KY - Aalto University Business Students
In this page you will find useful information regarding KY including a short history and a summary of KY's key services and where to find them! A list of useful links to the services you need are located at the bottom of the page. You may also directly visit KY's webpage!
The Helsinki School of Economics Student Association also known as KY (Kauppakorkeakoulun Oppilasyhdistys) was founded on October 7th, 1911 as a student union for the first Finnish-speaking university-level business school. Today, KY is a part of Aalto University and joined AYY - Aalto University Student Union and operates as an association advocating for business students of Aalto.
Since its inception, KY grew quickly and became a highly influential in Finnish student wellbeing, advocacy, and culture, many of the values and traditions championed then are still a staple of KY today!
As time went on and KY's resources grew, the student union expanded into offering student housing. By 1940, once the worst effects of the great depression had subsided, KY finished construction on the famous KY building which provided housing for many of KY's members, the most famous club of the 80s, KY-EXIT, and later a home for the KY office, which can now be found in Espilä Otaniemi. Come and visit if you need to know anything related to business students!
After the war, it was time to focus on rebuilding the society and economy. KY made its first achievement in commercial entrepreneurship by founding the tobacco corporation Amer-Tupakka Oy in 1950, and thanks to cunning marketing, Amer’s Boston cigarettes quickly grew to be a widely popular brand. Also, activity in clubs started to show signs of life and KY’s sports club was in its golden age, KY often being unbeatable in academic leagues.
After having a taste of business success, KY embarked on other business ventures and arranged the huge export trade show, Finnfocus, which was held in London in 1968 was the biggest event in KY history. KY rented M/S Finnpartner from Amer, and the ship sailed to London to promote Finland and Finnish companies internationally. The project was a bold and risky investment, which ended up creating a lot of positive publicity.
By the early 2000s increasing the service level was a major focus point of the first decade in the new millennium. KY had built numerous other student apartments in the Helsinki area and the apartment offering kept on expanding when new apartment buildings were finished in Arabianranta in 2006 and on Arkadiankatu in 2009. These apartments in Helsinki can still be rented from the AYY student union.
In 2010 Aalto University was formed by merging Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki.
As Aalto University and Aalto University Student Union (AYY) were founded, KY’s status as a student union was retracted. KY as an association started its operations on the first of January 2010, and during the first years, KY searched for its place in the new union and looked for new directions. During the same year, the KY Foundation began operating to provide financial support and other resources for students and associations. In 2015, after more than 100 years in Töölö and 75 years in the KY Building, KY expanded to Otaniemi and focused the majority of its activities on the Otaniemi campus. To embrace the Aalto community in full, KY changed its official name to Aalto University Business Students in 2016.
KY Services
KY's services can be summarized into three categories: student advocacy, work & career, and community.
With active student advocacy KY is making sure that Aalto University School of Business remains as Finland's top business school now, and into the future. KY's close cooperation with the Business school's faculty ensures that students' voices are heard in decision-making bodies of the School of Business.
KY's corporate relations sector enables every business student to be in touch with future employers. With career related events, excursions and cooperation with business life, KY members have excellent prospects for job opportunities.
As KY's largest sector, the community sector is one of the most visible for all members. KY aims to provide the best student experience for everyone with a wide range of events. KY's event portfolio includes traditional student events, sport events, and interdisciplinary events with the whole Aalto community. If none of these sound like a match for you, KY also supports members in starting new clubs and creating unique events with funding and advice.
Congratulations, you made it! In front of you are some of the most significant times of your life. You will live through amazing experiences, gain a lot of valuable knowledge and most importantly, tie lifelong friendships. During your study years KY will stay beside you – both in the highs and in the lows.
As a KY member, you will have an access to all opportunities that our KY community has to offer. We are a community for business students, by business students. If you are pursuing a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree at Aalto University School of Business, you are eligible to join us. The membership is free and will continue throughout your business studies at Aalto University.
If you have any questions or want more information follow the link below to KY's page for new Aalto business students
Welcome to KY and Aalto!
On this brand new page, we have gathered important information and useful tips regarding both studies at Aalto BIZ and other relevant matters by keeping the needs of our international students in mind. Moving and studying abroad is often an exciting and unforgettable experience and we at KY would like to ensure a smooth start of studies for every international student from day one!
For more information visit the KY page for International Students and make your exchange the greatest experience of your life.
Studying in a university offers great freedom, but in addition brings responsibilities. At KY's study page, you can find information about the basics of studying in Aalto BIZ and the requirements of Bachelor’s degree studies. Take a look at the studies page if you want to get briefly acquainted.
