Whether you call it Edustajisto, Delegationen, or the Representative Council, this is a place where the decisions get made for all students at the University of Helsinki, and where you can have a real, direct impact!
The Representative Council
What Is It? | The Representative Council acts as the bridge between the Student Union of the University of Helsinki (HYY/HUS) and the student body as a whole. It is comprised of sixty elected students sitting for a two year term, coming from a range of different electoral groups (sometimes called ‘rings’). Some of these groups are linked to political parties, some are linked to student organisations, and some – like HYAL – are bound by a common interest.
What Does It Do? | Meeting roughly once a month, the Representative Council has a lot of power. One of the key jobs of the body is to elect the board of HYY, selecting the roughly 10 students who will sit on the board, dedicating much of their time to working for students over the coming year. However, HYY is more than just the board that runs it. One of the biggest jobs of the Representative Council is to agree the budget for the Union, and set the wider vision and general direction of the Student Union for the year ahead. The Representative Council is also elects people to various other critical positions, holds the Union’s board to account during the ‘Question Time’ before each meeting, and debates policy throughout the year.
How Does It Do It? | Within the Representative Council there are a number of sub-committees that one can be nominated to that help prepare documents, negotiate with other groups/blocks, and put questions on the table ready for the main meeting. In a way, it’s almost like a mini-version of Finland’s parliament, replicating some of the ways the country’s policies are made. For more, https://hyy.fi/en/student-union/our-organisation/representative-council/. Behind the scenes each electoral group operates in their own unique way, holding their own regular meetings and social events.
Getting Involved
Elections | To become a member of the Representative Council, you’ll need to put yourself forward for elections, and to put yourself forward for elections you’ll most likely want to find an electoral group to join. You might not need to win to have influence, as some runners up will become deputy members too. The elections are always a fun opportunity to meet some new people, gain some new perspectives, and put your view on the future of the Student Union out in the open!
Finding A Group | It’s wise to think about what’s important to you, what do you value. As mentioned, there’s a wide range of groups with a wide range of missions. Almost all groups will have an awesome team of dedicated volunteers to help you get involved, support your campaign, and connect you with people that might be able to help you further (afterall, it’s in the groups interest to get you elected too!).
Language Barrier? | It would be a lie to say it’s always smooth sailing if you don’t speak fluent Finnish, however, that should be no barrier to getting involved! Indeed, it’s only with more Swedish and English speakers that the Union will improve its second and third language offerings! Many of the groups have supported international students getting elected to the Representative Council, and during the monthly meetings of the Council translations services have traditionally been provided. In short, don’t be afraid if you’re not fluent in Finnish!
Other Ways To Get Involved | Elections not for you? Or didn’t get the result you hoped for after the election? No fear, at least at HYAL you’ll still be welcomed to join all regular HYAL meetings, even if you don’t have a vote at the Representative Council meeting. Many in HYAL might not even be standing for election, rather they could be gaining new skills by running electoral campaigns, they could be proactive alumni coming back to offer support, or they could just be present at group meetings to bring their point of view to the table. Not to mention, the best discussions often happen after the meetings in a social setting, and you’ll never be turned away from them!
HYAL
What Is HYAL | HYAL is not connected to a political party, nor is it tied to a single student group or faculty, rather HYAL is an electoral group committed to supporting all student organisations. Our priority is making sure that all the organisations – that so many students are a member of – get the support they need.
Why join HYAL | If you want to support a group that aims to be a bridge between the Student Union and the over 250 student organisations that exist in our University Community, HYAL could be the right place for you. Around the table at HYAL are a wide range of voices of many political colours, always making for a creative, critical, and productive set of discussions and policies. Aside from the day-to-day politics of the group, HYAL is also a wonderful place to develop skills you might not get to in your regular studies, meet people from all across the University, and make some contacts that could last you a lifetime.
Can International Students Join? | Yes! If you’re a student, you can join regardless of your background. HYAL has had international students involved in the group over the years, once even as a Deputy Chair of the group! We can’t promise everything will always be in English, but this is because we welcome everyone to share their thoughts and views in the language they feel most comfortable in. This said, we’re a huge community that’s always there to offer support, ad-hoc translations, and make opportunities as inclusive as possible.
