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The 2018 Aalto Education Impact Award was granted this year to Professor Jani Romanoff, Assistant Professor Heikki Remes, Professor Pentti Kujala, Postdoctoral Researcher Osiris A. Valdez Banda, and University Lecturer Martin Bergström for their outstanding efforts in offering game-changing marine technology education in connection with the Finnish Institute of Technology (FITech) in the Turku area.

The purpose of FITech is to provide more technology experts with university-level degrees for the Southwest Finland region. The Aalto University School of Engineering offers studies in marine technology for students of Aalto University and other universities.

‘Problem-based learning is always a challenge for a teacher. Organising this summer teaching period does not ease the situation. The heterogeneity of our students – who come from different parts of Finland with a variety of degree levels and disciplines – makes this a true challenge, even for experienced teachers. But a challenge also provides an opportunity,’ says Jani Romanoff, the responsible professor of the first Summer Boost organised 4 May–24 August 2018 for a group of FITech students from other Finnish universities of technology.

‘The concepts we developed are holistic and cover several aspects of autonomous fleets, ships and their sub-systems, including sustainability, well-being and safety. The students have been able to apply their expertise to a new field of engineering, create unique concepts and give food for thought to people who have been in business for a while,’ Romanoff explains.

‘Autonomous ships have become a topic of great interest for the maritime transport industry. The Nordic countries are at the forefront in the development of the different system components required to make autonomous ships a reality. This task requires a transformation of marine technology education to support the growth of new professionals capable of leading the future of the maritime industry. The cooperation between Aalto University and FITech represents an excellent example of this transformation,’ said Postdoctoral Researcher Osiris A. Valdez Banda.

Aalto Education Impact Award
Solving important societal challenges calls for the education of game changers, who use their knowledge and skills to create change and build a better society. This award recognises game-changing education that uses new forms of cooperation to develop competencies in an industry crucial to Finnish society.