Board work

UDK’s board is chosen yearly at an autumn general meeting, held near the end of the year, where anyone, who has paid their membership fee and been accepted as a member of the association before the meeting, can apply to be a board member. 10 to 12 people are chosen to the board every year, of which the chairperson is selected separately at the autumn general meeting and other roles are decided later between the rest of the board members. If more people have applied to be the chairperson or a board member than there’s places for them, a small election will be held at the autumn general meeting.

The term of the board starts on 1st of January and ends on 31st of December. Simply put, board activities consist of meetings, role-related tasks, evening schools and other various routines. For example, event organizers run the event activities, communications organizers handle announcements and educational affairs officials take care of student advocacy.

The board holds meetings every 2 to 3 weeks, excluding the summer season. Various topics, such as past event attendance, general news and the future are discussed during meetings. The most important function of meetings is to act as a platform for board members to voice their thoughts and opinions. Meetings are open for everyone and they’re usually held at one of the university’s many group work rooms. The meeting invites and transcripts are sent to the UDK mailing list.

All in all, the board takes care of, for example, the budgets for events and other activities, advocacy and operating the association in general. At board meetings, the board mainly decides on matters that require the commitment of the board, such as statements and budgets.

The board members happily answer any and all questions regarding board activities! You can find the contact info for singular board members in the Association tab. In addition, you can contact the entire board by emailing us at hallitus@udk.fi

ROLES AT THE BOARD

The roles of board members are decided at the first meeting of the year and the specifications are decided then as well. One person usually has two roles, but the amount of roles depends on the stress and needs of the specific role. You should have a look at the board roles before the autumn general meeting, since when applying to the board, the applicant’s interest in specific roles is taken into consideration. However, ignorance isn’t a sin and you can jump in totally blind! Below are some of the most common board roles, but the roles depend on the year.

Chairperson, chair

Chairperson’s main task is to take care of the subject association in general. The chairperson plans the meetings with the secretary and leads them. They also guide and aid the other board members, officers and the teams formed by them. Most important skill of the chairperson is delegation. Among those, the chairperson handles the most important affairs of the year, such as grant applications. The chair can be seen as the tutor of the board members and officers. If there’s any need for reasons to become the chair, at least think about how good it’ll look on a CV!

Vice chairperson, vice chair

The most important task of a vice chair is to support the chairperson and the entire team of board members and officers, and if needed, stand in for the chairperson. In the end, the role of a vice chair is pretty flexible and every vice chair makes their role their own. Do you want to focus more on developing a certain aspect of the subject association or developing unprecedented team spirit for the entire team of board members and officers? There’s as many different role descriptions for vice chairs as there are vice chairs themselves!

Secretary/Administrative official

The secretary plans meetings together with the chairperson and is responsible for sending out meeting invites and transcripts on time. During meetings, the secretary writes down everything that has been discussed and writes the transcript based on that. Archiving the transcripts is also a task of the secretary. The secretary also takes care of small routine matters of the other board members and officers, such as booking rooms. One could call the secretary the chairperson’s right hand!

Treasurer

The treasurer, simply put, takes care of UDK’s finances by handling transactions, bank accounts and accounting. They keep a keen eye on expenses and income and make sure that everything has a receipt. The treasurer also creates a wonderful financial statement at the end of a term. The treasurer is a good role for those who are precise and diligent and who are not afraid to sit through TREY’s trainings.

Educational affairs officials, educational advocates

The educational affairs officials a.k.a educational advocates are responsible for smooth university studies and the quality of them. If needed, they will cry out loud if the institute is going to make unfavorable decisions regarding students. Educational advocates are the knights for every single student, who fight for the students’ rights in different meetings and planning committees. In addition to general advocacy, the educational affairs officials maintain connections to teachers, handle the study groups for new students and gather feedback on university studies. Being an educational advocate, while being somewhat invisible to the commoners, is extremely important. UDK has separate education advocates for Information Studies, Media Studies and Game Studies.

Events organizer

UDK’s events are handled by the events team, which is managed by a team of usually three events organizers. Events organizers are the most distinguishable board members. They participate in organizing events, especially their budgets, delegations and the diversity of events. A couple of times a month, the events organizers hold the meetings of the events team, which are open to all members. As an events organizer, you get to make all the events you want to!

Equality official

The board tasks for the equality official include, within their own level of activity and having the energy, communicating and developing equality within the subject association. If any member of UDK encounters harassment or unequal treatment at school, events or anywhere else, the equality official is the go-to person who intervenes in those situations and takes things forward if necessary. You can contact the equality official with any kind of worries, after all, they’re here to ensure everyone here feels safe!

Tutoring organizer

The tutoring organizers get the responsibility of recruiting new tutors and informing them about the tutoring training. At the start of the year, the focus is on actively planning the activities of the upcoming fall, while the fall itself is spent on welcoming the new students. Tutoring organizers form the tutoring team together with the international organizer. Tutoring organizers have to have everything tied together, because along with the new students, they, in a way, tutor the tutors.

Communications organizer

UDK’s communications are taken care of by the communications team, led by the communications organizers. Communications organizers handle UDK’s internal and external announcements, marketing and UDK’s brand. Communications organizers get to develop their activities in their preferred way along with routine communications.

Editor-in-chief of Asiasana

The editor-in-chief is in charge of the subject association magazine Asiasana. They take care of the publishing of content, scheduling, delegation and publications, getting to write articles themselves, too. The editor-in-chief makes sure that the articles in Asiasana stay epic and that Asiasana will find its way to every student in Tampere one way or another.

Business official

UDK’s business relations, sponsors and work life culture are taken care of by the business official of the board. They vigorously work to get funding for overalls and the anniversary party, and organizes activities together with our business partners. Business official handles the so-called big bucks of UDK and takes care of, for example, the BOBCATSSS grants. Becoming a business official is recommended if you’re interested in making valuable contacts.

Project official

Project official is in charge of the project team, which aims to boost UDK's outside visibility and and strengthen the association's multidisciplinary position. The Project official can innovate, plan and undertake different projects, such as multidisciplinary events and outward communication ventures. Important part of the role is to emphasize creative thinking in their activities. The role is very flexible and provides an opportunity to undertake projects that fit the standing official specifically.