The strategy period of the Student Union is ending. The current strategy has been found to be difficult to utilise in daily work. However, it would be beneficial to have direction that spans more than a year in operational planning, because with the current model the areas of focus are always developed all over again in the autumn.
To this end, a working group of Board and Representative Council members was set up, which is preparing the ‘Ylioppilaskunnan suunta’ (‘The Direction of the Student Union’) document. The aim is to define 2-5 strategic development objectives for the Student Union for 2017-2018.
An attempt has been made to keep the process light so that the processes can be decided on in the spring, and on the basis of these projects can be planned in the autumn before the beginning of the next term. At the same time, it is desired that the process is made repeatable.
The working group has prepared objectives by involving the Board, Representative Council, workers, volunteers and interest groups. Ideas were supplied in workshops and with a form, and by combining the ones which are felt to be the most important, the end result has been larger development objectives.
The preliminary discussion of the Representative Council on the subject can be seen on YouTube: https://youtu.be/z40AEHDyK0Q?t=3h42m28s.
You can familiarise yourself with the background material at AYY Inside: https://inside.ayy.fi/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=22937712 (attachments 14a-14c)
The strategy is not being created just for the central office and the Representative Council, but rather its purpose is to serve the aspirations of the whole membership. For that reason, it’s extremely important that all the members of our Student Union have the opportunity to take part in the discussion. The time to have an influence is now!
In this blog text, we present two possible areas for development, which the Council, Board and working group have considered to be the most important ones for the next two years. We would like your comments via the adjoining form: https://lomake.ayy.fi/hallinto/ylioppilaskunnan-suunta/.
The working group will go through the comments and use them to produce the areas for development and the document itself. The document is intended to be approved at the next meeting of the Council on 12.5.
Development areas:
- AYY as a Builder of Aalto Identity
The goal is to reinforce the feeling of social cohesion that students have in the whole Aalto community. This can also be achieved with the aid of the associations that work in connection with AYY.
The aim is not to fade out existing identities and cultures but to find solutions with which all the members could feel that AYY is their own Student Union, in addition to their own closest identity.
The role of AYY is to act as an assembler that brings different kinds of organisations, students and their activities together. For example, the activities of the assembling bodies (incl. the Student Advocacy Management Group, the Study Committee and the Council) could be developed to serve all the members of the community.
Images of togetherness and of being an Aalto person are constructed largely through the brand. It’s important to create a brand that supports these goals. At the same time, the brand should be examined with regard to its different usage requirements in different situations.
- AYY as a Wielder of Influence in Society
It is important to develop the social influence of AYY in the future and it is built up from two goals.
The first goal is to strengthen the role of AYY as a nurturer; AYY should nurture students to become interested in social issues and give them the tools to be able to exercise influence in society. With the aid of students who are interested in society and having influence in society, AYY is more influential than before, both directly and indirectly .
The second goal is to improve the influence of AYY on those organisations and bodies that are essential from AYY’s point of view, but with whom relations could be better and more influential.
An example of a body like this is the alumni of Aalto University, who are in influential roles in business or politics, for example. With closer relations with alumni, the AYY can get vital contacts and information, and thus improve its own ability to exercise influence.
On the other hand, accommodation policy and having influence at a municipal level are fundamental in the coming years from the point of view of campus development. Good relations can also be used to have a significant influence on AKAVA, the labour market organisation for people with a higher level education, with regard to people who are graduating.
Mikko Latva-Käyrä
(firstname.lastname@ayy.fi)