Aalto University Summer School on Transportation (ASTRA)

2022 Edition - Unpacking Multidimensional Humans  

Aalto University Summer School on Transportation (ASTRA) is a traditional learning opportunity in the domain of transportation and urban planning. The 2022 theme of the 16th ASTRA "Unpacking Multidimensional Humans" aims to present a range of knowledges focused on understanding complexity of homo sapiens on the move. Lectures are selected based on the alignment with Aalto University core values, in particular, passion for exploration, courage to influence and excel, freedom to be creative and critical, responsibility to accept, care, and inspire, as well as integrity, openness and equality.

Lectures are available from this link: https://vimeo.com/user/1938995/folder/11259399. 

Legacy and Vision

ASTRA has been established in 2007 following an idea by Aalto University Professor Emeritus Matti Pursula and late Professor Shinya Kikuchi from Virginia Tech, while being organized by Aalto University Professor Emeritus Antti Talvitie. Thus, ASTRA has been established as a forerunner institution in open access education and professional knowledge exchange. ASTRA has always been intended to provide an intensive learning experience about the state-of-the-art, including an exposure to non-conservative topics, underlined with an innovative and pragmatic approach. Traditionally lecture-based, ASTRA lecturers have been renowned experts from Aalto University, as well as from universities around the world. Moreover, ASTRA has always had a close connection to practice, collaborating with local organizations such as Helsinki Region Transport, Helsinki City Transport, cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Lahti, Ministry of Transport and Communications, and Ramboll Finland Ltd. In addition to the focus on bridge-building between spatial and transport planning while underlying the need to understand different aspects of sustainability, ASTRA has matured as an event that provides space for rethinking current practices of planning and designing our built environments and technologies. In the future, ASTRA will remain a place for all those eager learners who are ready to embrace the complexity of mobility systems and bravely face wicked challenges of our times. 

Expected Audience

ASTRA has been and will continue to provide a learning opportunity for learners having a range of backgrounds, from engineering to policy sciences, as well as from any part of the world. As such, ASTRA is intended for all interested transportation professionals, managers in transport agencies, transport engineers, city-regional planners, transport consultants, citizen advocates, policy analysts, urban designers, entrepreneurs, educators, and advanced graduate students in their master's or doctoral studies.

Course Credits

You may earn 3 ECTS study credits from the Aalto University School of Engineering by a) watching the recorded lectures and b) completing an essay assignment related to 2022 ASTRA lectures. ASTRA will not require physical presence in Finland, as all the material will be made accessible online. Essay submissions are due on November 30, 2022. Once the lectures are available in August 2022, all those interested in obtaining 3 ECTS should follow this link, including instructions and submission. Finally, there is no fee for completing ASTRA.