How do I join? | If you know someone already involved, reach out and ask for some more information (we’re a friendly bunch). If not, sending an email to hallitus(at)hyal.fi is a good place to start and on matters about the elections Chief electoral officer sophie.nyyssonen(at)helsinki.fi. We really look forward to having you on board!
POSITIONS IN HYAL
Through HYAL, you can reach significant positions of influence within the entire student union. Contact person for organizations? Financial guru to YLVA’s board? Get to know the spots and application schedules, and feel free to contact the people mentioned, the group chairs or the association’s vice-president Sophie Nyyssönen.
Representative council group HYAL
Group Chairpersons (RPJ)
Preparatory Committee (VVK)
Financial Management Board (TJK)
YLVA Administrative Council (Hane)
Board of HYY (HYYH)
Central Selection Committee (KVT)
YLVA Board of Directors (Yha)
The board of Ylioppilaslehten Kustannus Oy
Board of the HYAL RY association
Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
Secretary
Treasurer
Event production and wellbeing
Communication
Organizations manager
Equality and environmental managers
Chief Electoral Officer
List managers
Election communication team
REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL GROUP HYAL
Group Chairpersons (RPJ)
Group chairpersons are elected for one year at a time, the application is at the end of the year and anyone involved in HYAL’s representative council group can apply (it is not necessary to be an actual or deputy member of the representative council).
HYAL has mostly had 2-3 group chairs, which means that work is not done alone. The task of the group chairs is to lead the group’s political decision-making. This means organizing group meetings (ryhmis), communicating with other representative council groups, the board of HYAL ry and HYY’s central office staff, as well as confirming for HYY the composition participating in representative council meetings. The group chairs meet with the chairs of other groups before the representative council meetings and at other times, if necessary, at the EdariPJ meetings convened by HYY. Group chairs also coordinate recruitment for different work groups and make sure that HYAL’s representatives in these work groups are aware of the issues to be decided.
The position of group chairs requires time and commitment, offering significant opportunities for influence and learning. There are weekly meetings and communication with different stakeholders almost daily.
Group Chairs will be selected on 4.12. More information: Eveliina Weidenbacher, Delila Belahcen or Helmi Rihko
Preparatory Committee (VVK)
The preparatory committee is a treasure trove of negotiation and discussion between groups! The most important tasks of VVK include handling and making presentations to the representative council, ensuring the regularity of the matters given to the representative council, monitoring the work of HYY’s board and taking care of other tasks assigned to it by the representative board. In VVK, group representatives get to meet face to face and convince each other why their group’s suggestions are important. VVK meets before every representative council meeting, about seven times a year. The VVK representative must be a regular or deputy editor of the representative board.
VVK members will be elected on 19.11. More information: Eveliina Weidenbacher, Vanessa Quesnau or Oona Hartikainen
Financial Board (TJK)
The Financial Board (TJK) is a body subordinate by HYY’s board, which supervises, prepares and decides on important matters related to HYY’s operational finances and organizations. The TJK usually meets once a month and annually handles the preparation of HYY’s operating financial statements and budget and supervises its implementation. TJK grants operational grants to student organizations and is outlining the organization’s premises distribution, based on the decided criteria, which is an area of particular interest to HYAL. It also deals with the acceptance of organizations within the scope of HYY. Longer-term tasks include updating the medium-term financial plan (KTS). The task of HYAL’s representatives is to take the group’s positions to TJK meetings and bring important information from there to our own group.
Working in TJK offers the opportunity to learn financial skills, get to know HYY’s organizations and familiarize yourself with the student union’s operating finances, which directly affects the organizations. TJK members receive handsome pins for their work, which are suitable to flash at annual parties, and a HYY premises tour is often organized for TJK members
TJK representatives will be selected on 9.12. More information: Joona Rissanen, Aapo Grönroos or Helmi Rihko
Ylva Administrative Council (Hane)
The Administrative Council directs and supervises Ylva’s administration managed by Ylva’s Board of Directors and CEO. The Administrative Council assists the Student Union Representative Council and the HYY Board by issuing reports and statements. The Administrative Council also oversees the implementation of the Owner’s Strategy Document (omstra), which is a key document approved by the Representative Council outlining responsibility and the will of the student union. In practice, the targets of the policies are, for example, Unicafe and issues related to the use of real estate such as tenancy frames. Hane meets about once a month. The task of the HYAL representatives is to take the group’s positions to the meetings and bring information from there to our own group.
