The "One Euro for Every Student" Aalto University participatory budgeting project received around 30 ideas last fall, and three ideas were selected for the final vote. Students voted for a community piano, and with a budget of €13,000, two high-quality pianos were purchased for the campus. The pianos were purchased recycled, allowing the purchase to stay within budget.
One piano was placed in the Top Lounge of the Undergraduate Centre (5th floor, U523), and the other in the K3 building on Puumiehenkuja. The pianos are freely available to all students, offering them the opportunity to play and enjoy music.
"The community pianos allow students to relax, create music together and enrich the campus community. The pianos have already generated a lot of interest. The winning proposal met the project's key criteria of promoting student wellbeing, accessibility and sustainability, and of course the budget and schedule," says Raili Pönni, Development Director at Aalto University.
The annual participatory budgeting project aims to empower students to contribute to the development of the campus and provide tangible improvements to the student community. In previous years, the campus has implemented garden benches in Aino Square and napping pods in the Learning Centre and the Undergraduate Centre. The participatory budgeting project will be implemented again at the start of the next academic year in autumn 2024.
At the beginning of the fall 2023, students were given the opportunity to brainstorm how the university should use 13,000 euros to improve student well-being on campus. Now it's time to vote for the best idea to be implemented during the spring of 2024.
The 2022 participatory budgeting vote's winner released at the end of November. Resting and daytime naps became the winning theme this year.
The winner of the 2022 participatory budgeting vote was determined at the end of November. Resting and daytime naps became the winning theme this year.
In spring 2021, we asked students how they would like to spend 12 000 euros of the university budget. The community discussion was based on the “One euro for every student” participatory budgeting pilot project launched in May.
