The Aalto Co-Educator Team

The Aalto Co-Educator (ACE) team supports and collaborates with teachers, programme directors and faculty members. The team’s goal is to integrate solutions for sustainability through a lens of radical creativity, and entrepreneurial mindset into existing courses and programmes. Our enthusiastic experts in the cross-cutting themes, pedagogy, training, and teamwork are here to support you!
Students sitting around a table with laptops and discussing.

The ACE team supports teaching development by integrating meaningful learning goals from sustainability, entrepreneurship and creativity into courses and programmes. We provide hands-on support for curriculum development to programme directors and for course development and pedagogical training to teachers.

The common goal of Aalto's teaching faculty is to enable the building of competencies for our students. In collaboration with our teacher community, the ACE team aims to provide students with tools for shaping a sustainable future. Our aim is that every Aalto graduate can contribute to sustainability solutions through a lens of radical creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset.

The project started in the autumn of 2021 with pilots on course and programme development. In 2022, we expanded our activities across all the schools. Throughout 2023, we've held curriculum development workshops with the School of Science, and School of Arts, and defined programmes in the School of Electrical Engineering and the School of Engineering. 

Our project will continue in 2025 and beyond.

Aalto Co-Educator Team in Action

Integrating Aalto’s Cross-Cutting Themes into Leading Tech Programmes

Discover how solutions for sustainability, entrepreneurial mindset and radical creativity have been integrated into the NanoElectronics programme. 

Nanoelectronics board

Chemical Engineering Meets Sustainability: Aalto's Collaborative Approach

At Aalto, we meaningfully integrate solutions for sustainability into existing courses using teamwork, co-creation, and co-teaching. 

Students pull a bicycle apart

Pedagogical training: Sustainability in Teaching (3 ECTS), spring 2025

Teaching period: 7.3.-23.5.2025, in English, register by 12.2.2024

Problem-solving

Integrating Sustainability into Teaching without Redesigning your Entire Course

The Aalto Co-Educator Team’s workshop, ‘Anxiety be Gone!: Simple practices to integrate sustainability into your course,’ allows teachers to make impactful changes to their courses without ‘rewriting the script.’

Two people standing against a yellow background; one in a dark shirt, the other in a dark jacket with arms crossed.

Aalto Co-Educator News

New Aalto-Wide Sustainability Minor – A Major Achievement!

Aalto’s cross-disciplinary, sustainability-focused minor, ‘Sustainable Use of Natural Resources’ is a culmination of over a year of planning and creative collaboration among faculty.

Minor development team participates in minor planning meeting

Preparing Aalto Graduates to be Responsible and Influential Sustainability Experts

Aalto equips faculty with strategies to integrate sustainability into programmes, courses and individual competence development.

Sustainability talks headshots of key experts

Graduate Sustainability Competencies and Influence in the Workplace – Aalto University's Latest Research

Aalto University's Meeri Karvinen successfully defends her doctoral dissertation, February 2024.

Picture of leaves in water.

Key Skills for Sustainability Experts: Collaboration and Communication

As industries increasingly focus on sustainability, the demand for sustainability expertise is growing. But what specific skills do employers seek in sustainability experts?

6 roundtable speakers standing together

Aalto Co-Educator Resources for Teachers

Sustainability in Teaching

On this page you can find tips, tools and good practices for integrating sustainability into your teaching.

Environmental Engineering new flow channel in Otaniemi, with students and teaching staff

Top Tips for Developing a Cross-Disciplinary Minor

Thinking about developing a minor? Check these key insights gathered from participants during the development of the new Aalto-wide sustainability minor, 'Luonnonvarojen kestävä käyttö/ Sustainable Use of Natural Resources.'

Teachers collaborating on project

Simplifying Online Course Creation for Aalto Teachers

The Aalto Co-Educator team supports teachers in integrating sustainability and entrepreneurship education into their programs and courses. One approach is to ensure that online courses are available to Aalto students.

Person in a black jacket with crossed arms. Text reads 'UPLOAD YOUR COURSE ON Aalto OpenLearning' on a blue background.

Pedagogical training: Sustainability in Teaching (3 ECTS), spring 2025

Teaching period: 7.3.-23.5.2025, in English, register by 12.2.2024

Problem-solving

The Three-Step Method for Sustainability Integration into Courses

Teachers are interested in sustainability integration but are unsure how to integrate it into their courses. The method, developed by Håkan Mitts and Tuomo Eloranta, generates sustainability ideas and concepts that can be included in existing courses.

