Chairperson applications
Here's all the applicants that sent their answers before the deadline. Remember that anyone can still run for Chair in the meeting, but at least these people have thought about it beforehand!
Heta Lääkkö
Vision for Boost
Studying is the best time to start building a startup. You have nothing to lose and everything to learn. Boost exists to make that opportunity visible for students and to give them the tools to actually make their ideas into something real. My vision is that every student in Turku knows that if they have an idea or want to join a startup, Boost is the place to go. I want to continue the approachable and inspiring atmosphere that Boost already has. I’m not only here to lead but to show by example that starting your own projects doesn’t have to stay just as an idea. You can make it happen, and you’ll learn more than any course could teach you.
What changes would you make?
I have already started to make the changes I want for Boost during my year in the board. As a chair I want to take them to the next level. In my board year I wanted to get more volunteers for Boost so we can operate on a larger scale. Being a volunteer is the best way for new people to get in to the community and get the most out of Boost. This year we created corporate relations and marketing teams, build the BoostHer team and group of marketing students will begin their internship for Boost in November. I want to develop the marketing internship program into a continuous concept that gives students real experience and supports Boost’s growth. One of my biggest initiatives this year was creating BoostHer, a concept I founded to bring more women and minorities to join our community. I’m proud to see a strong team continuing that work next year. That allows me to fully focus on the chair role and on developing Boost as a whole. Boost can be thought as a startup: we can test, validate, and develop our activities based on feedback from our community. When new ideas arise from the community, I take them seriously and want to turn them into experiments we can learn from.
Why you?
I already know the people, culture, and ways of working within Boost after a year on the board, and I’m a familiar face in the community. This gives me a strong foundation to take the next step as chair and lead Boost effectively. Boost needs a leader who naturally carries its spirit and promotes its mission in everyday life. Someone who shares their enthusiasm with new people because they’re genuinely excited about what Boost stands for. I’ve shown that I can turn ideas into action: I founded BoostHer to make entrepreneurship more inclusive and have led both the BoostHer and marketing intern concepts. I enjoy creating structure, supporting others, and turning community ideas into real projects. As a leader, I’m approachable, positive, and lead by example. I believe you don’t need to have everything figured out to start. You just need to begin. That’s the mindset I want to keep promoting within Boost.
Qasim Muhammad
Vision for Boost
My vision for Boost is a hub, a place where students come together to share and gain experience, knowledge, and motivation. Boost is not only an organization that helps students to learn, but shapes the economy of Finland on a micro level, and in some cases also macro, with very successful unicorns. I see for the future of Boost a well spread net of people, coming together and work on their dreams, no matter what type of project they might have, knowing that at Boost they will always find help and guidance, to see us not only as an organization but to feel connected to it as a "family", just as I have been pitching thousands of times to students "Boost is not only a group of people helping you, is a place where you can let your ambitions come out and be sure that we will support them".
What changes would you make?
As an engineer I wanted more of them in Boost, and I have been successful in that as Boost in 2025 has hit 31%+, and in 2026 I would like to expand the team of volunteers also in different fields than marketing, I would like to have Boost be more global in it's relationships with a international relationship team, Tech team for tech/Deep tech events. I want to also have a change in the budget using, reduce the amount of food and drinks, but no worries, I will pay back to our people by using the money saved to sponsor flight tickets or other projects, to people who are really interested and apply for each opportunity. I would introduce also rules for the board and boost team, to make the everyone more engaged and united, by introducing weekly boost meeting with board and team.
Why you?
I have been active in Boost for more than 3 years now, in events, with my own startup, and with 1 year as board member. I understand the culture, the market, and how boost and other organizations related to it work. I have been successful in many ways during my year in the board, organizing Fall Kick-Off Party, the most successful event registered in boost so far, the very successful cotton candy machine, which helped us to bring in Boost so many new people, bringing in more engineer, 31+%, etc... I am applying as chair not only for my personal interest, but also because I have been asked to do so, and if people can see me as a chairman, I think that's why this role would fit me well because I can as well.
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