Students’ Union review 2025: Advocacy work and community building

Students’ Union Tamko organised traditional and impactful events and made them visible to the entire community. In January and August, we organised orientation weeks and welcomed new students with assistance from our tutors. In January, we arranged the annual Gateway to Working Life recruitment event where students have the opportunity to meet various companies, seek employment opportunities and network. In the autumn, we celebrated the Tursajaiset event for the 83rd time.

A busy election year

During the spring, we lobbied in the county and municipal elections by meeting candidates together with TREY, Student Union of Tampere University. We wanted to improve voter turnout among students with various voting campaigns and by organising an election panel, bringing candidates closer to the students. Our key advocacy themes were student housing, wellbeing and public transport.

In the autumn, we organised Tamko’s own council elections. A total of 47 TAMK students stood as candidates, 21 of which were voted into the council as ordinary members. Voter turnout reached 18.1%. 

Development of internationality in specific focus

In a world of increasing internationality, we must be a pioneer of bilingualism. For the first time, the council and the board of the Students’ Union worked in both Finnish and English, and we also emphasised the bilingual aspect to the students. Our student representatives promoted internationality throughout TAMK.

We engaged in development work with TAMK in other sectors, too: we improved teaching and union facilities, took an active role in improving the quality and advancements of education and brought a student perspective into the improvement efforts for RDI activities. 

Students’ voices were heard both locally and nationally

Tamko had an impact on the partnership between the City of Tampere and the higher education institution community by highlighting student perspectives on various themes. This work was also conducted in close collaboration with TREY. Tamko engaged in national advocacy work towards the National Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (SAMOK) by releasing a statement on the new policy programme and by taking part in the union meeting in Seinäjoki. Tampere student politics are going to be highly visible on a national level in the near future, as Tamko’s vice-chairperson Helena Maijanen was elected SAMOK’s chairperson for 2026. 

Student activity is brisk at TAMK. Our student associations and clubs participated actively in 43 different organisations, and 250 tutors helped new students get started. We also trained 92 harassment contact persons to ensure safer events and community. Such a strong starting point is a great way to head confidently into 2026, focused on developing an even better TAMK together!