Mixing people
More and more often, we are facing both expected and unexpected global challenges, where we need to find answers in a very short time. The pace is much faster than what we have traditionally been used to in the academic world.
On an organisational and personal level, balancing the utilisation of precious time resources to keep up with our increasing external workload is critical. We cannot simply continue without being more radical within our ways of working. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have taken quite radical steps to adapt into new situations quickly, and I have learned a lot during the crisis.
We have great potential for radical creativity! Creativity is a requirement for scientific research and artistic activities. The selection of people on the tenure track and in many of the study programmes favours individuals that are creative.
Tapani VuorinenWe cannot simply continue without being more radical within our ways of working."
Mixing people with different backgrounds is a nutrient for creativity and bringing the different scientific disciplines and arts/design together on the same campus is the most important single action that has hugely contributed to creativity in Aalto.
Communication with the outside world is equally important. Turning inside kills the creativity.
I can recognize the key steps in the development of my thinking: in each case, I encountered a new situation and got lots of responsibility but also resources, financial and otherwise.
Tapani Vuorinen
Professor
Bioproducts and Biosystems
CHEMARTS
School of Chemical Engineering
Radical creativity
We enable experimental activities that challenge the status quo.
Read more news
International educational project at Aalto University funded by the TFK Programme
The Bio-Design for Low Carbon Architecture (Bio-LCArch) project is a collaborative initiative between Aalto University in Finland and Beijing Jiaotong University in China, geared toward demonstrating how bio-based materials can facilitate the construction industry's transition to net-zero emissions.
A!BP attends the 14th Nordic Symposium on Building Physics
On 08.06-10.06, the A!BP research group attended NSB 2026 in Tampere, contributing to the conference with scientific presentations and collaborative workshops on bio-based materials.
The company established by three anthropologists relied on strong research expertise
Etnografinen tutkimustoimisto Kenno Oy was established in 2014 when its three founders were finalising their master's degree studies at the University of Helsinki and wanted to create an interesting job for themselves.