27.1.2022

Brilliant news: Equal tripartite representation finally realised in the University Collegium!

NEWS

The move to the tripartite system with equal representation strengthens university democracy and increases students’ decision-making power within the University.

 

In its meeting yesterday, the Board of the University of Helsinki decided that the University Collegium will adopt the tripartite principle with equal representation. This means that members of the University community will be equally represented in the key decision-making bodies at the University of Helsinki through three distinct groups: professors, the middle group that consists of other research, teaching and administrative personnel at the University, and students. Until now, the professors’ group has had more representatives in the University Collegium than the two other groups, but this change means that the three groups will all have the same number of representatives.

The realisation of the tripartite principle with equal representation in the collegium will improve students’ decision-making power within the University. Having equal status to professors and the middle group in terms of group size, students will have better opportunities to advocate issues that are important to them.

‘The move to equal representation is a long-awaited reform that improves university democracy for its part. By adopting the tripartite system with equal representation, the University signals that students and the middle group are just as valuable members of the University community as professors’, states Chair of HYY’s Board Aleksi Tujunen.

We have been working to achieve this change for a long time. Student representatives of the University Board Antti Kähkönen and Sebastian Österman in particular worked hard in autumn 2021 to advocate equal representation in the collegium. Our educational policy sector supported Antti and Sebastian, kept in contact with our interest groups and the student representatives of other administrative bodies as well as distributed information and maintained awareness of the importance of adopting the tripartite principle with equal representation in the collegium.

Realising the tripartite principle with equal representation in the collegium is a step towards more equal decision-making processes in the other decision-making bodies at the University, too. This is also an indication of the importance of student representatives: when we decide to work together to achieve something, we have the required influence to get it done!

 

Further information:

Aleksi Tujunen
Chair of the board
aleksi.tujunen@hyy.fi
050 475 1280

Marianna Suokas
Specialist (higher education policy, student representatives, students’ legal protection)
marianna.suokas@hyy.fi
050 325 5202