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Sponsored lecture hall makes Wärtsilä visible to future talents

Since competition for future talent is tough, it's important for a technology company to collaborate with the university and be visible among students.
wärtsilän nimikkoluentosali aalto-yliopisto

Wärtsilä, a technology company providing solutions for marine and energy markets, got a sponsored lecture hall at Aalto University in an opening ceremony held on 25th of November. The sponsored lecture hall is Aalto University’s employer service that provides companies with visibility in a selected lecture hall for an annual fee.    

'The competition for experts is getting tighter, so companies need to come to where the students are. A sponsored lecture hall is a great way of gaining visibility' says Sakari Heikkilä, who is in charge of the university cooperation at Wärtsilä.

At the opening day, the Wärtsilä Board of Management visited Aalto University, and during the opening ceremony, Aalto University alumni shared their career stories at Wärtsilä.

'Wärtsilä is a company of 19,000 people, so we need talent in many areas. Digitalisation is increasingly important for our business as we provide smart solutions for the marine and energy markets, so the need for ICT and electrical engineering expertise is growing', says Heikkilä.

wärtsilän nimikkoluentosali aalto-yliopistolla
Breaking professional silos has proven to be important in working life, said Esteban Solis, alumnus of Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, who works as a designer at Wärtsilä.

Student projects and mentoring international talents

In early 2019, Wärtsilä and Aalto University signed a partnership agreement to strengthen and expand their collaboration in the field of research, education and skills development.

As just a couple of examples of the new partnership, Wärtsilä will bring topics and business cases to student project courses, and the company’s experts will give lectures in the Aalto courses. Aalto University’s experts also visit the company to provide insights into latest research and their future visions.

'For Aalto University, interacting and exchanging information with the companies in research and education is an important way of promoting sustainable development in society, and improving Finland's innovation competitiveness,' says Anne Kosola, corporate relations manager at Aalto University.

Aalto and Wärtsilä are also collaborating in a project that provides mentoring for international students, and supports their integration into the Finnish labour market.

'Our working language is English, and we have people from all over the world, so it’s important for us that international students stay in Finland after graduation' Heikkilä adds.

Further information: 

Anne Kosola
Manager, Corporate Relations, Advancement and Corporate Engagement 
Telephone: +358 50 596 9395 
[email protected]

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