KY’s history in a nutshell

1910’s: KY’s first steps

The Helsinki School of Economics Student Association (Kauppakorkeakoulun Oppilasyhdistys) was founded on October 7th, 1911 as a student association for the first Finnish-speaking university-level business school. During its first years, the union had only around 70 members and limited financial resources. KY’s flag, student ribbon and emblem all date back to the start of the student union, and are still used to this day.

1920’s: Partying despite the prohibition

In 1923, the name of the association was changed – Helsinki School of Economics Student Union (KY) was founded. The prohibition of alcohol created its own set of challenges for KY’s active cultural sector, but thanks to clever students, one did not have to merely sip lemonade at parties. In 1927, the student union received its first own space but the dream of an own house had started to develop in the students’ minds.

1930’s: KY Building in the horizon

Financing an own building was a long process. Several fundraisers were organized, with a raffle being the tip of the iceberg. At times the depression drove the entire construction project into a difficult situation, but willpower, hard work and a pinch of luck finally led to success and construction planning began in 1939.

1940’s: KY Building is completed

During World War II, the school’s doors were open infrequently. Even though the war had slowed down the construction project, KY Building was finished in February 1940 and soon after, 42 lucky KY members got to move into the top floors. The war also wasn’t enough to cancel KY’s traditional events like Annual Ball, Mursujaiset and Wappu.

1950’s: To top off, smoke a Boston!

After the war, it was time to focus on rebuilding the society and economy. KY made its first achievement in commercial entrepreneurship by founding the tobacco corporation Amer-Tupakka Oy in 1950, and thanks to cunning marketing, Amer’s Boston cigarettes quickly grew to be a widely popular brand. Also, activity in clubs started to show signs of life and KY’s sports club was in its golden age KY often being unbeatable in academic leagues.

1960’s: The decade of Finnfocus and television

The huge export trade show, Finnfocus, held in London in 1968 is the biggest event in KY history. KY rented M/S Finnpartner from Amer, and the ship sailed to London to promote Finland and Finnish companies internationally. The project was a bold and risky investment, which ended up creating a lot of positive publicity. During the 60’s, KY was also active in the TV business: KY was a shareholder in Tesvisio, the company behind the first commercial TV channel in Finland. Student numbers increased quickly at the beginning of the 1960’s leading to growing housing

1970’s: Turning KY Building into office space

Student union activities became more political in the 70’s. Political battles and, as a result, frequent changes in the KY Board depict the time at KY. A hot topic was the fate of the KY Building – should existing student housing be kept or should the building’s financial potential be better utilized? After a long debate, KY finally decided to change the building’s dormitory into office space.

1980’s: From pinstripes to overalls and politics to partying

The student union’s activity wasn’t as political in the 1980’s as in the previous decades. In the 1980s KY members partied in the student union’s own restaurants; one of the most popular nightclubs of the time, KY-Exit, was located in the KY Building. The use of overalls became more common as student life came closer to what it is today. In the whirlwind of the casino economy, KY began to diversify its stock holdings and professionals were hired to lead KY-owned companies through the Ekomen Group. KY was also active outside the student union, and the media diligently followed KY’s affairs. KY continued searching for its limits and offered financing for creating a new radio channel, Radio City.

1990’s: Emerging from depression

The deep depression in Finland at the beginning of the decade severely affected KY. The Ekomen Group declared bankruptcy in 1992 and KY struggled with grave financial difficulties. To balance its finances, KY sold its stock holdings in Amer. The representative council’s meeting leading to the decision was followed by the national news.

2000’s: KY in the new millennium

Increasing the service level was a major focus point of the first decade in the new millennium. In this spirit, KY created a fund for international exchange to support the students in their traveling expenses. In addition, the apartment offering kept on expanding when new apartment buildings were finished in Arabianranta in 2006 and on Arkadiankatu in 2009.

2010’s: KY as an association

As Aalto University and Aalto University Student Union were founded, KY’s status as a student union was retracted. KY as an association started its operations on the first of January 2010, and during the first years, KY searched for its place in the new union and looked for new directions. During the same year, KY Foundation begun operating to provide financial support and other resources for students and associations. In 2015, after more than 100 years in Töölö and 75 years in the KY Building, KY expanded to Otaniemi and focused the majority of its activities on Otaniemi campus. To embrace the Aalto community in full, KY changed its official name to Aalto University Business Students in 2016.