School of Electrical Engineering Alum of the Year 2025 Ville Voipio shares his insights on the importance of adaptability

Ville Voipio, known for his roles as chair of the boards of Vaisala Oyj and Technology Industries of Finland, has been selected as Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering’s Alum of the Year 2025. The award was presented at the Aalto Alumni Weekend event on Saturday, 25 October 2025. 

Interest in technology runs in Voipio's family: both his parents graduated from Aalto University's predecessor, Helsinki University of Technology, and he even wrote his first piece of code at the age of five. Voipio initially studied physics, but switched to measurement technology because he wanted to do something concrete with his hands.

The then enthusiastic student completed his Master's degree in Technology in just three years, vowing never to return to student life. However, when his thesis supervisor asked if he would be interested in writing a doctoral dissertation, things turned out differently.

’The professor asked so nicely, and I thought my mother would be proud if I became a doctor,’ laughs Voipio. 

’I try not to forget the engineer in me’

Voipio describes his career as a 'carpe diem' career, smiling as he talks about seizing the opportunities offered to him rather than following a clear path. He spent the first decades of his career working with measurements in the process industry, progressing from product development roles to the position of CEO. Throughout his career, he has delved extensively into various technical topics and published research on subjects such as medical technology. 

However, Voipio's interests and expertise extend beyond technology. As well as serving as chair of the board of Vaisala Corporation and Technology Industries of Finland, he is also a professor of practice in Sustainable Global Business at the Turku School of Economics. He also works with start-ups and delivers speeches at various events. An upper-level know-it-all, as he humorously describes himself.

’For a good ten years, I have been what you might call an academic temp. I still have a broad interest in technology and try not to forget the engineer in me,’ says Voipio. 

This seemingly busy man's work is guided by three important themes: sustainability, digitalisation and Finland's economic growth. Voipio believes that everyone should be interested in sustainable business practices.

‘A company's sustainability should be defined as doing business in a way that is good for the future world, in harmony with nature and human well-being. Of course, it must also be profitable.’

Voipio finds working with themes that are important to him rewarding, and is delighted to see how the discourse on climate change and sustainability in society and the business world has changed over the past 15 years. 

Universities are becoming more important 

Voipio believes that multidisciplinarity and the role of universities in solving problems are more important than ever before. In addition to the sustainability transition, digitalization and the advent of artificial intelligence technology are actually much more multidisciplinary, societal transitions than one might initially think.

’Universities combine multidisciplinarity, freedom of thought, a long-term perspective, and expertise. They have a real opportunity to think about solutions to these ongoing transformations,’ Voipio says.

Voipio says that Aalto is one of Vaisala's most important partners. In recognition of this long-standing collaboration, the School of Electrical Engineering’s Electric Workshop was named after Vaisala's founder, Vilho Väisälä, a few years ago. It hosts, for example, a popular electrical workshop course where students from different backgrounds get to build a working electrical device from scratch. No previous experience in coding or electrical engineering is necessary to take the course. 

‘I've been absolutely delighted with the Electrical Workshop; it's really cool,’ says Voipio. 

Continuous learning

What advice would Voipio give to current Aalto students? According to him, the most important thing is knowing how to study and acquire new skills. He cites artificial intelligence as a good example of how we may need skills in the future that we cannot currently predict. Despite having a doctorate in technology and a deep understanding of how computers work, Voipio himself struggled when learning to use artificial intelligence.

’You can only learn to be open-minded by doing. You have to embrace the idea of making mistakes as part of the learning process. After all, you can't be a trapeze artist without falling a few times. I also want to emphasise the importance of good basic skills – reading, writing, and mathematics. Communication skills are also very important, and fortunately, these can be honed later on,’ Voipio continues. 

Voipio says he understands that the current global situation also creates general uncertainty. However, he believes that this is no reason to refrain from taking action.

’One piece of wisdom that is important to me is that all marathon winners can be found in the same place – at the starting line.'

Jussi Ryynänen, Dean of the School of Electrical Engineering, explains the decision: Ville Voipio has supported basic education in electronics and electrical engineering through donations to Vilho Väisälä's workshop. At the Vilho Väisälä workshop, students learn basic skills in electronics construction through electrical and prototype courses, and they get to do practical experiments and prototype work. Ville Voipio is also an active participant in social discussions on topics that are important to the School of Electrical Engineering. He is an advocate for ambitious research, development, and innovation activities, Finnish research and engineering expertise, and a sustainable, digital green transition.