Two people working on experiment sheets at a table with a laptop and water bottle.

Solutions for Sustainability: What Does it Mean in Teaching?

Learn more about solutions for sustainability and teamwork competencies and their integration into courses and curricula. 

Teachers and students walking outdoors. They're discussion the Sustainability in Teaching course.

What does 'Radical Creativity in Teaching' really mean?

The Aalto Co-Educator team supports teachers to integrate solutions for sustainability into programmes and courses via a lens of radical creativity and entrepreneurial mindset.

Opiskelua. Kuvituskuva uutiseen.

An Entrepreneurial Mindset: What Does it Mean in Teaching?

Integrate an entrepreneurial mindset into your course and curricula with competencies drafted by the Aalto Co-Educator team.

Aalto-yliopiston opiskelijoita opiskelemassa pöydän ääressä. Kuva: Aalto-yliopisto / Unto Rautio

Solutions for Sustainability, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Radical Creativity: How do the cross-cutting themes affect your teaching at Aalto University?

The Aalto Co-Educator (ACE) team happily collaborates with teachers and programme directors to integrate the cross-cutting themes into courses and curricula.

Picture: Unto Rautio

How to integrate sustainability and multidisciplinary problem-solving skills into curricula?

Responding to the challenges of the future, such as the sustainability crisis, requires the graduate to have knowledge of sustainability challenges, multidisciplinary problem solving skills, and the ability to apply their own in-depth knowledge of the discipline to solving these challenges.

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Work with us!

Teachers working together to build new competencies.

Aalto Co-Educator for Teachers

We collaborate with teachers to integrate sustainability, radical creativity and entrepreneurial mindset into courses.

For personnel – highlights and support for your work
Image of working with a laptop

Aalto Co-Educator for Programme Directors

Our aim is to facilitate curriculum development process together with programme directors.

For personnel – highlights and support for your work
Students brainstorming at the Design Factory

Aalto Co-Educator for Students

We've asked students, ‘What have you always wanted to know about sustainability, but haven't dared to ask?’

For personnel – highlights and support for your work

"There's a Podcast About That!"

Hosted by our pedagogical expert, Riikka Evans, these podcast episodes are sure to support personal reflection on the cross-cutting themes. Listen now!

Future-led Learning 14: Meri Kuikka and Tuomo Eloranta on co-teaching (external link)

What is co-teaching? University teacher Meri Kuikka and postdoc researcher Tuomo Eloranta have been teaching together for years at Aalto and can give us invaluable and practical insights into what co-teaching means in practice.

Future-led Learning, Oasis of Radical Wellbeing at Aalto

Future-led Learning 12: Matti Kuittinen on sustainability (external link)

Riikka Evans discusses integrating sustainability into teaching with Professor Matti Kuittinen from the department of Architecture at Aalto University. Matti also develops policies at the Ministry of the Environment. 

The Future-led Learning Podcast is hosted by Riikka Evans. Photograph: Janne Illman.

Future-led Learning 11: Pirjo Kääriäinen (external link)

What is inclusion in the context of higher education? What kind of feedback do we get from our students? And what is the teacher's responsibility? Why is it important to foster inclusive learning culture? It's all about interaction. Pirjo Kääriäinen works as a professor at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture (ARTS) and collaborates closely with the School of Chemical Engineering (CHEM). Since 2011 she has been facilitating interdisciplinary CHEMARTS collaboration together with professor Tapani Vuorinen.

Future-led Learning, Oasis of Radical Wellbeing at Aalto

Future-led Learning 10: Johannes Kaira (external link)

Johannes Kaira works as a teacher at the Aalto Ventures Programme which is the entrepreneurship education program at Aalto University, where students in multidisciplinary teams work on hands-on exercises. We discussed with Johannes about teamwork and what it requires as a method from students and teachers. We talked about trust, communication skills and flexibility and how they contribute to a well-functioning team.

The Future-led Learning Podcast is hosted by Riikka Evans. Photograph: Janne Illman.

Our Team

 Katri-Liisa Pulkkinen

Katri-Liisa Pulkkinen

Team lead, Co-Educators – Solutions for Sustainability
 Tuomo Eloranta

Tuomo Eloranta

Team co-lead, Co-Educators – Multidisciplinarity
 Johannes Kaira

Johannes Kaira

Radical creativity & Entrepreneurial Mindset
 Maria Svanström

Maria Svanström

Pedagogical specialist- Solutions for sustainability
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