News from Aalto founder community
PORT_2026 brings Aalto students together to tackle culture, media, and climate challenges
Nearly 60 Aalto students joined the PORT_2026 Innovation Challenge, developing and pitching solutions addressing culture, media, and climate challenges.
From breakthrough to business: Finland鈥檚 Aalto University is turning world-class science into companies
Aalto University鈥檚 strategic spin-off model is turning scientific breakthroughs into scalable businesses.
Join us for Demo Day 2026 - March 4 at A Grid
On March 4th, A Grid is the place to be because Aalto Startup Center x A Grid Demo Day will be taking place.
A Bloc becomes a 鈥渓iving lab鈥 for Aalto students: Entrepreneurial Futures course and Cafetoria join forces in pop-up collaboration
A Bloc鈥檚 pop-up space turned into a hands-on learning environment when Entrepreneurial Futures course and Cafetoria co-created a pop-up.
Research reveals the economic significance of family firms in Finland
The findings show that, on average, family firms are more profitable and financially resilient than other firms 鈥 and also invest more.
What drives success in the film and audiovisual industries? New research to support growth and competitiveness
Aalto University Department of Film is leading a 鈧1.6 million Co-Innovation research project, SmartSuccessAV, funded by Business Finland. The project aims to gain new research-based knowledge on how success in the Film and AV industry is managed and how decision-making is structured as production, financing, and distribution structures change.
Aalto University to host the INNOVA Europe Summit 2026 in Espoo
Aalto University to host the INNOVA Europe Summit 2026 in Espoo, bringing together Europe鈥檚 next generation of student entrepreneurs.
Finnish AI Region Secures Second Term with Top Marks from EU
Finnish AI Region (FAIR) EDIH has been selected to continue operations for a second term with excellent ratings. European Union continuation funding enables service expansion from the beginning of 2026. Aalto University is one of 10 partners in FAIR.
Start the year with new insights 鈥 apply for FITech's spring courses!
Deepen your knowledge with courses from Finnish universities of technology, designed to meet the demands of the working life and help deepen your expertise for free.
Call for Applications: Aalto Creatives Pre-incubator Programme Spring 2026
Next pre-incubator programme starts in March. Call for applications closes on 9.2.2026.
Aalto students and researchers shape together how we age with AI at Junction hackathon 2025
The 'Aging with AI' hackathon challenge sparked a winning solution connecting generations over shared learning experiences, preserving cultural skills.
Applications for our biggest exhibition of the year are now open: Apply to Designs for a Cooler Planet by 26.1.2026!
For the autumn 2026 exhibition, we are looking for new and inspiring innovations, ideas, and experiments from all fields across Aalto University. The exhibition and its events serve as one of the most important showcases of the university鈥檚 work to the world. In 2025, the event attracted over 15,000 visitors.
Research shows that creativity is not only measurable but also a major competitive advantage 鈥 the focus now turns to leadership
Creativity enables people to view problems from new perspectives and to discover solutions that might otherwise remain unseen.
Aalto University establishes a professorship of practice position in data economy
The new professorship strengthens the collaboration between Aalto University and South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences.
Application period for FITech鈥檚 spring courses is approaching 鈥 explore the spring 2026 course offering now!
Complement your degree with free courses from Finnish universities of technology, designed to meet the demands of the working life and help deepen your expertise! The application period for degree students starts on December 1st.
Aalto Creatives Art & Tech Open Call 鈥25 Award Ceremony
Winning projects received their awards at the Aalto Creatives Art & Tech Open Call 鈥25 awards ceremony on the last day of October. Two projects received development funding, two projects were awarded product prizes from Genelec, and one project was awarded both funding and Genelec's product packages.
Eight new teams onboarded the Aalto Creatives pre-incubator programme this autumn
Eight new teams onboarded the Aalto Creatives pre-incubator programme this autumn. With ideas stemming from fields such as design, gaming, music, AI and XR, the teams take their first steps towards becoming startup founders.
Students collaborated with KPMG to unlock AI and public data potential in Tax and Legal
鈥楿nderstanding both the opportunities and the limitations of data and AI has become essential鈥
Harri Paananen, triple alum of Aalto University, moves to NATO from the City of Espoo
鈥業n doctoral studies, you need to be able to define the problem yourself and solve it,鈥 says Aalto University鈥檚 triple alum Harri Paananen. He first applied that mindset in the City of Espoo and now in his new role at NATO.
Alum Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber: Business studies built a bridge for international influencing
Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber has graduated from Aalto University School of Business, majoring in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management.
