The Autumn Meeting of the Representative Council of Student Union Kaakko will be held on December 18, 2025, at 5:00 PM. The meeting will take place remotely via Teams. The autumn meeting held on 4 December 2025 was not quorate, which is why the meeting was postponed to Thursday, 18 December.

The meeting agenda can be found HERE.

You can join the Representative Council meeting HERE.

During the Autumn Meeting, statutory matters will be decided, such as:

• Budget for 2026
• Action plan for 2026
• Election of the auditor for 2026
• Membership fee for 2026
• Meeting fees and/or compensation for elected representatives in 2026

If you are a member of Student Union Kaakko, you have the right to speak and attend the meeting, but only members of the Representative Council have voting rights. The meeting will be conducted in Finnish.

Welcome to the meeting!

More information:

Veikko Kotajärvi
Chair of the Representative Council
veikko.kotajarvi@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi

Sauli Sarjus
Executive Director
sauli.sarjus@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi

The Representative Council of the Student Union Kaakko convened on Thursday, November 27, 2025. During the meeting, the members of the 2026 Representative Council were confirmed, and the presidium of the council as well as the board members for the upcoming year were elected.

Nelli Kortelainen, a hospitality management student from Kotka, was elected as President of the Representative Council. Emmi Syrjä, a community educator student from Mikkeli, was elected as Vice President.

I would like to thank the council and our members for their trust! In the coming year, it’s time to focus on the things the Student Union already has and refine them. We will build the year together with the board and local associations. – Nelli Kortelainen

Members of the Representative Council:

Johanna Jokinen (Kotkan Opiskelijat)
Katriina Janhunen (Kaakon Vihreät)
Anni Miettinen (Mikkelin Pamaus)
Niina Mäkelä (Kotkan Opiskelijat)
Taneli Arosara (Kaakon Vihreät)
Lilli Peltonen (Kotkan Opiskelijat)
Jussi Kukkurainen (Kouvolasta Kaakkoon)
Tiina Kannasvuo (Independent)
Janina Laakso (Independent)
Ville-Pekka Häkkinen (Mikkelin Pamaus)
Alphonsus Ehiabhi (Independent)
Miina Kunnasto (Independent)
Mikael Viik (Mikkelin Pamaus)
Julia Takialainen (Independent)
Sagar Kafle (Independent)

Board 2026

The council also elected the board members for 2026 during the meeting. Niko Heikkilä (Bachelor of Engineering, Developing Food Technology) from the Kouvola campus was elected as President of the Board.

The Vice Presidents of the Board are:

• Mahmudul Ruju (Bachelor of Engineering, Information Technology), Mikkeli campus
• Taneli Mäkinen (Bachelor of Community Education), Mikkeli campus
• Teemu Taivainen (Bachelor of Business Administration, Security), Savonlinna campus

The order of the Vice Presidents will be decided in the board’s organizational meeting.

Board members elected:

• Channa Perera (Bachelor of Engineering, Information Technology), Mikkeli
• Matias Päivä (Bachelor of Business Administration, Public Administration and Law), Kouvola
• Sehrish Aziz (Bachelor of Business Administration, Digital International Business), Kouvola
• Muqadas Fatima (Bachelor of Health Care, Nursing), Savonlinna

The Representative Council and the Board will begin their duties on January 1, 2026, and their term will last until December 31, 2026.

More information:

Laura Laakso
President of the Board 2025
laura.laakso@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
+358 44 4910 616

Nelli Kortelainen
President of the Representative Council 2026
eneko007@edu.xamk.fi

Niko Heikkilä
President of the Board 2026
dnihe001@edu.xamk.fi

Sauli Sarjus
Executive Director
sauli.sarjus@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
+358 50 592 7482

The constitutive meeting of the Representative Council for the year 2026 will be held on Thursday, November 27, 2025, starting at 4:00 PM. The meeting can be attended remotely via Teams. All members of the Kaakko Student Union are welcome to participate.
At the constitutive meeting of the Representative Council:

• The composition of the Representative Council will be confirmed
• A chairperson, vice-chairperson  will be elected from among the council members
• The chairperson and vice-chairpersons of the Student Union Board will be elected
• The Student Union Board will be elected

The meeting agenda can be found HERE.
You can join the constitutive meeting HERE.

