Helsinki University of Technology
 Helsinki University of Technology  (University)   | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Motto | Labor et scientia (Latin) |
| Formation | 1849 |
| Headquarters | Helsinki, Finland |
| Type |  University |
| Finnish research university | |
The Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) was a technical university in Finland. It was located in Otaniemi, Espoo in the metropolitan area of Greater Helsinki. The university was founded in 1849 by Grand Duke of Finland, Emperor Nicholas I and received university status in 1908. It moved from Helsinki to Otaniemi campus area in 1966. It was merged into Aalto University in 2010 and briefly had the name Aalto University School of Science and Technology before being split into four schools in 2011.
Much of the university's Otaniemi campus was designed by Alvar Aalto.
History
In 1849, TKK was established in Helsinki by the decree of the Russian Emperor Nicholas I, Grand Duke of Finland as a "manufacture and handicraft school", with the name Helsingin teknillinen reaalikoulu/Helsingfors tekniska realskola, along with two other similar schools, situated in Vaasa and Turku. In 1872, the school's name was changed to Polyteknillinen koulu/Polytekniska skolan ("Polytechnical School") and in 1878, to Polyteknillinen opisto/Polytekniska institutet ("Polytechnical Institute"), while the two other manufacture and handiwork schools were demoted to institutions of lower level. As the proportion of matriculation diploma holders in the student intake gradually increased, the school gained more social respectability. In 1908, TKK was given university status along with its present name, thus becoming the second university to be founded in Finland. In 1955, building of the new campus area started with the housing village. In 1966, TKK moved from Helsinki to the new campus in Otaniemi, Espoo.
In the past, the university was also known by the abbreviations HUT and TH, from its English language and Swedish language names, but in 2005 a decision was made to officially solely use the abbreviation TKK for branding reasons.
In 2010, TKK was merged with Helsinki School of Economics and University of Art and Design Helsinki into Aalto University. After brief existence in the new university as own institution, Aalto University School of Science and Technology, it was split into four schools, corresponding to four old faculties, School of Engineering, School of Science, School of Electrical Engineering, and Aalto University School of Chemical Technology. In 2012, the Department of Architecture of the School of Engineering, formerly of Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, was merged with Aalto University School of Art and Design into Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture.
Research
Researchers at TKK have achieved notability in, among other things, low temperature physics (holding the current world record for the lowest temperature achieved), the development of devices and methods for magnetoencephalography, mobile communications, wood processing, and neural networks, with professor Teuvo Kohonen initiating research in self-organizing maps. Additionally, the first commercialised total synthesis, the synthesis of camphor, was invented by Gustaf Komppa, the first professor of chemistry at TKK[1] and the Nobel laureate (chemistry, 1945) Artturi Virtanen held a professorship in biochemistry at TKK. More recently, the university has notably invested in the research of nanotechnology, operating the largest cleanroom facility in Northern Europe[2] and of the largest microscopy clusters in Europe.[3]
The Nokia Research Center has operated a "lablet" on university premises since 2008, in order to establish joint research programs and daily interaction between Nokia and university researchers, who would share the same facilities.
Alumni on Wikispooks
| Person | Born | Nationality | Summary | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Adlercreutz | 26 April 1970 | Finland | Politician Architect | Finnish politician who attended the 2023 Bilderberg meeting. |
| Krister Ahlstrom | 29 August 1940 | Finland | Politician Businessperson | Finnish businessman. Attended 1994 Bilderberg meeting as President and CEO of the family consortium Ahlström. |
| Matti Alahuhta | 22 June 1952 | Finland | Businessperson | Finnish business executive who attended Bilderberg/2014 as outgoing CEO of KONE Corporation. |
| Caj Frostell | Canadian? Finnish? | Pilot Aircraft investigator | Finnish-born expert in accident investigation who he led the International Civil Aviation Organization investigation into KAL Flight 007 | |
| Jaako Ihamuotila | 25 November 1939 | Finland | Businessperson | One of the most influential business leaders of his time in Finland |
| Jorma Ollila | 15 August 1950 | Finland | Deep state operative Businessperson | Shell chairman, Nokia CEO, Bilderberg steering committee, WEF |
| Risto Siilasmaa | 17 April 1966 | Finland | Businessperson | Finnish Bilderberger and Nokia chairman |
| Kari Stadigh | 5 December 1955 | Finland | Banker Businessperson | Finnish businessman/banker and "righ-hand man" of Björn Wahlroos. Bilderberg/2014. |
| Elina Valtonen | 23 October 1981 | Finland | Politician | Finnish über-liberal war hawk politician with Emmanuel Macron as role model. Promotes the idea of universal basic income, which explains her attendance at the 2018 Bilderberg at age 36, where one of the agenda points was "the future of work". |
