VTT joins the HAIC cybersecurity institute

Research and education in cybersecurity in Finland will be further reinforced as VTT becomes part of the Helsinki-Aalto Institute for Cybersecurity (HAIC) in June 2026. Founded in 2016 by Aalto University and the University of Helsinki, HAIC supports research and teaching in cybersecurity and privacy at both universities.

‘VTT plays a strong role at the interface between research, innovation and industry. It has long collaborated with major international defence and technology actors, which brings significant added value to us. We also benefit from VTT’s solid experience in applied research in security-critical domains,’ says Lachlan Gunn, Interim Director of HAIC and University Lecturer at Aalto University.

Over the past decade, Aalto University and the University of Helsinki, supported by HAIC, have developed education and research groups focused on cybersecurity. Both universities also offer several popular cybersecurity courses, and HAIC provides company-sponsored scholarships for master’s students.

VTT’s inclusion will further strengthen the universities’ ability to train highly skilled cybersecurity professionals.

‘Through VTT, students and researchers will gain enhanced access to industrially relevant research problems, as well as pathways for translating research results into deployable solutions,’ says Samuel Marchal, Research Professor at VTT.

VTT’s joining of HAIC will be celebrated on 5 June at the Secure Systems Demo Day 2026, an annual event that brings together cybersecurity students, researchers, and industry experts. The occasion will also mark HAIC’s 10th anniversary. Former and current students of Aalto University’s Erasmus Mundus Master’s programmes in Security and Mobile/Cloud Computing, NordSecMob (2006–2016) and SECCLO (2017–2026) will also participate.