New book tells the story of the birth of Aalto University
Aalto University saw the light almost 15 years ago. At that time, the University of Art and Design Helsinki, the Helsinki University of Technology and the Helsinki School of Economics merged to form a multidisciplinary autonomous university. The merger of the three universities into a new entity was an exceptionally rapid and unanimous social process in Finland.
The new university's guiding principle is to seek synergies and a new competitive advantage at the interface of technology, economics and the arts. There are many universities in the world that bring economics and engineering together under one roof, but it is rare that the arts are included.
The recent book Aalto. The Birth of the University describes how the new Finnish university came to life. The book features interviews with nearly 100 key figures, including former prime ministers and other ministers, business leaders, professors, alums, students and even fierce opponents of the project, who shed light on the unique social process from their own perspectives.
The aim of the book has been to make visible the extraordinary administrative-political-social process that led to the creation of Aalto University and that contributed to the great university reform of 2010 in Finland.
‘It was difficult to imagine in autumn 2005 what this would become, but the project materialised amazingly fast and the progress has brought us this far. We can be proud and happy that Finland has a university like this. It is an extraordinary idea, even on a global scale, to build a university on diversity and creative cooperation in this way’, says Yrjö Sotamaa, former Rector of the University of Art and Design Helsinki, who initiated the process of creating Aalto.
The book gives an answer to the question of why Aalto University was born at the beginning of the 21st century: "Because so many people wanted the same thing, a common will was born and the social climate was favourable to reform. The birth story of Aalto University shows that a vision big enough is worth fighting for."
The editorial team of the book, initiated by Yrjö Sotamaa, includes people who were involved in the preparation of the project in various roles during the early stages of Aalto University. The book is written by Merina Salminen, non-fiction writer, journalist and communications consultant, and published by Teos (2024).
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