The Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland
Menu
The Student Union of the University of Eastern Finland
The Representative Council is ISYY’s highest decision-making body. The Representative Council has 39 members; all of them are students and ISYY members. Representative Council members (Edaattorit in Finnish) are elected in November of every odd year (2019, 2021, 2023 and so forth). In other words, the Representative Council term of office lasts for two years. All ISYY members may run for candidacy and are eligible to vote in the Representative Council elections.
The most important tasks of the Representative Council are appointing the ISYY Executive Board and approving the action plan and budget. If needed, the Representative Council may form Committees to aid the Council.
The Representative Council holds meetings about once a month during the semester. The meetings are open to all ISYY members and usually meetings are streamed, which means they can also be followed via live feed.
Upcoming Representative Council meetings can be found from the event calendar in the frontpage.
The agenda of every meeting will be pusblished in Finnish a week beforehand in the Documents-section of ISYY websites. The English translation is typically pusblished a few days later.
The Representative Council Chairperson is also known as the Student Union Chairperson. Their task is to lead the Representative Council, preside over Representative Council meetings and supervise that the Student Union operates according to the law and its own rules.
The Chairperson also holds meetings with decision-making bodies of the University and the local municipalities, and represents ISYY at different events. The Chairperson of the Representative Council, thus, makes sure that ISYY will be included in decision-making processes at both the local and national level.
The Vice Chairpersons help and support the Chairperson in the running of the Representative Council. Additionally, the First Vice Chairperson presides over Representative Council meetings, if the Chairperson is unable to do so.
The Vice Chairpersons have a comprehensive understanding of the Student Union. Along with the Student Union Chairperson, they are to make sure that strategic policies are implemented. The Vice Chairpersons are required to have a good knowledge of Student Union affairs and they are authorised to attend and speak at ISYY Executive Board meetings.
The Representative Council members attend meetings and exercise their right to speak and to vote in these meetings. Representative Council members may also work in Committees. You can see the chosen Representative Council members for the term 2026–2027 on Chosen lists, members and debuty members 2025 (PDF, in Finnish) -document.
The purpose of the committees is to support and enhance the work of the Representative Council. They also report on their activities at Representative Council meetings. In addition, committees may submit proposals on matters within their field of responsibility to either the Representative Council or the Executive Board. The statutory committees of ISYY are the Rules Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Preparatory Committee.
The Rules Committee is responsible for preparing amendments to the Student Union’s rules and regulations. If disagreements arise regarding the interpretation of the rules, the Rules Committee provides a binding interpretation to the Chair of the Representative Council. Furthermore, the Rules Committee issues statements whenever the Student Union or any of its governing bodies considers a request for review or rectification.
The Finance Committee is responsible for, among other things, monitoring the development of the Student Union’s finances, preparing amendments to financial documents such as the Financial Regulations and the Investment Strategy, and providing recommendations, statements, and initiatives related to financial matters to the Student Union’s governing bodies.
The Preparatory Committee is responsible for discussing and preparing matters that the Executive Board has submitted for consideration by the Representative Council. The members of the Preparatory Committee are the chairpersons of council groups, and their deputy members are the vice chairpersons of council groups.
Representative Council contact information
This page was last updated on 23.6.2026.