Vice president Petri Suomala's welcome speech for new students

Dear and respected new members of Aalto community!

This is an important day for you, and it's at least equally important for the university. 

You really make this the university we want to be – a learning community that is able to build the future by facing and winning the challenges that are around us right now. Together we have the ability!

This year will be a year of encounters, engagement and activities on campus. We are using our campus in full scale and provide you with possibilities for contacts and networking both within courses, services, and leisure activities. Hope you embrace the possibility! This campus is our shared work- and living room!

And I think that we can together show that especially at demanding times like this Aalto community is enabling and caring. Wellbeing of ourselves and others is our key joint effort.

Above all, please remember that we all have the power to influence how it feels to part of this community – how we encounter each other and include others!

We seek to educate people capable of building a sustainable future! What it requires? 

I think Aalto values are actually key ingredients:

• Courage – be open, try new things, new combinations, dare to think and speak up.
• Collaboration – no one makes a true difference alone.
• Responsibility – where there is power, there needs to be wisdom to use it for good purposes.
   

We offer uniquely multidisciplinary education combining arts and science, technology and business. Please take full advantage of that, not only through courses from various disciplines but also through networking with students from other fields.

Here in Aalto, you as a member of the community have a lot of freedom – and as always – responsibility pairing it. 

Our way of working is based on tight collaboration with you, with our students. Aalto would not be what it is without your input, our active students, student culture and activities. 

Aalto university is a community which builds on inclusion, diversity and multitude of approaches and perspectives. Good to have you here – just as you are. Let’s all embrace our diversity as richness.

All the best for the coming months and years and welcome!