Design is increasingly recognized as an important resource for the growth and development of small-and medium-sized companies. With the Finnish Design Push initiative – in strengthening the ties between students and technology companies – we are seeking new ways for education to take part in this.
Bringing academia-industry collaboration to the core of design education
Design is pivotal for companies to stay competitive and innovative across many industries – aiding companies in developing their offerings, deepening their engagements with customers, and expanding into new markets. With the Finnish Design Push initiative, we strive to enhance the readiness of design students to take on such challenges in entering worklife while simultaneously boosting the design awareness and capabilities of Finnish SMEs.
Taking a curriculum perspective on academia-industry collaboration, we enable SMEs to deepen their expertise about design while exploring real-world challenges and opportunities in partnership with our students in study projects and internships. We also perform benchmark studies to better understand how the benefits of academia-industry collaboration best can be harnessed within an educational context.
We focus on
Through the Finnish Design Push initiative – in prototyping a new model for collaboration together with the Technology Industries of Finland – we are partnering with Finnish SMEs to better understand how real-world projects can support the learning of our students in courses and internships and, in doing so, better be integrated into the mandatory curriculum for our design programs.
The main vehicle for learning for the initiative sits in exploring news ways for companies to collaborate with students in courses. In acting as partner companies for a course, we provide SMEs an opportunity to explore their real-world business challenges with our students while simultaneously learning more about how design and designers potentially could enhance their business.
In the Autumn of 2024, we kicked off the first set of projects in the Digital Service Design Project course where students in smaller groups are taking a customer-centric view on service development and prototype new digital solutions to enhance the offering of the partner companies.
In forging deeper connections between companies and students, we also support the companies in hosting internships for the students after the course during which they can continue forward with what they have explored in their study projects and/or explore new opportunities for design within their organization. In support for the internships, we are also teaming up with leading agencies who can coach the students and the companies on their work.
We are searching for company partners who are interested to deepen their understanding about design and have an interest to learn in partnership with student and faculty while working on a real-world problem for their organization.
The annual call for companies and projects is between January and April each year. The course collaborations take place during the Autumn semester (September – October),
In support for the companies and students in learning more about design and forging relationships with the Finnish design industry, we are looking for partner agencies that would be willing to coach the students during internship periods as well as provide the partner companies with more long-term design support.
The internships are organized at the partner companies during the summer after the course collaborations based on the interest of the partner companies – giving them an opportunity to develop things further or explore new opportunities through design.
The Finnish Design Push initiative builds on the success of the Aalto Summer Design Studios project which ran at the School of Arts, Design & Architecture at between 2019 and 2021 in which design students were given an opportunity to work on the real-world design project for companies during the summer with support from professionals working in Finnish Design agencies.
The learning gained from these projects pushed us to explore new modes for academia-industry collaboration and prototype a new structure to embed real-world challenges within in our design programs, and we are grateful for the generous support and funding from the Centennial Foundation of the Technology Industries of Finland, Von Julin Foundation, and Metex Foundation in pursuing this.
Companies around the world use design to grow their business. The three-year research project looks for ways to speed up the transformation of small businesses to become more design-driven. The first year has already given great results.
Research collaboration strengthens expertise and future business development. New product and service ideas are created in study projects. Our campus offers an inspiring operating and networking environment. At Aalto's recruitment events, companies meet the top talents of the future.
Design is not linked purely to physical objects but digital experiences and abstract concepts as well, enhancing its power to shape the world. Embracing these opportunities, the Bachelor’s Programme in Design prepares students for designing future products, services and systems in a creative and critical manner.
Aalto Design Research is a leading centre of excellence of enquiry in and through design.
One of the most prestigious universities in its fields. We educate our students to create imaginative, collaborative, compassionate and unconventional approaches to the most pressing challenges of today.