forward student perspectives in wide-ranging discussions and policies that concern the entire University.
Consequently, we consider interest and vision on university and educational policy issues at the level of the entire University as advantages. The Academic Affairs Council meets around once a month during academic terms, and its primary meeting language is Finnish. We are looking for one student representative for the council. The next representative period is 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025.
Sustainability and responsibility committee
The sustainability and responsibility committee oversees the preparation and implementation of the policies of the University’s programme on sustainability and responsibility. The goal is to make sustainability and responsibility at the UH a more integral part of the university’s activities. If questions of sustainability lie close to your heart and the idea of a more responsible university gets you excited, this is your opportunity to direct the entire University towards a sustainable direction!
The administrative committees of discipline-specific funds
The administrative committees are tasked with declaring the grants, prizes, scholarships and any other kinds of financial support awarded out of the money donated into the funds open for applications as well as with making the decisions on awarding them. The committees are campus-specific, which means that the discipline-specific funds of each campus are administered by their own committee.
These positions allow you to learn about fund management, the processing of applications and decision-making processes. You will gain experience of negotiation, meeting procedures and administration. Later, you can ask HYY for a certificate of having served in the position! The meeting language of the administrative committees is Finnish. The next representative period is 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025.
You can apply to a committee that represents a faculty in which you are registered for attendance. You must also be fluent in Finnish. There are no other limitations or requirements! We hope that you are interested and enthusiastic about working with the funds. We hope to see applications from people with as diverse backgrounds as possible and strive to take the representation of different disciplines into account when making decisions. Read on for more information on the open positions for student representatives:
- The administrative committee of the discipline-specific funds of the Viikki campus represents the disciplines of veterinary medicine, pharmacy, biological and environmental sciences, and agricultural sciences and forestry. We are looking for two student members for the administrative committee. The student members must be registered for attendance at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Faculty of Pharmacy, the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences or the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry.
- The administrative committee of the discipline-specific fund of the Meilahti campus represents the disciplines of medicine. We are looking for one student members for the administrative committee. The student members must be registered for attendance at the Faculty of Medicine.
- The administrative committee of the discipline-specific fund of the Kumpula campus represents the disciplines of mathematics and science. We are looking for one student members for the administrative committee. The student members must be registered for attendance at the Faculty of Science.
- The administrative committee of the discipline-specific funds of the City Centre campus 1 represents the arts. We are looking for one student members for the administrative committee. The student members must be registered for attendance at the Faculty of Arts.
- The administrative committee of the discipline-specific funds of the City Centre campus 2 represents the disciplines of law, theology, social sciences and educational sciences. We are looking for two student members for the administrative committee. The student members must be registered for attendance at the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Theology, the Faculty of Social Sciences or the Faculty of Educational Sciences.
The Language Centre’s Committee for the Development of Teaching
The Language Centre of the University of Helsinki organises communication and language studies included in degrees. Around 14,000 Finnish and international students from different campuses and degree programmes study in the Language Centre every year. The Language Centre’s Committee for the Development of Teaching features both staff and student members, with students having two actual and two vice members.
The committee promotes and supports the planning, implementation and evaluation of teaching at the Language Centre. It plans and organises the Language Centre’s pedagogical training events and seminars. Discussion topics in the committee include current issues related to teaching and particularly language studies at the Language Centre and the University of Helsinki. The committee operates in Finnish.
As a student member in the committee, you will bring forward students’ needs, opinions and development proposals concerning language studies and their organisation. If you wish, you can also participate in the planning of training events and seminars together with the personnel. The activities will provide you with general career skills (including cooperation skills, interaction skills, meeting skills and skills related to evaluation and development activities). They will also introduce you to the University’s operation more broadly than from the perspective of your own studies or degree programme. Additionally, you can receive credits for acting as a student representative!
Board for the Development of Swedish Affairs and Teaching
The Board for the Development of Swedish Affairs and Teaching, Svenska verksamhetsnämnden, focuses on Swedish-language affairs and their promotion at the University. The board develops and gives statements on Swedish-language teaching and activities at the University as well as participates in the coordination of Swedish-language higher education at the national level. The board also develops the cooperation between the University of Helsinki and the other higher education institutions in the related alliance (Hanken School of Economics and Arcada). The operations of the board are regulated by the Universities Act. The rector or vice rector selected from among Swedish-language professors serves as the chair of the committee.
The University Board appoints the members of the board for four-year terms, with student representatives having two-year terms. The board has representatives from all faculties at the University, the Swedish School of Social Science, cooperation universities and institutes, and students. We are looking for two actual and two vice student members for the board. The board has asked the Student Union to fill the positions for student members for the term 1 January 2024–31 December 2025.
Bilingual Campus Group for Central Campus
Bilingual campus group for central campus, Samarbetsgruppen för den tvåspråkiga verksamheten på cetnrumcampus, is a co-operation group for bilingual matters in the central campus. It enhances and coordinates Swedish and bilingual matters and education. The group can handle for example students’ possibilities to perform their exams in Swedish or have education in Swedish.
The group is set for four years and the student members for two years. You can apply for the group if you study in the Faculty of Arts, Law, Educational Sciences or Social Sciences or in The Swedish School of Social Sciences. The working language is Swedish. We are looking for two representatives and two debuty student representatives for the next period 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025.
What is expected of me in the positions?
Above all, we hope that you are interested in serving in these positions. You will be representing the entire student community in these administrative bodies, and your task is to work for the benefit of students by bringing student perspectives to the matters being discussed. You also have to be a student registered for attendance at the University of Helsinki.
You should also remember that you will never have to be alone! You can ask for views on the matters under discussion from faculty and subject organisations, for instance, to get a broader understanding of students’ opinions. You can also always contact HYY’s specialists in educational policy if you need advice. HYY also provides training on student advocacy work throughout the year – we recommend taking part in these events, too!
How do I apply to become a student representative?
Applications should be submitted through the Halloped application system by 11.59 pm on 7th of November 2023. Your application does not need to be long. In the application, state at least your current major or degree programme and study track as well as your student number. (The student number is only used to verify your faculty and attendance status. The information will be deleted after they have been verified.) The Student Union also considers the following as advantages and requests that the applicants describe these aspects in their application:
- Motivation towards the position
- Possible previous experience of acting as a student representative in administration, as a study advisor or in some other position related to student advocacy work
The Student Union hopes to receive applications from representatives of different genders and people in different stages of their studies from diverse backgrounds. We will strive to take the representation of different faculties into account as comprehensively as possible when making the selections.
For further information on the positions and the application process, please contact:
Specialist in Educational Policy Riku-Petteri Kyllönen, 050 325 5202, riku-petteri.kyllonen@hyy.fi.
