Ilmari Niiranen

Moromoro!

I’m Ilmari, a third year prosessiteekkari, majoring in chemical and process engineering. I have been the Host of our association for this year, and now it seems that I can’t get enough of voluntary work, so I’m applying for a new board position for 2023. I’m applying for Head of Internal and External Affairs, a role that I think is very well suited to me, and that I will carry out through to the end with precision and thoroughness, if I am chosen to this position. In this role, I’d be able to use my experience that I have gained so far with working in our association. I believe that I am a very good pick for this post, as I have a high work ethic, a strong will to complete what I do, and the ability to be responsible of even bigger affairs.

My main interest as a Head of Internal and External Affairs would be the scope of the care committee, and the comprehensive roster of officials that will enable our association to move forward effectively. As a Head of Internal and External Affairs, I would create a determined and self-motivated committee around me, whose members have a genuine opportunity to impact the actions of our association, and which I would continuously support to the best of my ability.

From my current year on the board, there are some things that I would like to improve or take forward in the coming year. Examples of these include pHuone, which could be made even more inviting to a wider section of our members, and the CHEM Code of Conduct, which is in the works and would be great to have ready. However, these things cannot be done without active officials. I would like to give the officials of my possible future committee a lot of responsibility, and let them do important work for our association independently. At the same time, however, I will make sure that no one’s workload becomes excessive and that volunteer work remains meaningful.

In addition to the internal affairs of our association, I would also be responsible for external affairs. I want to maintain strong connections with other guilds and associations in Otaniemi, and I think that cooperation with others is really important. I would also be interested in working with our sister guilds, and I think there should be more activity with them as well. Hence, I would be willing to develop that area as well, together with my committee.

If you have any questions or other matters that come to mind, contact me on Telegram @chemisantaman

1. Is there any specific unit of Care committee that you would like to develop? Why and how / why not?

As I have followed the work of the Care Committee this year, I have noticed that many of the official positions have developed, and the work has moved forward in a good way. However, there are a few areas that I would like to see improved.

Regarding the activities of the Sports Responsibles, I would like to see even more people taking part in sports shifts, and for example sport trials could be organized. In the case of Process Operators, I am excited about the new post of Shift Supervisor. I believe that this post will be very useful in terms of sharing responsibility and perhaps even in developing pHuone. As a general direction for the Care Committee, I would like to see the committee remain more active throughout the year than in the past.

As I mentioned in my application, there could also be more activities with our sister guilds, and I think PT days would be a good project for this for the coming year.

2. PT days have been planned for a long time, but are yet to be organized due to the Covid pandemic and some other reasons. Would you be interested in organizing this kind of new event? Do you feel like you would need an official or officials to help you with the event? What would the task of these officials include?

I indeed do have interest in PT days. If I am elected as Head of Internal and External Affairs, I will set out to find out what is going on with this event, and if ultimately PT is responsible for organising it, I will recruit officials to help me. I think 1-2 PT Day Responsibles would be a good number of officials for this. The role of the PT Day Responsible would include the practical planning of the event itself and liaising with the other guilds/associations involved in the event. I would also be happy to be involved in the practical arrangements, and this official would be “placed” between me and the larger workforce, sharing the workload. This workforce could be drawn from the Event Committee or other willing people, for example.

3. Care Committee has a wide range of officials. How would you ensure the communication and activity in each part of the care committee throughout the year?

In terms of communication, I will create a group chat for the officials of each position, where information sharing and communication is convenient, and where I will encourage officials to discuss actively. If necessary, additional group chats can be formed, and groups for different posts can also be combined to improve the flow of information, but in such a way that the number of groups does not become absurd.

To ensure active participation, I would meet with representatives of each official position at the beginning of the year, and together with them set broad objectives for the year in terms of activities. These objectives should not be too specific and can be deviated from, if necessary, but I believe that setting them at the beginning of the year will provide a good basis for action and help to keep the officials active. If any part of the Care Committee is in danger of becoming inactive, I’d do my best to motivate the officials, while remembering that one may not always be able to volunteer work with full rate.