Donation is a consumption choice
A donation to the university is a consumption choice, just like buying a new shirt.
Make waves.
Make a difference.
Invest in a future
to be proud of.
Campaign status today
Updated 1.10.2024 17:03
Updated 1.10.2024 17:14
Time for all of us to step up for our shared future
The world is in the midst of a sustainability crisis and a technological revolution. We are faced with ever-fiercer competition, rapid advances in digitalisation and pressure for funding cuts.
We need actions from institutions, businesses and individuals alike. We cannot afford to wait for that 'someone else' to make their move first.
We have high expectations. And how could we not? Aalto students and researchers are striving both in Finland and globally, so we need to keep up to enable the progress. The aim is to bring abroad 1500 donors and to reach 30 million euros by the end of 2026.
Join the ride in celebrating science and its makers – join the campaign!
Make waves
Aaltonians are inherently active thinkers, doers and makers. We don’t just go about our lives passively with the flow. Instead, we dare to question, step outside our comfort zones, stop and pivot if needed. We make waves with our actions.
Not all waves are massive and disruptive changing the landscape: some are barely visible ripples, yet important in the big picture. The world needs both innovations and incremental progress.
You might have not thought of it before, but since you found yourself here, there is a high likelihood you too are a wavemaker. You belong to the Aalto community.
Some of us can contribute by a way of world-class academic research, some by enabling and administrating that work; some of us can afford to donate a little, some a lot. We all have a role in taking care of our shared future.
Make a difference
At Aalto, the magic happens when our students and researchers look for the right questions before jumping into, inevitably insufficient, answers. Meaningful difference is made where two, or more, seemingly separate worlds or academic fields come together. That is what Aalto is in its heart: enabling the multidisciplinary way of working and thinking, fostering creative outcomes in science, art and business.
The university enables the makers and doers to prosper, to experiment and play, to collaborate and create. It is all about identifying, initiating, and celebrating these cruxes. It is in this environment where impact is being made; where contributed euros are best spent.
We all can make a difference in our everyday lives. Pay forward a compliment, a smile, a favor. Give your time, volunteer, mentor, donate.
Invest in a future to be proud of
While making a donation is always a form of charity, why not think of your donation as an investment? Many invest in shares and funds, but have you ever thought that you could invest in the future: in education, research and the promotion of science and art? What if you were to invest in future experts, in those who make the hard decisions in 10, 50, 100 years from now, and in innovations that enable things we cannot even imagine yet?
When you donate to the university, the profitability of your investment will not be measured in monetary terms. Instead, your investment to higher education and research will yield results on the long term and come to fruition, for instance, as Finland’s competitiveness, technological development, solutions to skills shortage, optimally running society, and enhanced well-being of the youth.
We all have roles in the progress, on our way to the future we can be proud of.
Long-term research is the key to success
Since Aalto's operations started 15 years ago in 2010, together with our students, alumni, researchers, partners, donors and other stakeholders, we have already made remarkable progress from accelerating the quantum revolution to building a prominent startup-ecosystem, and so much more.
We're striving for innovations, but transformative ideas and products don't emerge from thin air and they don't come to fruition daily, not even yearly. Breakthroughs are built on several years, if not decades, of basic research. It is a game of long-term commitment.
To safeguard our collective well-being and to build more sustainable future, we invite our community, our alumni and other stakeholders, You, to show your support in numbers: let's show our students and researchers the community stands with them.
When you donate, let's say 50 €, today it will grow to 90 € in 20 years, and in hundred years the value of that 50 € is already approximately 1.000 €*.
Every euro counts.
*Estimate based on an expected long-term real return (exceeding the inflation rate).
Creative & entrepreneurial approach
We need bold thinkers and brave doers, and that is why at Aalto, we educate and foster change-makers. At the same time, our wider community, our alumni and other stakeholders, are invited to support the pursuit in order to safeguard our collective well-being.
While for some, just the idea of leaving one's comfort zone feels oppressive, some, in fact, thrive in ambiguity. To proceed without knowing the end results and to withstand uncertainty are skills we need our decision-makers to have.
Reading textbooks teaches standard models of things, but when more is needed, enter creativity and collaboration. Creative thinking and operation models push us to progress even in an occasionally inevitable stalemate: because there is no single specific goal, there are always multiple directions to move in. Often times when first research questions are asked, not even the askers can imagine the outcomes down the line.
For example, the entirety of today's quantum technology ecosystem at Otaniemi, originated in 1970 when Professor Olli Lounasmaa led the construction of the cryostat, that – for the fist time in world history – was able to refrigerate samples to sub-millikelvin temperatures.
Another great example of long-term results yielding is the collaboration of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI from 2020s transforms the 80s imaging technology to be useful, yet again.
Strong magnetic field, translates to detailed imaging but also requires a big machine that is usually found only in big hospitals. An accessible MRI, one that fits to an ambulance, uses weaker magnetic fields. Until now weaker signal meant inoperative imaging, but with the help of AI and its "amplifier" effect via improved algorithms, the researchers are now able to push the bounds of readable image.
With your support, together we will continue this journey!
Making difference
Take a look at how your donation could be put in good use.
Donations make a difference
Donations have a significant impact on Ukrainian students receiving scholarships at Aalto University.
Architect Annikki Paasikivi legacy gift has a significant impact on numerous student generations
Architect Annikki Paasikivi Scholarship Fund operates actively at Aalto University. Every year, dozens of scholarships are awarded to students of architecture from the fund established in the 1950s.
Accessible MRI could revolutionise the diagnosis of brain disorders
A research team at Aalto is developing an accessible magnetic resonance imaging machine
The butterfly effect – bending and turning artificial muscles with light
In the future, the innovation could be used in for example the development of smart textiles, soft robotics and medicine.
What if the world’s cattle munched on Finnish wood?
A new manufacturing method will open entirely new markets for microcrystalline cellulose. It could be used, for example, to enrich animal fodder.
Biodegradable bubble wrap replacement Bubbles with Benefits wins innovation competition
The innovation of Aalto University’s design students was awarded by the Finnish Forest Industries and the Finnish Forest Products Engineers' Association.
Natural luxury – Wooden crystals make fashion shine
Biomaterials and 3D-printing conjure a sparkle out of wood without harming people or the environment
- Published:
- Updated: