What does all of this actually mean?
As a student representative in administration, you are a student advocate. You guard the interests of both the students and the University. This means that you have the opportunity to make Aalto and the world into a better place in constructive cooperation with the other members of the community.
As an equal member of the bodies, you have a responsibility to put forward the perspective of students in decision-making in a matter-of-fact and informed manner. Student advocacy is also done unofficially outside meetings and successful furtherment of matters requires diplomacy, a sense of the situation and persistence. It is good for you to be aware of what kinds of people are around you and what kinds of larger development processes are going on. You can get help in this from your fellow students, as well as from student associations and the Student Union.
The Halloped community
Over the course of their career, every Halloped will be asked “what do students think about this?”. There are around 230 Hallopeds at Aalto University, representing more than 14,000 students. So that we can better represent different kinds of students, it’s worth it for a Halloped to talk actively not just with other Hallopeds but also with their fellow students about how things are going from their point of view on the courses in the programme/faculty/college/Aalto.
You can’t know or do everything alone. So that you can best exert influence and get current information on problems and the stage of progress in measures and decisions, it’s worth meeting the other Hallopeds of your body regularly, as well as the representatives of groups working with the same issues. For example, at faculty and college level, it’s worth meeting other student representatives between the meetings of the preparatory body and the decision-making body, so that you get a clear picture of the situation and can create common objectives together.
There are all kids of us. Consider the effects of action, in addition to yourself, for example on:
- Secondary subject students
- Distance students
- Students in atypical life situations
- International students
- From the point of view of accessibility and equality
People responsible for Hallopeds
There is a person responsible for Hallopeds in each school who coordinates student advocacy, for example by arranging meetings for the Hallopeds of the school. They meet other people responsible for Hallopeds every month in the student advocacy management group, as well as AYY’s education policy sector.
People responsible for studies
In most subject associations, there is a person responsible for studies. They are mainly responsible for student advocacy at faculty or main subject level, and are a valuable link between the Hallopeds of the faculty.
AYY’s education policy sector
There is a policy specialist responsible for academic affairs working at AYY, and in most years two members of the Board responsible for education policy. They carry out student advocacy daily at University level and are there to support you when the rights of the student are not respected somewhere or when you want help in affecting things at the University.