Hane representatives will be elected in early spring 2025. More information: Joona Rissanen or Helmi Rihko
Central Selection Committee (KVT)
KVT is set for a term of representatives and each group nominates 1 regular and 2 vicemembers. KVT’s task is to notify the university’s various administrative bodies of student representative positions to be applied for. These include e.g. the university board, collegium and faculty councils. KVT appoints selection committees for these, if necessary, and interviews and makes a presentation to the representative council as student representatives of the administration to the university’s board. KVT meets a few times a year.
KVT representatives will be selected on 4.12. or 9.12. More information: Joona Rissanen or Helmi Rihko
Board of HYY (HYYH)
HYY’s board members serve as full-time board members and receive a monthly meeting fee of approximately the size of a university internship fee for their work. Each member of the board represents their own background group or ring in the board, promoting the goals of that group. The duties of a member of the board can be roughly divided into two categories: the board’s activities and the sector’s activities.
The board’s activities include participating in the board’s ‘morning schools’ and board meetings. In addition, HYY’s board members acts as the general meeting of Ylva’s companies. The board represents HYY at various events and meetings and actively participates in the implementation of HYY’s events. The board of HYY participates and presents the issues of their sectors to the representative council and to the preparatory bodies of HYY (meetings of the chairpersons of the groups EdariPJ and VVK). In addition to this, the board member handles the tasks of their own sector either independently or together with sector experts. In 2024, the board members had been assigned the following sector tasks: education policy, social policy, events, communication, chairperson of the finance board, Ylva representative, organizations, volunteers, new students, tutors, sustainable development, environment, internationality and bilingualism.
HYAL’s representatives at the HYY board work closely with the group chairpersons and the group. The person representing HYAL on HYY’s board must ensure that they are up-to-date on the group’s positions throughout the year and promote their implementation in their duties at the central office. The board member supports the group to achieve the goals set together.
Application NOW OPEN applications 8.11. By 22:00.
More information: 2024 Board members Petra Pulli (VP + Representative elections + volunteers) and Tommi Mäki (Education policy + new students), board negotiators Timo Kalliokoski, Jessika Isomeri and Mikko Sinisalo
The board of Ylva (Yha)
The board acts as the board of the real estate management of the student union and as the board of Ylva Palvelut Oy, which also directs and supervises the operations of the boards of its subsidiaries. The board prepares the target budgets for the properties owned by the student union, as well as the financial statements and real estate matters to be decided by the representative council, supervises the financial implementation of the properties and approves investments concerning the properties within the scope of its authority. Ylva’s board also directs and supervises the student union’s investment activities. Yha is a unique vantage point in the heart of a nationally significant enterprise. Board members are elected for two-year terms, the next from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027.
The next selections will be made between January and February 2025. More information: Timo Kalliokoski
Ylioppilaslehti board
The board of Ylioppilaslehti Kustannus Oy deals with financial matters related to the publishing and marketing of Ylioppilaslehti-newspaper, submits the annual target budget and financial statement to the board of the student union for approval, and monitors the implementation of Ylioppilaslehti’s strategy. Ylioppilaslehti is one of the oldest and most widely distributed student magazines in the world and a unique institution in the Finnish media field, which tells about the phenomena of society and culture before others have had time to notice them. The board members are elected for a year-long term from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
The next selections will be made in January-February 2025. More information: Timo Kalliokoski
HYAL RY
The board and officials will be elected at the association’s autumn meeting on 12th of December 2024. The invitation to the autumn meeting is sent by e-mail to HYAL members and the meeting is announced on HYAL’s social media.
Availability can be expressed with a motivation letter of max. 1 page to which a CV can be attached 11.12. By mail to: pj@hyal.fi For more information, you can ask the association’s vice-Chairperson Sophie Nyyssönen.
The board meets about once a month. The board makes decisions together, maintains a happy atmosphere in HYAL and is a link between student organizations and HYY.
HYAL’s board members attend meetings as agreed, in order to obtain a quorum at the meetings. Board members have access to HYAL’s information systems. You can become an official at any time and it’s an easy way to come to HYAL to do one area, for example, to help organize an event.
