Accessibility and equality at TAMK

TAMK’s organisational culture, leadership practices, and operations in accordance with the quality management system support the fair and equal treatment of staff and students. We invest continuously in competence development and in building a psychologically safe organisational culture.

Promoting equality enhances study and work wellbeing as well as experiences of fairness and inclusion, thereby strengthening the wellbeing of the entire community.

Issues related to equality that are closely linked to accessibility are addressed annually in various forums. Human Resources Services are responsible for preparing TAMK’s Gender Equality and Equality Plan, and the plan is promoted and monitored by designated persons in several different working groups.

TAMK's management is committed to promoting practices related to accessibility and equality. TAMK’s accessibility contact person coordinates the practical work and collaborates closely with accessibility actors across the Tampere Universities Community. We also participate in various national and international cooperation networks that promote accessibility.

We continuously develop monitoring and evaluation practices related to accessibility in accordance with the principles of continuous improvement in TAMK’s quality management. This work is guided by national policies.

Accessible Communication

Accessible and inclusive communication plays a central role in accessibility efforts, as it ensures equal access to information and promotes social accessibility.

Our main communication channels are the internal intranet and the public tuni.fi website, complemented by project websites and social media. The development of digital services is guided by the Act on the Provision of Digital Services. We conduct regular accessibility audits of our websites and continuously monitor accessibility using various tools.

Accessibility is always taken into account in digital and printed publications produced by the Communications Unit. We also require external service providers to comply with accessibility principles.

Students’ Union Tamko’s active role

The Student’s Union Tamko drew up a code of conduct for its activities, ie ethical guidelines which contain Tamko's ethical principles and equality guidelines. It guides Tamko's operations towards a safer and more sustainable organisation culture. The guidelines describe how everyone can contribute to creating a good and equal atmosphere. In addition, it clarifies what constitutes inappropriate behaviour and specifies the procedures used in connection with harassment and discrimination. The code of conduct applies to all Tamko's operations.

Tamko also coordinates harassment contact activities and selects student representatives to the TAMK-level accessibility group. In addition, it works actively to promote equality and accessibility.

Student tutor training deals with the themes of accessibility and equality to give peer tutors the skills to meet diverse students and refer them to specialists when necessary. In addition, Tamko has a year-round feedback channel through which students can report any problem situations. Tamko also has an email address for accessibility issues, related to eg events. In the future, a section on accessibility and equality will be added to Tamko's action plan, through which operations will be reviewed annually.

At Tamko, accessibility issues are handled by an expert of educational and social affairs.