History, Affiliations and Rankings
Aalto University is a public research university in Espoo, Finland. It was founded in 2010 by the merger of three major universities in Finland: The Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics, and Helsinki University of Art and Design. The close cooperation between science, business, and art are intended to promote multidisciplinary education and research. The preparations engaged a total of 500 individuals from the universities that would eventually become Aalto University. A total of 1600 entries were submitted for the spring 2008 name competition. On May 9, 2008, the name Aalto-yliopisto (also known as Aalto University or Aalto-Universitetet in Swedish) was officially adopted. In June 2008, the Aalto University charter was approved. The University Board chose Professor Tuula Teeri to serve as the inaugural President of Aalto University on December 19, 2008. Aalto University began operations on January 1, 2010, following the merger of the Helsinki School of Economics, Helsinki University of Technology, and University of Art and Design Helsinki.
The university is affiliated with CLUSTER, UArctic, CEASAR, Association of MBAs, among others. According to QS World Rankings 2021, the university is ranked #121 and is placed between 201 - 250 as per THE Rankings 2021.
In 1872, the school's name was changed to the Polytechnic School, and in 1879, it became the Polytechnic Institute. With this change, preparatory courses were discontinued, and the institute focused on providing the most advanced technical training.
Infrastructure, Campuses and Courses
The main campus of Aalto University is situated in Otaniemi, Espoo. Aalto University Executive Education operates in the Töölö district of Helsinki. Additionally, in the Greater Helsinki area, the university offers a bachelor's degree in international business at the Metsähovi Radio Astronomy Observatory in Mikkeli and Kirkkonummi.
The Campus Otaniemi is an innovative urban centre where science, art, technology, and companies are and produce new ideas. The goal is to promote experimentation, originality, and criticality, offering space and collaborative possibilities. Public art in Aalto creates a vibrant and attractive environment to experience the world from different perspectives.
Additionally, the university comprises 6 schools with their own departments and laboratories, as well as a variety of research and other groups such as the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, School of Chemical Engineering, School of Business, School of Electrical Engineering, School of Engineering, and School of Science.
Accomplishments and Alumni
As the first university in Finland, the University of Aalto has a public art strategy and is committed to using 1% of construction costs to finance art. Radical Nature, the first collection of public art, is shown in the main DIPOLE building. In addition, the global art collection of the equality of the building of La Väre is prominently presented in the works of art commissioned and art. All artists are students from the University of Aalto or students and represent different fields of art. In Business School, they work for a better business and a better company. They educate experts and leaders for the future and contribute to society through impressive investigations, long-term partnerships, and social commitment. Aalto University is one of the leading corporate schools in Europe.
In addition, the university was home to various notable people such as Gunnar Nordstrom (Pioneering Physicist), Artturi Illmari Virtanen (Nobel Laureate), and Alvar Aalto (Architect), Tapio Wirkkala (Designer), Jorma Ollila (CEO of Nokia, Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell).
Student Diversity and Visiting Companies
The university comprises nearly 17,500 students and 4,000 employees, making it the second-largest university in Finland. Aalto University Career Services' mission is to assist our students in finding appropriate employment by mediating appropriate vacancies, organizing career and recruitment events, providing internship support in Finland and grants for internships conducted abroad, and improving our students' job-hunting skills. The university's aim is to be fully diverse and inclusive where all students, faculty, staff and stakeholders would feel a sense of belonging and achieve their professional, educational and social aspirations completely.
Graduates or post-graduates of Aalto University are placed in big firms that include Nestle, Nordea, OP Financial Group, EY, Microsoft, Google, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), McKinsey & Company, Swappie, Wolt, Fortum, etc.
