KAPLAAKI’S BOARD 2026

Chair

VILI LIUKSIALA

  • pj@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 40 7560113

Responsible of academic affairs

ERIKA ILOLA

  • opinto@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 40 3256510

Treasurer,

Vice-chair

AKSELI MATIKAINEN

  • talous@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 45 8850888

Head of corporate relations

WILMER PACKALÉN

  • yritys@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 44 9852050

Responsible of ESTIEM

ELLE OJA

  • estiem@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 50 3376929

Secretary

NIILO VÄÄNÄNEN

  • sihteeri@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 44 5228566

Project manager

ERIKA AHTIAINEN

  • projekti@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 45 8853703

Responsible of excursions

DANIEL VESTERINEN

  • excu@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 44 2010059

Publicist

EMMA AARNINSALO

  • tiedottaja@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 45 8827306

OFFICERS

Host

TILMA OLLILAINEN

  • isanta@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 44 0242300

Hostess

HENRY SALONEN

  • emanta@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 45 8909638

Freshman captain

LASSI SIHVO

  • fuksivastaava@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 45 8777064

International affairs officer

SIIRI VOUTILAINEN

  • kv@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 40 1475344

Sports officer

OONA HAATAJA

  • liikunta@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 40 0580703

Master students’ and alumni officer

PAAVO PYYKKÖ

  • maisteri@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 50 3660734

Guild room officer

MIKO LEINO

  • kiltahuone@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 44 9888727

TEK and Corporate relations officer

OTTO BJÖRKMAN

  • yritystoimari@kaplaaki.fi
  • +358 45 6043063

ROLE DESCRIPTIONS

BOARD- AND OFFICER ROLES

The Chair considers the use of various guild resources, acts as the coordinator and support person for the board, and represents the guild in various meetings and events. The Chair also maintains relationships with stakeholders, convene, and lead board meetings. The Chair must primarily be well-informed about guild activities and needs strong scheduling and time-management skills.

The Treasurer is responsible for ensuring the guild’s financial viability. All guild cash flow passes through their hands. The Treasurer works alongside the Chair in the administrative or support team, offering sharp opinions on various matters—especially those involving the use of funds.

The Responsible of Academic Affairs oversees the interests of guild members and seeks to assist with matters related to studies and advocacy. 

The Academic Affairs Representative is responsible for representing the guild in various committees and working groups, including in faculty-related committees. Additionally, they maintain close contact with LTKY and the academic program, relaying members’ feedback and verbal course evaluations after each period.

The Head of Corporate Relations’ primary responsibility is to maintain relationships with current partners and potentially establish new partnerships. They nurture one of Kaplaaki’s key stakeholder groups and aim to maximize value creation for both the partners and Kaplaaki. The Head of Corporate Relations is also responsible for organizing events such as the Firmafoorumi, case competitions, and other company events, as well as securing overall sponsorships for the student overalls.

The Project Manager is responsible for planning and organizing guild events. They also serve as the main organizer of the annual ball, supported by the annual ball committee. The Project Manager’s responsibilities include event ideation, development, and planning, budgeting for events, ordering food, making other purchases, managing venue reservations, creating event descriptions, handling registrations, and collecting event fees.

The Secretary’s duties include acting as the secretary in Kaplaaki’s board meetings and preparing the minutes. Additionally, the Secretary is primarily responsible for photographing Kaplaaki’s events.

The Publicist’s role is to keep Kaplaaki’s members updated with relevant information. They inform members about upcoming events and share news from other board members as well as announcements and advertisements from stakeholders.

The Publicist manages Kaplaaki’s various channels, including the website, social media, and internal communication platforms. An important part of their role is also to maintain and develop Kaplaaki’s brand image by ensuring a cohesive, high-quality appearance on the website in line with the brand book, as well as enhancing Kaplaaki’s visibility on social media.

Excursions, which include company visits and fun bus trips, are among the most traditional and popular student events. Kaplaaki’s Responsible of Excursions organizes various excursions across Finland, with the most traditional being the Freshmen Excursion in the fall, the RANKKA Excursion in early spring, and the KSK (=kotiseutukursio) Excursion during Wappu.

In addition, the excursion organizer is generally responsible for arranging transportation for other group trips throughout the year, such as the Tutanic buses. The Responsible of Excursions coordinates with transport companies, student organizations in other cities, and company representatives regarding trip details.

The Responsible of ESTIEM serves as the guild’s international liaison. They act as the Local Responsible (LR), overseeing ESTIEM activities at the Local Group Lappeenranta level. They participate in ESTIEM events and organize them in collaboration with the international committee in Lappeenranta. 

The Responsible of ESTIEM represents the guild twice a year at the Council Meetings of ESTIEM, the central organization for European industrial engineering and management students. They are also responsible, together with the international officer, for the guild’s international students and the development of internal international activities.

The Host & Hostess are responsible for the well-being and comfort of guild members outside of their studies, as their titles suggest. The Host and Hostess work together with the project manager to organize events, such as sauna evenings with other guilds’ Host & Hostess sectors, and also take care of catering and beverage services at several Kaplaaki events.

The guildroom officer is responsible for the tidiness and amenities of the guildroom. They also organise events in the guildroom eg. guildroom movie nights, breakfasts. Being an active participant in other guild activities is also important.

The International Affairs Officer’s role is to serve as the point of contact for international students in the Industrial Engineering and Management program and to advocate for their interests. The International Affairs Officer also serves as the Fresher Captain for Kaplaaki’s international students. Internal university matters related to internationality that come to the guild are the responsibility of both the ESTIEM Responsible and the International Affairs Officer.

In addition, the International Affairs Officer assists the ESTIEM Responsible with matters related to the guild’s ESTIEM activities. They organize the annual TIMES (Tournament in Managerial and Engineering Skills) competition and strives to organize an annual Lean Six Sigma course.

The sports officer is responsible for organizing sports and wellbeing events. They also represent Kaplaaki in the sports committee and inform members of other sporting opportunities on campus.

Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK) has a student liaison in each engineering guild. 

The role of the TEK and Corporate Relations Officer is to assist Kaplaaki’s Head of 

Corporate Relations in managing corporate relations, to serve as a liaison between TEK and the students, and to represent the guild at TEK’s annual events.

The officer’s duties include planning and organizing events in collaboration with the corporate relations coordinator, as well as managing corporate partnerships for individual events and ensuring that partners’ visibility and needs are taken into account at these events. They also share information with guild members about all of TEK’s services and other TEK-related matters, and work with tutors and the board to recruit as many freshmen as possible to join TEK.

The Master’s and Alumni Officer is responsible for orienting Master’s students entering the Industrial Engineering and Management program to student culture and student life. The Master’s Officer’s duties include communicating information to Master’s students and advocating for their interests. They are responsible for informing Master’s students about Kaplaaki, the advocacy services it offers, and other benefits. 

The officer must also maintain contact with Kaplaakin Alumni Association: share updates on their activities, attend Kaplaakin Alumni Association board meetings, and foster collaboration between Kaplaaki and Kaplaakin Alumni Association. For example, by organizing visits from alumni and, with the alumni’s help, establishing corporate partnerships for Kaplaaki.

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