More information:

Veikko Kotajärvi
veikko.kotajarvi@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
President of the Representative Council 2025

Sauli Sarjus
sauli.sarjus@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
Executive Director

Students have an important role in influencing decisions at the university of applied sciences. Opinions have more impact at the decision-making tables than in the campus corridors. At Xamk, student representatives speak for students in decision-making. As a student representative, you have the opportunity to influence where decisions are made.
Student representatives are students of South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences and full members of their respective bodies. They attend meetings and express the student perspective on the matters being discussed.
Student representatives ensure that the student voice is heard in issues concerning students. Anyone can become a student representative – including you!
Read more about student representatives and the application process on our website.

Eligibility Requirements

All students enrolled in degree programs at South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences and registered as present are eligible to apply. The positions require fluent Finnish language skills.
A student representative must remain eligible throughout their term, and no one should be knowingly appointed if they are expected to lose eligibility during the term.
Persons employed full-time by the university of applied sciences are not eligible to serve as student representatives.
Applications must be submitted via the electronic application form within the application period.

Application Period and Process

The application period opens on 19 November 2025 at 18:00 and closes on 3 December 2025 at 18:00.
Decisions on the selected representatives will be made at the council meeting on 4 December 2025.
Applications must be submitted via the application form.

Selection of Student Representatives

The selection of student representatives for the university administration at Xamk is governed by the specific guidelines on the selection of student representatives.

Available Positions

Teaching Management Team

1 regular member
1 deputy member
Term: 2026 (1 year)

The Teaching Management Team is responsible for developing, planning, and guiding the common processes of teaching activities. The goal is to ensure quality, improve effectiveness, streamline processes and annual planning, and create clear guidelines. The student representative’s role is to bring teaching planning and implementation closer to students and make the planning more student-friendly.

RDI Management Team

1 regular member
1 deputy member
Term: 2026 (1 year)

The RDI Management Team monitors and develops the results, quality, and impact of Xamk’s research, development, and innovation activities. Topics include decisions related to project applications, received funding decisions, initiating international project preparations, and other strategic and current RDI matters. As educational cooperation in RDI projects has increased, the student perspective is important in these meetings.

Ingenium Student Advisory Board

1 deputy member
Term: 2026 (1 year)

ISAB acts as a student representative group within INGENIUM. Some ISAB members also serve as student representatives in the alliance’s committees: the Ingenium Alliance Committee (representatives are selected from ISAB members), the INGENIUM Steering Committee (representatives are selected from ISAB members), and the INGENIUM Academic Committee (each university’s ISAB representative has a responsibility to participate every other year, regardless of whether the same person remains an ISAB member). ISAB representatives also review student initiatives for INGENIUM. Additionally, ISAB members foster international student collaboration through projects and activities. ISAB brings together students from different universities to exchange views, convey the student voice in INGENIUM decision-making, and support networking and joint projects. The group promotes student-driven ideas, monitors their progress, and highlights student needs in the strategic development of the alliance.

More Information

Laura Laakso
President of the Board
laura.laakso(a)opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
044 4910 616

Sauli Sarjus
Executive Director
sauli.sarjus(a)opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
050 592 7482

Welcome to the statutory spring meeting of the Representative Council of the Student Union Kaakko on April 16, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM. You can participate in the meeting remotely via Teams or physically on campus. Registration for the meeting can be done HERE.

The spring meeting is open to all members of the Student Union Kaakko, but only members of the Representative Council have voting rights.

The agenda for the meeting can be found HERE.

For more information:

Veikko Kotajärvi
veikko.kotajarvi@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
Chair of the Representative Council

On Monday, June 10th, we discovered a security vulnerability in our member register. The vulnerability was identified by a student from South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, and we thank them for reporting it. The vulnerability allowed unauthorized access to the following information without logging into the system:

– Address
– Country of residence
– Phone number
– Student number
– Place of study and degree program
– Facial image
– Preferred language of communication (Finnish/English)

It is important to note that the vulnerability did not include name details or personal identification numbers. Currently, there is no evidence that any information has been leaked.

