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Aalto University's recognition awards for 2023 were announced at the opening ceremony of the academic year on 5 September. The awards are granted annually to community members for their outstanding work for the success of the university, and decisions on the winners are made based on community proposals. Both personnel and students were awarded.

At the event, President Ilkka Niemelä also appointed Professor Riitta Salmelin Aalto Distinguished Professor. Professor Salmelin's research area is systemic and cognitive neuroscience. She has worked at the forefront of non-invasive brain imaging and is an expert in the MEG imaging method developed in Finland. Salmelin has applied brain imaging to the study of language function as a part of human cognition and has used her research results to further develop imaging methods.

Aalto Research Impact: Nature Communications Top 4 most downloaded physics articles 2022* 

Nature Communications is one of the world's most prestigious open access science journals. Researchers from Aalto University's Department of Applied Physics were involved in the top four most downloaded Nature Communications articles in physics. The achievement demonstrates the significant scientific and societal impact of the university's research at the international level.

* Chen, IJ., Aapro, M., Kipnis, A. et al. Precise atom manipulation through deep reinforcement learning. Nat Commun 13, 7499 (2022).  

Dogra, S., McCord, J.J. & Paraoanu, G.S. Coherent interaction-free detection of microwave pulses with a superconducting circuit. Nat Commun 13, 7528 (2022).

Hyyppä, E., Kundu, S., Chan, C.F. et al. Unimon qubit. Nat Commun 13, 6895 (2022).

Autti, S., Heikkinen, P.J., Nissinen, J. et al. Nonlinear two-level dynamics of quantum time crystals. Nat Commun 13, 3090 (2022).

Aalto Education Impact: Little Finlandia and Wood Construction and Building Design course 

Little Finlandia, located in Töölönlahti Bay, Helsinki, originated from a master's level course in wood construction and building design, with the City of Helsinki acting as the developer. The building showcases the students' talent and has received both national and international recognition. Little Finlandia has become a pleasant living room for Helsinki residents and visitors – all in all, a great example of the impact of education.

Aalto Community Award: Team Manta and Otaniemi Wappu

This year, it was the Aalto University Student Union AYY’s turn to crown Manta (Havis Amanda), and they and they did it with a bang – focusing on building community, creating a positive buzz, and throwing a great party. The main responsibility for the preparations was carried out by the Manta team, but a large part of the student community was also involved in various ways. Otaniemi's sense of community was also recognised with the District of the Year award.

Aalto Act of the Year: Quality system audit results

In the evaluation carried out by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC), Aalto University received the level ‘excellent’ in all areas assessed, that is, education, research, and societal impact. In Finland, Aalto University is the first higher education institution to receive the rating “excellent” in all three evaluation areas. The success is the result of long-term and high-quality work carried out throughout the university, in which numerous people have participated.

Aalto Success Enabler: Kielibuusti project and Finland Works and Finland Studies MOOCs

Kielibuusti.fi website is an open portal for accessible ways of studying Finnish and Swedish, helping to integrate international students, faculty, and staff in the Finnish society. Open online mass courses related to studying and working in Finland – Finland Studies, and Finland Works – help international students build careers in Finland. All three initiatives are excellent examples of cooperation between higher education institutions in Finland.

Warm congratulations to all!

Photo Mikko Raskinen, Aalto University 
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