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A multidisciplinary community
Aalto University is a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki, therefore Aalto University can be considered a multidisciplinary community where science and art meet technology and business.
Aalto University has nearly 20.000 students and 4.500 employees – over 400 of whom are professors. Approximately 13% of the students are international students. The university offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs and describes itself as committed to “identifying and solving grand societal challenges and building an innovative future”.
High on a ranking list
Aalto University ranks 30th in Times Higher Education listing for young universities. The ranking lists the best universities in the world that are 50 years or younger. Aalto is the highest Nordic university in this ranking.
Aalto University is ranked number 112 in QS World University Rankings by TopUniversities in 2022. It is number 68 worldwide in research impact.
The university comprises 6 faculties which offer programs spread across diverse fields. In 2022 Aalto University was ranked 6th in the world in the field of Art and Design by QS, 33rd in the field of information technology by US News, and can be spotted at 22nd position in Shanghai Rankings for Telecommunications Technology. Read more on https://www.aalto.fi/en/aalto-university/rankings
Unique opportunities for Aalto students
The students at Aalto University have access to various dedicated societies and environments. Two of these are the Aalto Entrepreneurship Society and The StartUp Sauna.
The Aalto Entrepreneurship Society, Aaltoes, has been established to help the next generation of entrepreneurs. Aaltoes organize a variety of events and programs targeted university students and early-stage founders: incubators/accelerators, hackathons, inspirational events and meetups. The organization is run entirely by students. Active members consist of a full-time board, selected for a calendar year, and team members, who are volunteers fascinated about entrepreneurship.
The StartUp Sauna accelerator takes in ambitious tech startups with the goal of making them capable of addressing global markets. The accelerator provides hands-on help from experienced entrepreneurs, in-depth industry knowledge such as how to or how not to successfully crowdfund campaigns or simply how to nail down the perfect B2B sales pitch among other things. Startup Sauna is a brand for an international community of entrepreneurs, investors and industry experts who want to give back to the ecosystem. Hence the accelerator is zero-equity.
Good education reputation
Finland’s reputation in education, combined with a wide range of courses offered in English, makes Finland and Aalto University an attractive study destination for international students.
Mingle with the strange Finns in a beautiful country
For some the Finns are a little strange, but mostly in a good way. Some interesting facts about the Finns:
- Finland hosts the world championships in swamp football
- Finland has the most heavy metal bands per capital in the world
- Finnish is one of the 10 most difficult languages in the world to learn
- 99% of Finns go to sauna once a week – there are over 3 million saunas in Finland
- Finland has 188.000 lakes and has the largest water to landmass ratio of all countries
Happiest people in the world
In resent years Finland has taken over first place as the happiest country in the world from Denmark.
In 2021 The World Happiness Report credited the citizens of Finland’s strong feelings of communal support and mutual trust with not only helping secure the #1 ranking, but (more importantly) helping the country as a whole navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the Finns felt strongly that they were free to make their own choices, and showed minimal suspicion of government corruption. Both of these factors are strong contributors to overall happiness.