Iiris Takanen
When I found out I was accepted to study at Aalto, it was such a big deal for me, that I fell on the floor and could not help but cry.
Otaniemi stories present people in Otaniemi. A photographer takes photos and interviews briefly people he comes across on the campus. Follow the stories with a hashtag #otaniemistories on Aalto University's Instagram (@aaltouniversity) and Facebook. Please use the same hashtag when sharing your own story.
Photos and texts: Aalto University / Aki-Pekka Sinikoski
When I found out I was accepted to study at Aalto, it was such a big deal for me, that I fell on the floor and could not help but cry.
Students from other universities visiting Otaniemi also enjoy being here. Our days have been filled with trips and corporate visits. During the evenings, we have also had free time.
Traditions are respected at Aalto, but the university still does things boldly in its own way, creating something genuinely new and different.
My boyfriend and I applied for Aalto University together, and both of us got accepted. We even got a shared flat in Otaniemi this week.
The Learning Centre’s renovation was launched as a service design project in which we charted the wishes and opinions of our clients. My New Year’s resolution is that the Learning Centre will never be so finished that we’ll stop listening to our clients’ wishes.
I’ve been involved in the Junction hackathon for the last three years. It has become much more than just a job for me. However, my New Year’s resolution is to take a leap into the unknown and vacate my spot for a fresh pair of hands.
My New Year’s resolution is that the Student Union will institute various measures in 2018 to promote the wellbeing of our whole community in cooperation with the university.
My New Year’s resolution is to work less this year. Keeping my resolution will not be easy.
I came to Aalto University to steer the great digital reform. It’s nice to be in charge of a project that will make the lives of all of us here easier.
People can come talk to us, Aalto chaplains, irrespective of their religion or beliefs. We’re not here to proclaim, but to listen and assist.
I’m involved in developing a solution that will help transform some teaching into a form more suitable for the video generation. A large part of basic teaching should, in my opinion, fit into a student’s pocket and be accessible 24/7.
It has been so great to be a part of organising DASH, Europe’s biggest hackathon, which sort of blows up any existing sandboxes and aims to come up with even the craziest ideas that might not emerge in normal situations.
I originally studied materials technology, but it was only after starting my working life that I realised what I really wanted to do for a living. I returned here to study in the Master’s Programme in International Design Business Management (IDBM).
When I arrived in Otaniemi, my world view was neatly divided into clear boxes and frames. Now, I try to take things as they come without forcing them into strict frames or categorising.
I have now taken part in Technology Academy Finland's internship programme at the Design Factory. During my internship I have been included in a working group where we have thought up ways in which to make this place even better.
I just heard I got a job at Pöyry Management Consulting. I will be part of a new team tackling new concepts rather than doing things the old way.
To make composites manufacturing more accessible, Addcomposites has found a way to fully automate the process for small objects. Our technology is already patented, and we are currently testing the solution in real-life cases.
I’m taking part in this course where we are experimenting and exploring with materials and doing an exhibition for Finavia at the Helsinki airport.
I have enjoyed being in Otaniemi so much that I have been here for quite some time. My father has said for years already that the metro comes to Otaniemi before I leave.
The darkness is not easy to combat, but I’ve learned that walking outside for at least 20 minutes every day while it’s still light out does wonders.
We had lost our rental flat at the end of spring, so we decided to spend the summer in China – because it is cheaper to live there. We started to study how machine learning could be utilised in the field of robotics.
We are organising the hackathon where students find ideas and solutions for how to build the new Aalto Studios so it can become the media center of the future.
I almost fell off my chair when I heard I’d made the cut in Startuplifers. In practice, this means that the Startuplifers community will help me find a San Francisco company, which will hire me as an intern.
We recently invited 150 high school students to the Startup Sauna. Addressing the attending high schoolers crystallised to myself, too, just how much I’ve learned here, and what studying is really like.
At Startup Sauna, people speak freely of their desire to succeed commercially. It has, as a design student, been quite the positive culture shock.
We assembled a team and acquired funding to realise Deftify, which originally started from my idea. The point of departure for our project differs from earlier works developed as part of the PDP course.
Our team developed a prototype automated tower crane for Trenox at the PDP course. Our crane enhances construction site safety.
This is my first year at the School of Business. It is great that I’m surrounded by people who are motivated to study and interested in the same things as I am.
For the PDP course, our group made a drone that can move indoors and even take the lift. In the near future, drones could be employed in a security and monitoring capacity, for example.
For me, Aalto has been a great place to study. The University has always offered interesting courses.
Do you read? Then Curiou is made just for you. It’s the digital book buddy our team has created during the PDP course.
Otaniemi is wonderfully located and supports a positive can-do atmosphere. That’s why we decided to move the microbrewery me and my pals founded to new premises over here.
Dad’s team built a battery-powered light lifter for Konecranes that can very quickly and handily be ordered to lift all kinds of heavy objects by pushing a button on your mobile. I’m really proud of what my father and his friends have accomplished.
I myself feel that crying is part of being human. I wound up painting a portrait of my husband titled Men don’t cry for our Thought = Humanity course.
I want to live forever. Recently I’ve been following the stunning progress made in the field of robotic hands, for example.
The Sensual Mathematics course had our team designing and building a mathematical vine garden. Our mathematical garden rises to a height of almost six metres at the Finnish Science Centre Heureka.
An inspiring observation from the CHEMARTS courses has been how engineering and design students together familiarise themselves with biomaterials. I’m proud to have the opportunity to participate in the creation of a substrate, which enables Aalto to sprout inventions that are of significance to the environment.
My starting point was in looking at how to communicate diversity. Working with the visual identity of Aalto Festival was a fun and inspiring way to learn and experiment with new things.
I’ve been a keen snowboarder ever since I was little, and this has taken me to races all over the world. I considered making this season my last, but competing once more started to feel more attractive after a short break.