Chairperson
The chairperson manages the association’s activities. They convenes the meetings, prepare the agendas and lead the speech in the meetings. The chairperson assigns tasks and ensures that the agreed matters are taken care of, cooperating with the chairpersons of HYAL’s representative group. The chairperson asks how the board members are feeling and supports the board members in managing their own work. The chairperson handles matters related to the association register and grant applications and takes care that the association’s activities are legal. The chairperson represents the association and maintains contact with stakeholders. In the spring, the chairperson prepares the action plan, ensures the finalization of the financial statements, the budget and follows HYAL’s strategy. At the end of the year, they make sure that the activity report is ready, work‘testaments’ have been updated and coordinate orientations for new operators.
Vice chairperson
The vice-chairperson acts as the chairperson’s deputy if necessary and coordinates the association’s activities together with the chairperson. The vice-chairperson can be assigned their own set of chairperson’s duties, according to their own interests and skills. During election years, the Chief election manager is often named the second vice chairperson of the association.
Secretary
The secretary’s duties include writing minutes of meetings and having them approved by the board. The secretary makes sure that the membership register and its privacy statement are up to date. The secretary ensures that the minutes and attachments are in good order in HYAL’s archive.
The treasurer
The treasurer takes care of HYAL’s financial administration and practical tasks. The treasurer is the contact person in banking matters (e.g. payment cards, Mobilepay). They keep the board informed of the financial situation, pay and send invoices, refund for purchases made by operators as quickly as possible, and takes care of the accounting. At the beginning of the year, they prepare a budget together with the chairperson and monitor its implementation during the year. At the end of the year, the treasurer prepares the financial statements.
Event production and wellbeing
The event managers keep the board and HYAL’ members on the edge of the joy of student life. The entire HYAL board and actors are involved in organizing joint events. The arrangements include planning, bringing the necessary goods and services to and from the venue, deciding on the menu taking into account special diets, decorating, selling, communicating and cleaning up the venue at the end of the event. HYAL’s events can be aimed at operators or they can be open to all students of the University of Helsinki. In 2025, if desired, we can organize, for example, a sitz party, anniversary celebration, sauna evenings or even cake tasting! The sky’s the limit.
Communication
HYAL has a website and several social media platforms. Communication produces material on these current issues such as events, rep-co meetings and statements as needed and supports actors in emphasizing their own ideas to fit HYAL’s brand and policy. In communication, creativity can flourish in bringing different videos and visual messages to all students of the University of Helsinki. At the beginning of the year, communication will update the information of HYAL’s new trustees and officials on the website.
Organizational liaison/manager
HYAL works in HYY on behalf of student organizations. Communication with these organizations is the core of HYAL’s operations. The organization manager coordinates organization visits to their meetings or other events, where they ask about how the actors and volunteers are doing, about their need for support, and tell about the advocacy work done in HYAL on behalf of organizations in HYY.
Equality and environmental managers
In HYAL, people responsible for equality and safety and environmental issues are appointed, they will update the action plan sections of their areas at the beginning of the year and monitor their implementation. How could we, as an association, work better so that our actors and those participating in the events have a good time, stay safe and we are making sustainable choices?
Chief Electoral Officer 2025
The Chief Electoral Officer represents HYAL at the meetings of the election managers of all HYY representative council groups. The Chief Electoral Officer coordinates the election work as a whole and delegates tasks as they see fit. Major entities related to elections include candidate recruitment, candidate training, election machine answer bases, election program, coordination of election events, election budget monitoring, procurement decisions with the support of HYAL board and, above all, supporting candidates.
List managers
In recent years, HYAL has had the model of two lists: HYAL Center campus and HYAL Viikki-Kumpula-Meikku. The list supervisors are the closest support for the candidates of their own list in the campaigning work. The list supervisors coordinate the lists’ own statements on social media and practical election work on campuses, for example moving tents, tables, flags and election materials to be distributed. List managers make sure that all candidates on the list know what’s coming, and that no one is doing election work alone on the campuses.
Election communication team
The communication of the elections includes promoting HYAL’s candidates and the main themes of the campaign in a strategic and versatile way in different communication channels. The communication team produces both the visual appearance of the elections and written content about the activities of HYY, HYY’s representative council and HYAL. Communications works closely with the election manager.