ÅA Survival Guide 2015-2016

9 / 79

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:
Kåren
Tavastgatan 22 (3 rd floor)
20500 Åbo
Phone: +358 (0)2 215 4650
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 services ranging from
consultations with lawyers to extra curricular
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, sports
centres, and in some shops and
restaurants by showing their student
card.
• Reductions in over 1,000 shops. 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).
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 and trainees
are not eligible to join the Student Union.
The membership fee of the Student Union of Åbo
Akademi (ÅAS) is 116€ for degree students for the
academic year 2015-2016 (58€ 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 union, and
the purpose of their work is to bring forth the
opinions of the different assosiations 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 student associations specifically
for international students. For more information
about all the different associations please
see
.
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 and Havtornen. There
is also a gym and sauna in Kåren. ÅAS (in Åbo)
offers free legal advice once a week together
with the Student Union at the University 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 hearings in both
Åbo and Vasa. For more information, please
see