In Aalto University Junior’s Invest in Your Future workshops, school students are encouraged to explore investing and reflect on their own financial habits. The significant donations from OP Uusimaa have made it possible to bring these workshops directly to schools and reach an increasing number of children and young people.
In 2025, OP Uusimaa donated EUR 60,000 to Aalto University Junior. With this support, Junior hired a coordinator to further develop the Invest in Your Future workshops and launched the development of the new digital Juniorpörssi learning platform.
During autumn 2025, the Invest in Your Future workshops reached 1,730 children and young people in Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Kerava, Hyvinkää and Tuusula. In these sessions, Junior instructors visited schools to run lessons where students learned about personal financial management, solved investment-related tasks and built their own investment portfolios.
Thanks to a new donation from OP Uusimaa, Junior will be able to continue organising investment and financial literacy workshops in comprehensive schools and upper secondary institutions during spring 2026.
The new donation has also enabled the launch of Money Moments workshops designed for students in grades 3–6. Starting in spring 2026, these school visits will provide gamified learning sessions that introduce children to spending, saving and making purchasing decisions.
‘One of the key goals of our responsibility programme is to promote financial literacy. Skills in managing one’s personal finances and understanding money matters are essential basic skills for everyone. At OP Uusimaa, we want to use this donation, among other things, to ensure that everyone has equal opportunities to take care of their own finances. Skills learned at a young age last a lifetime,’ says Hanna Korhonen, Director responsible for communications, marketing and responsibility at OP Uusimaa.
Petri Suomala, Vice President for Education at Aalto UniversityWarm thanks to OP Uusimaa for its impactful support of Aalto University Junior. Thanks to the new donation, we can inspire an even greater number of children and young people to explore financial topics. It is important for both individuals and society that we work together to make finance approachable and manageable.
The workshops have been enthusiastically received in schools, and teachers have appreciated the ready-made teaching package that includes both instruction and all necessary materials.
‘The workshops have received positive feedback from teachers because we bring financial topics to schools that they do not always have the time or resources to cover themselves. Students, in turn, have been excited to build their own investment portfolios,’ says Pilvi Saaristo, Acting Head of Aalto University Junior.
Junior instructors Tilda Hyttinen and Nuutti Torkki, who have led the Invest in Your Future workshops in schools, say:
‘It’s great to be able to motivate, inspire and encourage young people. Our work is important so that as many young people as possible have equal opportunities to start saving and investing, and no one hesitates to begin simply because they lack information.’
Aalto University Junior is bringing the joy of learning and new insights to an ever-growing number of children and young people. In 2025, its activities reached a record approximately 55,000 participants. The number of participants in workshops, events and other activities increased by about 22,000 compared with the previous year.
The growth is explained in part by the Theme Week remote workshops, which last year reached school classes in 182 municipalities across Finland. Visits to the Aalto campus have also increased following the opening of Aalto University Junior’s new Space learning environment.
Pilvi Saaristo emphasises the importance of donations to the activities of Aalto University Junior.
‘Last year we coordinated four different projects through which approximately 12,000 pupils participated in activities delivered in schools. It is clear that without donors we would not reach numbers like these.’
Texts: Marjukka Puolakka
Photos: Heidi Simppala
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