8
Ge t t i ng s t a r t ed a t t he c ampu s
2.2 Student Union of Åbo Akademi
University (Åbo Akademis Studentkår,
ÅAS)
Åbo:
Tavastgatan 22 (3 rd floor)
20500 Åbo
Phone: +358 (0)2 215 4650
Fax: +358 (0)2 215 1564
Open Mon-Fri 12.00-15.00
Vasa:
Havtornen
Inre hamnen
65100 Vasa
Phone: +358 (0)6 324 7225
Open Mon-Fri 12.00-15.00
The student unions are public corporations
completely independent of their respective
universities. The role of the student unions is
to represent their members in the university
administration, to improve the position of
students in the society in general and to provide
the members with ser vices ranging from
consultations with lawyers to free time activities.
Members of the Student Union are entitled to:
.
Subsidised lunches in the student
cafeterias.
.
Long distance bus/railway/ferry tickets at
student prices in Finland.
.
Reductions in most theatres, concerts,
exhibitions, swimming pools, spor ts
centres, and in some shops and restaurants
by showing their student card.
.
Reductions in over 1,000 shops located
around Åbo and online. To see the full list of
the shops included in the benefits, please
see
/.
.
Basic health care at the Finnish Student
Health Service (for further details, please
see chapter 5.3).
For a complete listing of the membership benefits,
please check the website of the respective student
union.
Student Union Membership
There is a student union (Swe.
studentkår
, Fi.
ylioppilaskunta
) at every Finnish university. The
student union membership is compulsory by law
for all Finnish degree students. Membership
is optional for formal exchange students and
PhD students, whereas visiting students are not
eligible to join the Student Union.
The membership fee of the Student Union of Åbo
Akademi (ÅAS) is 106? for degree students for the
academic year 2014-2015 (53? for one term), and
62? for PhD students for the full academic year.
There are also many student associations within
the university and within each faculty. These are
sub-organisations of the student unions, and
the purpose of their work is to bring forth the
opinions of the different groupings within the
university. Another important purpose of the
student associations is to create opportunities
for students to meet new and old friends by
organising e.g. meetings, parties and excursions.
There are also many student associations
specifically for international students.
ÅAS Membership Benefits
In addition to the general Student Union benefits
mentioned before, ÅAS services for its members
include the usage of e.g. meeting rooms for free
at Kåren. There is also a gym and sauna in the
building. ÅAS offers free legal advice once a
week together with the Student Union at the
Univers i ty of Turku ( TYY). The Secretariat of
the Student Union offers the members general
help and consultation in academic, social and
international affairs.
The Student Union also offers help in matters
concerning discrimination and harassment.
Their ombudsmen can be contacted by phone
or e-mail and can also attend questionings in
both Åbo and Vasa. For more information, please
see
-
Finnish Student Card
The Finnish student card is called
studiekort
in
Swedish and
opiskelijakortti
in Finnish, and is
issued by the National Union of Finnish Students