The student union purchases the member register service and maintenance as an outsourced service. The vulnerability was found in the outsourced system. The system provider was able to fix the vulnerability on Tuesday, June 11th.

According to the criteria of the Data Protection Ombudsman’s Office, the potential impact of the incident on registered individuals is minimal.

We are extremely sorry for what has happened. The security and privacy of our members are of utmost importance to us. We are doing everything we can to protect our members’ information now and in the future. If you notice any suspicious activity involving your information, more details on how to proceed can be found on the suomi.fi website: https://www.suomi.fi/guides/data-leak

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact the Student Union’s Executive Director:

Sauli Sarjus
050 592 7482
sauli.sarjus@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi

Student Union Kaakko’s Representative Council Autumn Meeting will be held on February 15th, 2024, at 5:00 PM. The meeting will be conducted both online via Teams and on-campus.

You can find the meeting agenda here. (only in finnish)

To join the Representative Council meeting via Teams, click here

Welcome to the meeting!

For more information:

Esa Hämäläinen
Presidet of the Representative Council
esa.hamalainen@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi

Sauli Sarjus
Executive Director
sauli.sarjus@opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi

Apply for Student Representative Positions

Students play a crucial role in influencing matters at the university of applied sciences. Opinions have more impact at decision-making tables than in the hallways of the campuses. In Xamk’s decision-making, students are represented by student representatives. As a student representative, you have the opportunity to influence where decisions are made.

Student representatives are students at the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences and full-fledged members of their respective bodies. They attend meetings and express the opinions of students on matters discussed.

Student representatives ensure that the voice of students is heard on issues concerning them. Anyone can become a student representative – including you!

Available Positions

This fall, we are seeking student representatives for the following positions:

1. Educational Steering Group
   • 1 member
   • 1 vice-member
   • Term: 2024 (1 year)
2. RDI Steering Group
   • 1 member
   • 1 vice-member
   • Term: 2024 (1 year)

Application Period

The application period opened on November 13, 2023, and closes on November 28, 2023. Decisions on the appointments will be made during the Representative Council meeting on November 30, 2023.

Apply

Apply to be a student representative HERE

Eligibility Requirements

• Eligible to run for election are all students enrolled in degree programs at the South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences and those who have registered as attending. The positions require sufficient proficiency in the Finnish language.
• A student representative must be eligible for election throughout their term, and individuals known to lose their eligibility during their term should not be consciously selected for the position.
• Persons employed full-time in a professional capacity at the university of applied sciences are not eligible to become student representatives.
• The application is submitted using an electronic Webropol form. The application must be completed within the application period.

About the Recruitment and Selection of Student Representatives

The recruitment and selection of student representatives for the university of applied sciences’ administration in Kaakko are specifically regulated in the guidelines for the selection of student representatives. (only in Finnish)

For more information about the positions:

Emmi Matinheikki
President of the Board
Student Union Kaakko
emmi.matinheikki(a)opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
044 540 4547

Jenni Aikio
Executive Director
Student Union Kaakko
jenni.aikio(a)opiskelijakuntakaakko.fi
044 702 8591

Katja Ääpälä, a second-year Master’s student in Social Services specializing in Well-being Promotion, is the first-ever postgraduate student to join Kaakko’s representative council. Until this year, the council has comprised only undergraduate students. 

– I best advocate for the issues of Master’s degree students by actively participating in decision-making. I feel that I also represent all so-called adult students in general. Our interests need to be upheld as well, says Katja. 

Currently, Xamk has nearly 2,000 postgraduate students across over 30 different programs, and an increasing number of them are aged over 30. 

– I encourage all postgraduate students to consider running for office in the representative elections! It’s a valuable responsibility, and attending a handful of meetings throughout the year won’t significantly disrupt work or studies, Katja emphasizes. 

The candidacy for the Student Union Kaakko’s representative elections is now open! You can run for office until October 8th via this link or by filling out the form at our office. More information about the elections can be found on Kaakko’s website. The representative elections will take place on November 8th, 2023, and the new representative council will begin its year-long term on January 1st, 2024.