The Student Union

According to the University Act, every college / university must have a student body in which all students at the bachelor's and master's level are members. Hanken's own student union SHS is also known as Finland's most fun student union!

The Student Union of Hanken School of Economics, SHS, was founded in 1909. During the years the union has carried a great variety of names and been engaged in many different fields of activity. SHS received its current status as a veritable students’ union in 1975, in the process of a university reform. The union is today an independent public juridical entity, regulated by the decree on students’ unions.

Membership of the Student Union

SHS is a provider of service for and a supervisor of the interests of its 2300 members. All students at Hanken are members of the union – a membership that entitles different benefits, such as health service at the Finnish Student Health Service FSHS and discount on train, bus and flight tickets. The Student Union organizes a wide range of events during the school term ranging from business evenings, sporting events, to parties.

Possibilities to Influence Through the Student Union

The student union's main and statutory task includes guarding the interests of the Hanken students at the university. In order to do this, the Student Union has student representatives in most of the bodies at Hanken, together the representative form the Education Committee at SHS. The task of the representatives is to ensure that the voice of the students is heard when decisions concerning students are made. Most representatives are appointed by the student union's board, with the exception of the student representatives in the university college, the university's board and the unity council in Vaasa. Read more about the student representatives here.

The Student Union's operations in Vaasa

In connection with the founding of the unit in Vaasa 1980, there was a need to arrange student union activities for the students In Vaasa. This need was met by the founding of a student association: the student association at Hanken School of Economics in Vaasa. The association, commonly called SSHV, consists of just over 500 members and manages the operational tasks of SHS in Vaasa. The task of the student association is to act as a support organisation for those studying at Hanken and to monitor the student's interests. SSHV arranges a range of event and have close knit bonds with other student associations in the region.