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Dear students,

I wish you a warm welcome to the Aalto University campus to begin the 2025–2026 academic year. It's a pleasure and an inspiration to start the new academic year together!

For many of you, the campus is a new environment, and returning students, too, will notice that it has undergone some changes recently. Please pay special attention to the changed traffic arrangements. For the new students, I would like to point out that the campus has so called guild rooms or community rooms designated for meeting other students of the same programme. In addition, the campus offers diverse spaces for self-study, group work and online studying. You can book a space that meets your needs through the Aalto Space mobile application, which provides details on the features of each space. Remember that the campus is a place for all of us; we have a shared responsibility for its cleanliness and safety.

While Aalto's building facilities provide an excellent environment for learning, our true strength lies in the learning content itself. Be inquisitive and explore Aalto’s range of educational offerings! There are many opportunities to take advantage of in addition to your own programme's required studies: I encourage everyone to challenge themselves – give other options a try and get to know something new and different! Aalto has a strong tradition of student entrepreneurship, and we can now offer new opportunities for students with an entrepreneurial mindset through the Aalto Founder Sprint workshop. (Founder School|Aalto University)

Our university is a community of inspired learners who support one another. Studying at a university is a unique experience, and sometimes it is good to stop and think about your study strategies. The university has a wide range of services for developing your study skills either independently or with others. Remember that if there is anything you would like to talk about, we are here for you. For counselling and advice on wellbeing, you can turn to the Starting Point of Wellbeing at the Undergraduate Centre. For practical questions on studies, the student helpdesk Starting Point is the place to go, also in the Undergraduate Centre.

The Aalto University values create a solid foundation for our community:

• Courage: Dare to think and act openly, try new things and question the old.
• Collaboration: No one achieves great things alone, but together, we can make a difference.
• Responsibility: Use your skills and resources wisely and for a good purpose.

Our Code of Conduct sets out the rules of fair play that clarify what our values mean in practice, helping us make the right choices as we work and study at the university. I encourage all of you to take a short online course that familiarises you with Aalto University Code of Conduct.

Link to the online course:

In Finnish:
In Swedish:
In English:

Feedback is an essential tool for learning and development. We have created feedback channels that allow you to not only give feedback but also receive it. In particular, we want to draw your attention to the Finnish Bachelor’s Graduate Survey, the AllWell? student survey focussing on student wellbeing, and the course feedback survey. Your opinion is of great importance to the university as a whole, so please respond actively to these surveys.

During the academic year, there will be several events that bring our community together. We look forward to seeing all of you at the opening ceremony of the academic year and the Aalto Party on 2 September 2025, as it is special events like these that build and strengthen the Aalto community spirit.

I wish you an inspiring and rewarding year of studies!

Petri