The Student Council

The Student Council

The Student Council is the highest decision making body in the Student Union and consists of a maximum of 18 regular members and 18 deputy members who are elected by secret, proportional elections every fall. The Student Council has a presidium which consists of the president, vice president and second vice president. The Student Council has members both from Helsinki and Vaasa campuses and the distribution of members depends on the votes in the election.

For the mandate period 2025—2026, 14 ordinary members and 7 deputy members were elected in Helsinki, 4 regular members from the Vaasa electoral alliance, and 6 independent candidates as deputy members. This means that 18 ordinary members and 3 deputy members were elected to the Student Council.

The Student Council’s most important tasks include deciding on the budget for the Student Union, the Student Union fee, the business plan, and making the other bigger, strategic decisions for the Student Union. Furthermore, the Student Council elects the President of the executive board and approves the rest of the board members. The Student Council oversees the board’s work and also elects the Presidents of all SHS committees. The Student Council also handles any motions that a minimum of 16 student union members have signed. The Students Council meets roughly once a month throughout the academic year.

The Student Council’s meetings are open for all members of the Student Union, which means that everyone is welcome to attend the meetings. The meetings are always held on both campuses (Helsinki and Vaasa). You can always find the time and place(s) for the meetings at least 10 days ahead of the meeting at shs.fi.

As a student union member, the best way to influence the work and decisions of the Student Council is by candidating in the Student Council election.

You can also influence in the following ways:

● Vote at the Student Council elections
● Contact the Student Council member you voted for
● Contact the Presidium of the Student Council
● Collect 16 signatures of Student Union members and send a motion to the President of the Student Council – the Student Council will then address the issue in its next meeting

In case you have any questions, opinions or feedback – don’t hesitate to contact the President or anyone else from the Presidium. We encourage all Student Union members to actively follow up on the Student Council’s decisions (Student life -> Minutes, regulations, templates and annual reports) since they affect you. We encourage open discussions through which we can work for an even better Student Union.

SHS’ catch-phrase is “Finland’s most fun Student Union” and we want everyone to feel like that is true and for everyone at the Student Union to work with this in mind.

We want to emphasise that the Student Council meetings are open for all the student union members. You are more than welcome to come and listen to the discussions. The time and place for the meeting can be found at shs.fi at the latest 10 days before the meeting.

Hopefully we’ll see you and hear from you!

Best Regards,

Erik, Onni-Mithra and Mats
The Student Council Presidium 2025—2026

Student Council members for 2025—2026:

Regular members (electroal alliance):

Deputy members (electoral alliance)

** ((member beginning at 1.1.2026))

Previous Student Council members attendance from 2024—2025