Aalto offering free education to architects after €260 000 donation

Aalto University has received a funding of 260 000 euros. The funds enable Aalto to offer free continuous learning education, primarily to architects and landscape architects as well as to other professionals in the field of design. The funding was granted by the Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment (SECLE).

Aalto’s educational target with the funds is to update the skills of architects and landscape architects in line with the current day standards, supplementing their core expertise with training in areas such as professional business management, financial administration and contract law.

The training covers such topics as: leadership and communication; strategy and business; design, architecture and innovation; technology and data; law and contracts; and materials and processes. Several of Aalto’s partners in the industry have collaborated to develop the content: the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), the Association of Finnish Architects’ Offices (ATL) and the Finnish Association of Landscape Architects (MARK).

‘In today's fast changing environment, traditional design and architecture expertise is no longer sufficient to the task of successfully managing an office or addressing the current challenges in the field. A new kind of expertise is needed,’ explains Roni Koski-Tuuri, specialist architect with the Association of Finnish Architects’ Offices (ATL).

Risk-management skills and the ability to lead teams and client relationships are critically important for architects, since they often serve as business owners, directors and those otherwise carrying the responsibility for projects.

Nearly 20 cost-free courses available

The training offers 19 courses, several of which will be held in autumn 2026 and spring 2027. The courses are offered through Aalto Open University. The training initiative will run until 31 August 2027.

The educational content is designed primarily for specialists who are in working life and have completed a higher education. Though designed with the needs of architects in mind, the training it is also well-suited for other architectural and design professionals who own or manage their own offices, oversee projects, or work in other roles in the creative industries, particularly in small and medium-sized businesses.

Get to know the courses here!