Multi-faceted and active advocacy
In early 2023, a new and enthusiastic board along with representatives got to work at Tamko. In the first week of January, we got to welcome new students right away with orientation days. Close cooperation with TAMK’s Executive Group and personnel continued in the form of monthly morning coffee and everyday encounters.
Leading up to the parliamentary elections, we continued our advocacy work launched in 2022 together with TREY, Student Union of Tampere University. We participated in a national round of calls, touching base with candidates in our electoral district and discussed our election goals from a student perspective. At the TAMK main campus, Tamko also organised one election panel where students got to confront parliamentary election candidates with some tough questions.
In August, Tamko organised orientation days for new students. And together with our tutors, we got to welcome the new students to our community. We made sure that they were provided the required information and that they could get off to a good start with their studies. During the autumn, we naturally conducted Tamko’s council elections.
At the time of the election, we tried to make our presence felt as much as possible at all TAMK campuses, encouraging students to become candidates and make their voices heard by voting. We managed to raise the visibility of our council elections together with our sub-associations, resulting in a massive total of 1,603 votes cast.
Recognised as an impactful representative of student interests, Tamko has an influential voice and opinions that matter. We got to influence students’ everyday lives in several workgroups both inside and outside TAMK. We also got to meet the Mayor of Tampere and spread the word about our students beyond TAMK.
Tamko again made an impact at the national union stage when board chairperson Linda Vallenius was elected board member for 2024 of SAMOK, the National Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences. Julia Väänänen was elected Tamko’s chairperson of the board for 2024.
Text: Linda Vallenius, Tamko’s chairperson
Editors: TAMK Communications
Image: Konsta Leppänen