Aalto Media Lab

Aalto Media Lab

The Media Lab was founded in 1994 and is now a part of the Department of Art and Media at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture of the Aalto University.

The mission of the Media Lab is to explore, discover and comprehend the new digital technology and its impact in society; to find and exploit the possibilities it opens to communication, interaction and expression and to evaluate, understand and deal with the challenges it poses to design and creative production.

Aalto Media Lab
Aalto Media Lab Demo Day December 2018

News

Aalto Open Science Award 2024. A light blue podium hovering over a blue-pink gradient background with the help of squishy-looking balloons with colored lights inside.
Awards and Recognition, Research & Art Published:

Last chance to nominate for 2024 Aalto University Open Science Award

The deadline for submissions is 3 Dec, 2024.
Aalto Open Science Award 2024. A light blue podium hovering over a blue-pink gradient background with the help of squishy-looking balloons with colored lights inside.
Awards and Recognition, Research & Art Published:

Call for nominees for Aalto University’s Open Science Award 2024

Nominate yourself, your colleague, a research group, a department, or a project for the award.
A laptop and papers on a table.
Research & Art Published:

Improve your Data Management Plan and Privacy Notice for safe and ethical practices

Join a pilot project to derive a Privacy Notice from your Data Management Plan with Aalto AI assistant.
Yellow post-it notes with different white symbols on them and a hand grabbing one of the notes.
Research & Art Published:

Events

Aalto Media Lab Demo Day and exhibitions
Exhibitions, Networking

Aalto Media Lab Demo Day 2024 | Media Lab 30 Years Exhibition Opening

Aalto Media Lab Demo Day highlights the work from the students and faculty of the Aalto Media Lab.



A comic illustration of a game corporation behind the barricaded wall, with game expats looking for a game job scattered around the world. Illustrated by Solip Park.
Public defences

Public defence in New Media, MA, MET Solip Park

Understanding Game Work Migration: Game Expats in Finland (title of the thesis)
Poster for 'Future Skills' event with keynote speaker Dr. Arndt Pechstein, 12 Dec 2024, 17:00-18:30 at SAAB Auditorium, Espoo.
Academic events, Lectures and seminars

Future Skills: The Role of Artpreneurship in Upskilling Humankind for Better Future

Come and meet Dr. Arndt Pechstein, a futurist, a business culture catalyst and an inspiring TEDx speaker who holds a PhD in neuroscience, a diploma in biochemistry & biotechnology, and has specialist backgrounds in Biomimicry, Future Skills, Design Thinking, Circular Economy, and Organizational Development.
Emerging practices of the pedagogic architect.
Public defences

Public defence in Art Education, Architect Toni Kauppila

Turning the Tables: Emerging Practices of Pedagogic Architect (title of thesis)

Latest Theses

The theses from the Media Lab are on public display at the Aalto University library as well as some of the latest ones also online. First recorded theses are from 1995 up to this date.

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Theses from the Media Lab

Media Lab Demo Days

Already in the late 1990s we adopted the slogan, ‘hands on with minds on’ to explain our work. We also adopted the ‘demo or die’ attitude of other Media Labs and formalised this into bi-annual Demodays, organised at the end of each term.

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Media Lab Winter Demo Day 2018. Work by John Lee. Photograph by Janne Koivisto.

Apply to Media Lab

Media Lab at the Department of Art anf Media offers interdisciplinary studies in design and production of new media, games and sound. Also various areas and amounts of design, arts, computer science, communication, cognitive science, sociology etc. are present during your studies in Media Lab.

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Department of Media Demo Day

Department of Art and Media

The departments of Art and Media at Aalto University School of Arts, Design & Architecture have merged as of 1st January 2022. Professor Harri Laakso has been appointed as Head of the new Department of Art & Media.

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Two people discussing about a scetch they are looking on a computer

School of Arts, Design and Architecture

One of the most prestigious universities in its fields. We educate our students to create imaginative, collaborative, compassionate and unconventional approaches to the most pressing challenges of today.

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Students riding bikes in front of the Aalto University Väre building, photo by Unto Rautio
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