The Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) is Finland's oldest and largest university of technology and architecture – and has been a prominent player in building the country's industrial and economic competitiveness for much of its over 150-year history. TKK is also an important part of the international scientific community, and one of Europe's leading technical universities.
Discovering and disseminating new scientific knowledge, and promoting innovation, lie at the heart of the mission of Helsinki University of Technology. Scientific research and teaching at TKK play a key role in the world of Finnish high technology and R&D.
TKK is structured around 12 faculties, which offer 19 degree programmes, including some in English, to around 15,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
Seven units at the university currently hold Centre of Excellence status within the national network coordinated by the Academy of Finland. In addition, TKK is also a member of three joint Centres of Excellence with other institutes.
Over 1,000 R&D projects annually
TKK takes part in over 1,000 R&D projects annually in partnership with hundreds of Finnish companies, including Nokia and other ICT companies, and companies in the forest products, mechanical engineering, and chemical sectors, as well as the Finnish Defence Forces.
More than a third of TKK's projects are international, with the main emphasis on European cooperation in research and training.
Expert services
TKK's Otaniemi International Innovation Centre (OIIC) has played an important part in the university's activities since it was founded in 1998 – and offers a wide range of professional services, from research liaison on R&D projects and managing TKK's IPR portfolio to assistance for start-ups.
The OIIC is also responsible for managing TKK's research contracts, commercialising inventions, assisting students with their careers, and alumni relations.
The OIIC acts as a 'one-stop shop' for R&D services in promoting the development and use of competencies, skills, and new technologies; and contributes to innovation activities campus-wide and across the Helsinki Metropolitan Region.
High-tech hub
Otaniemi, where TKK is located, is home to a wide range of scientific and technological activities, and is the most important centre of high technology in northern Europe today.
TKK and several other public institutes such as VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, together with hundreds of high-tech companies, form a unique and innovative community, and one that has been named the EU's 'Most Innovative Region' a total of three times recently. The Helsinki Metropolitan Region, for its part, has been ranked as the EU's most competitive region in the European Competitiveness Index.
Otaniemi is a prime example of the close collaboration between public research organisations and industry that is so characteristic of the Finnish innovation system, and TKK itself has a long tradition of successful collaboration with industry dating back long before the concept became fashionable.
Innovation in Finland
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