Aalto University Summer School opens applications to 21 summer courses

Aalto University Summer School has expanded and scaled its operations and course offering year-by-year since its start in 2019, and is offering 21 summer courses on Aalto University campus between July and August this summer. 

Alongside popular courses like Game Design, Nordic Product Design and Personal Growth and Renewal, Summer School is also adding many new and exciting courses to the course curriculum this year. Happiness Science from Finland, Introduction to AI and Machine Learning, Managing Diversity and Inclusion, Designing with Nature for Sustainability, Consumer Behaviour and New Product Success, to mention a few.

Participating in a summer course at Aalto is an excellent opportunity to get an intensive learning experience where multidisciplinarity, challenge-based learning and interactive lectures are an everyday part of the course. All courses aim to build a direct connection to working life by enabling students to work on real-world cases as well as offering visits to organisations and companies relevant to the course topic.

Last year, Summer School received over 800 applications for the different summer courses, bringing together over 250 students from nearly 50 different countries in 2024. The cultural diversity enriches the overall summer school experience, where course participants get a chance to broaden their own international networks during the two-week summer course.

Aalto University as a top motivator

According to student feedback from last year’s summer courses, the top motivators for participating in a summer course at Aalto are individual professional development, joining a course by Aalto University and travelling to Finland.

In addition, 23% of respondents stated that they plan to apply to a degree program at Aalto University in the future.

‘It’s great to see that so many of our students are interested in degree studies at Aalto University. Participating in a summer course can offer an insightful opportunity to get to know the university, campus and Helsinki area before making the big decision to apply to a degree program’, says Laura Kitinoja, Program Director at Aalto University Summer School.

Balance between learning and leisure

A versatile social program makes the summer course experience unforgettable, offering participants an opportunity to get to know Finland and their fellow course participants in a more relaxed setting.

The extracurricular program includes cultural excursions, outdoor activities in Finnish nature and networking events where participants from different summer courses come together to share experiences and get to know each other.

The application period for summer courses at Aalto University Summer School is open from 31 January to 31 May 2025. The Early Bird discount for course fees is available until 2 March 2025.