Nils Paajanen
Nils is studying MSc Entrepreneurship at the School of Economics. He was swept away by Aaltoes a bit over a year ago and stayed on that track finding meaning, energy and fun in the community. In 2012, hoping to bring his own flavour to Aaltoes and keep taking startups forward, Nils also enjoys ice hockey, snowboarding and music. Facebook  / Twitter / LinkedIn 

Juho Kokkola
Juho majors in Knowledge Intensive Business in the School of Science and takes an interest in product development. Almost the resident TAIK student, Juho works on magazine design projects. Music, snowboarding and traveling are also irreplaceable parts of this man’s life. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Juhana Nurmio
Juhana majors in Industrial Engineering and Management in the School of Science. He is passionate about empowering young talent and helping them to find what they really want to do in life. Juhana is a true Aalto optimist who loves to work with non-profits. Traveling is close to his heart as well as various sports. And of course – Juhana wants to change the world. Facebook  / Twitter / LinkedIn

Mikko Hagelberg
Mikko is a third-year economics major student in the School of Economics. He likes to cut the bullshit and get down to business. In addition being into cycling and all stuff related to education, technology and economics. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Atte Hujanen
Atte studies entrepreneurship in the School of Economics and has previously acquired knowledge on leadership as well as culture management. He is a lifetime entrepreneur who has never had a “real” job. Atte enjoys impossible challenges and embodies the “screw it, lets do it” attitude. Personal motto: when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Riku Lindholm
Riku is a third-year student in the School of Science and has been involved in Aaltoes activities since early 2011. In the past, Riku was an ambitious poker player. However, he decided to quit after realizing the potential of changing the world via startups. Next year Riku has decided to go “all in” with Aaltoes. Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn

Teemu Tapanila
Teemu is a Computer Science major at the School of Science. He loves programming and solving problems and is currently working on Windows Phone Aalto Community. Facebook /  Twitter / LinkedIn

The new board will be elected on December 15th. If you have friends who would be interested in joining, please invite them to Nolla this Thursday to hear out more.

Here are some of the frequently asked questions for those who didn’t make it:

What is Aaltoes?
Student run organization promoting entrepreneurship and helping students to set up companies within up coming Aalto University in Finland. More? See the slidedeck or contact anyone from the board 2009. P.S AES is now Aaltoes, same thing, different abbreviation.

What does board membership require? What does it include? How many board members are selected?
Aaltoes is a registered association, so that brings some requirements for the work, but otherwise the board is free to choose the way they organise themselves. The rules state that the board should have 4-10 members and that all boardmembers need to student of Aalto University.

The board 2009 had some basic roles laid out (IT, accounting, school-relations etc.) and met almost every week. In 2009 99% of the effort was put on executing, and 1% on administrative stuff, but the board 2010 might face different challenges.

We are looking for an enthusiastic team that understands that Aaltoes is essentially a startup. We need people with different skillsets and a drive to redefine the role of entrepreneurship in universities. The plus side? A rollercoaster year full of new connections, mentoring,  trips and possibilities that would be out of the reach otherwise. Ask for more info from the board or team 2009, we’d be happy to share.

What is the difference between a team member and board member?
Only slight differencies – the board meetings are open to everyone and traditionally the team members have been very independent in organising events and taking initiative. Board members of course have a little more responsibilities in coordinating things and they f.ex represent Aaltoes to the media.

What happens to the 2009 board and team?
We’ll all be around, no drastic changes. This means personal mentoring for the new board, but also participating in the everyday activities just as this year.

Who can vote for the board 2010?
Registered members. If you haven’t yet, go register at http://aaltoes.com/aes/members/

What other ways are there to participate?
Form a company. See our existing startups in http://aaltoes.com/aalto-startups/ and join the crowd.

How do you help startups?
Change the culture and introduce the resources: in practice organising events, providing a community of likeminded people and, in the future, guiding the ideas to Aalto Ventures Park to become real businesses.

What plans have you for the year 2010?
Tons! Our notebooks are filled with ideas, but we want the new board to also have room to make their own decisions. Some gossip: gaming-industry event, social entrepreneurship event, entrepreneur in residence for Aalto VP, 24h camps, student guide for startups… And what do we wish for year 2010? Growth (and exits) for our startups. Forming new startups and helping them grow is our only reason of  existing. Next year we’d love to see the Aaltoes accelerated startups hit it big time.

More questions? Shoot!