Aalto University

Aalto University is a public research university located in , Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. The close collaboration between the scientific, business and arts communities is intended to foster multi-disciplinary education and research. The Finnish government, in 2010, set out to create a university that fosters innovation, merging the three institutions into one. The university is composed of six schools with close to 17,500 students and 4,000 staff members, making it Finland's second largest university. The main campus of Aalto University is located in , . Aalto University Executive Education operates in the district of , . In addition to the Greater Helsinki area, the university also operates its Bachelor's Programme in International Business in and the Metsähovi Radio Observatory in . The university is named in honour of , a prominent Finnish architect, designer and alumnus of the former Helsinki University of Technology, who was also instrumental in designing a large part of the university's main campus in . History In 2004, a workgroup led by of the Finnish Ministry of Finance concluded that Finland had too many universities and other institutes of tertiary education which should be consolidated. Following this, , president of the University of Art and Design Helsinki at the time, proposed the merger of Aalto University's founding schools in his president's opening speech in 2005. 's line of reasoning was that this move would create a unique interdisciplinary university that was needed to create new innovative thought.