More study-related information is available at Aalto University’s Into webpage.
KY aims to provide the best student experience possible for our members. Our goal is that everyone feels welcomed in our community and that our students can thrive without having to worry about concerns regarding student life. However, sometimes student life can also include struggles, whether it is with managing your time and energy in the middle of all the responsibilities, finding your group of friends or something else.
Read all about our expanding wellbeing programs that anybody can take part in from KY's page for wellbeing!
KY has a huge number of opportunities to join associations and participate in making this community what it is!
New friends, skills and experiences. Hard work and rewarding results. Wappu festivities in overalls, the Annual Ball in an evening gown or a tailcoat. Taking part in KY activities grants you opportunities like these and much more!
Looking back at your student years, you’ll surely prefer remembering not only auditoriums and lectures at Aalto BIZ, but also the hands-on experience and lifelong friendships gained while studying.
Diverse activities are at the heart of KY. Without various sorts of activities arranged by KY’s volunteers, there would be no KY at all – and without newcomers like you, KY would have no future. Next, you’ll be introduced to our associations and possibilities in volunteering that we have to offer, so come along!
Now there is a lot to remember, so be sure to visit the Committees and Associations page to learn more!
Probba is the student association for Aalto Business students studying a Bachelor's in International Business. There are approximately 80 students per year with first and second year students being on campus, and typically third year students are on exchange.
It is a unique study program which attracts a huge proportion of international students, in recent years approximately 50-60% of the students have international backgrounds. The program has been running since 1989 and joined Aalto University in 2010. Aalto Mikkeli operates on a different schedule to most universities with professors flown in from all around the world to teach intensive 3 week courses.
Probba members are distinguished by their tightknit community and can be often heard from a distance chanting traditional songs before they are seen.
Do you want to affect the way studies are organised at Aalto? Now is your chance to make a difference! Despite KY no longer being a student union, KY still advocates for your studies on the same level as AYY.
On the Academic Affairs page, you will find information on KY and AYY’s student positions, in which you can get involved in student advocacy and have your say in the development of our studies. Have any feedback about courses or ideas on how to improve our studies? From the Academic Affairs page, you can also find the contact information of all student advocacy parties - do not hesitate to contact them!
KY is an amazing community full of people with a great variety of different backgrounds. Our biggest asset lays in these people, as KY’s operations are based on our members working seamlessly together. To succeed in the work we do, whether it was in the voluntary network or at an event in our premises, our members must understand the type of behaviour that is expected from them.
The Code of Conduct helps us to display the set of standards that the KY community has agreed to adhere to to live up to our values. Its purpose is to summarise the principles and policies we want to follow and to set out guidelines for the kind of behaviour that we expect of each other.
Important to note, all members of KY deserve to feel safe at all times and any incidents which are witnessed or experienced can be anonymously reported through safe channels and resolved. Visit the Code of Conduct page for more information!
KY offers its associations event premises in Otaniemi free of charge. Keys for all the premises can be picked up from our service advisors during KY’s service hours and must be returned to a key deposit box in Espilä (The KY Office) as soon as possible after the event.
KY’s associations and volunteer groups can reserve premises using the electronic resource calendar. Reservations can be made for the purpose of running your association, and are not meant for personal use.
KY’s facilities are not actively advertised or rented out to other parties, but AYY’s associations and private KY members can send inquiries about renting our event spaces to [email protected].
KY has a active and vibrant volunteer community! There are many services available for volunteers in associations and they can all be found from the KY volunteers page.
KY office contact information can be found from the contact page. If you have any questions related to studies, work, wellbeing, or anything else related to your time in Aalto Business and KY, do not hesitate to be in touch.
You may also visit the KY office in Espilä in person during the opening hours on:
Tuesdays from 1500 - 1700
Thursdays from 1200 - 1400
If you need to contact the KY Foundation, a foundation which provides money for KY students, then make sure to visit the KY Foundation contact page
KY is the simplest and most efficient channel in delivering messages to the students of Aalto University School of Business. We have a personal touch with our 4500 members from day one via our various communication channels, more than a hundred yearly events and print media such as Kylteri magazine. KY also tightly cooperates with KY Alumni to ensure that a tight bond to KY community is preserved – even after graduation.
Would you like to deliver a message to Finland’s leading business students? Would you like to promote your open positions or create an interesting employer image? Or are you looking for a new customer base?
Don't hesitate to be in touch!
Contact information can be found on KY's For Companies page.
School of Business
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