Thinking as a Superpower for Learning – Even in the Age of AI
At the event Marsio Presents: Learning Now in the Age of AI, we reflected on learning in a changing world. How does learning happen if thinking is outsourced to AI?
Aaltogether Teaching: Community events and peer learning for teachers
Sharing insights, best practices and concrete examples with the pedagogical community supports the collective development of educators. Aalto University and its School’s offer many different opportunities for the academic community to engage in teaching and learning -related discussions and collaborative development of teaching. From this page you can find the different opportunities that are available for you.
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Aaltogether Teaching - Developing together as teachers
Peer support and collegiality are key to developing pedagogical expertise and well-being. Expertise in teaching requires reflection, which is most effective when shared with others. Sharing insights and reflections across different pedagogical communities of practice supports teachers’ collective development.
The feedback from Aalto teachers highlights the importance of peer support and building shared understanding in addressing current challenges in teaching, such as AI. Aalto’s teachers have expressed a need for more facilitated opportunities for purposeful discussions and peer learning across different community settings. For some, their immediate community, such as a programme, feels like the most natural setting for conversations about teaching; others seek multidisciplinary, university‑wide dialogue. The purpose and goals of these dialogues can differ by factors such as career stage, teaching context, and current topics.
Based on the received feedback Teacher Services has launched a project called Aaltogether Teaching, that aims to enhance the appreciation of teaching and promote the well-being of the teaching community by creating opportunities for pedagogical dialogue and peer learning. The project pilots new models and practices and creates dialogic structures and spaces that support the development of teachers’ pedagogical competence. The activities are co-developed with teachers through a user-centred approach that builds on their needs, wishes and insights. The structures and models created in the project consider the diverse needs from the teaching community, offering opportunities for versatile pedagogical dialogue. The aim is to find the kind of models and ways of working that are long-lasting and can be integrated in the everyday life and service catalogue of the university.
Join us in shaping the Aaltogether teaching -culture
You’re warmly invited to help build the Aaltogether Teaching community culture and events. Explore the activities below—and we’d love to hear your ideas for what we could create together. What kinds of events would you like to take part in? What topics should be discussed? What forms of peer support or dialogue would you find most helpful? Click here to share your thoughts (the link will open to Presemo).
Events and dialogue for the Aalto community of educators
Marsio Presents: Creative Teaching
Creative Teaching -event is dedicated to exploring how pedagogy is evolving and to connecting with colleagues across Aalto. The event is organised every spring and autumn by Teacher Services. Throughout the event, Aalto educators and students share concrete experiences, practical experiments, and insights into teaching and learning. Come to get inspired, hear real examples, exchange ideas, and reflect together! You can contribute to planning the event programme by sharing your ideas here: https://presemo.aalto.fi/marsiopresents/
Summaries from the previous events
Creative Teaching in the Age of AI: What Changes – and What Stays the Same?
Nearly a hundred Aalto teachers and education professionals gathered at Marsio Presents: Creative Teaching in the Age of AI to explore how rapidly evolving AI tools are changing teaching practices, while core goals like critical thinking, motivation, real-world problem solving and human interaction remain essential. Keynotes, teacher examples, and thematic dialogue sessions highlighted concrete ways to use AI as a responsible partner in teaching, and showed a strong appetite for ongoing, peer-based pedagogical dialogue and sharing of good practices.
School and unit -level community events for teachers
School and unit -level teacher coffee sessions, forums, and other meetups offer an excellent opportunity to get to know the teaching staff, discuss current teaching themes, and share ideas. These community events go by different names and take different forms across schools and units, and they are held both online and on campus. Regardless of the format, the aim is the same: to strengthen the teaching community and provide a meeting place for teachers, LES staff (Learning Services), and occasionally students. In some schools, departments also organize similar events.
Explore the events of your School or unit from below. If you would like to propose topics or ways of working, or have questions about the sessions, please contact your school’s pedagogical or digital pedagogy specialist who organizes the events.
ARTS Teachers’ Lunch is a regular event that brings ARTS teachers together to discuss current topics in teaching and learning. Each session has a changing theme, and the events are open to all teaching and service staff of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture.
Key events are announced via the staff-arts-extended mailing list and on the ARTS Teaching Teams channel.
Would you like to give a talk on a topic—or suggest one? Please contact the School’s pedagogical and digital pedagogy specialists: Minerva Mertanen (millaminerva.mertanen@aalto.fi), Antti Huittinen (antti.huittinen@aalto.fi).
BIZ Learning Café is an event specifically targeted at the School of Business teaching staff, bringing teachers together to discuss current topics in teaching and learning.
If you are interested in proposing a theme, giving a presentation, or would like to request one on a particular topic, please contact the School’s pedagogical and digital pedagogy specialists: Maura Ratia (maura.ratia@aalto.fi), Silvana Perez Läherinta (silvana.perezlaherinta@aalto.fi).
CHEM Teachers’ Coffee is an event for the School of Chemical Engineering (CHEM) teaching staff, where current topics related to teaching and learning are discussed. Each session has a rotating theme, and the events are open to all members of CHEM’s teaching and service staff.
Dates and further details are announced regularly on the “CHEM Education_Lecturers, teachers and professors” Teams channel, and invitations are also sent by email to the lecturers-chem and professors-chem mailing lists.
If you have questions or theme ideas for the coffee sessions, please contact the School’s pedagogical and digital pedagogy specialists: Jukka Välimäki (jukka.valimaki@aalto.fi) and Suvi Toivonen (suvi.toivonen@aalto.fi).
Other events for teachers may also be organised at the school, for example by the Dean, departments and programmes, and these will be communicated through channels appropriate to the target groups.
The primary community event for pedagogical development at the School of Engineering (ENG) is the Teaching Forum, held each semester. The themes and organization of the forum are coordinated by the Vice Dean for Education together with the School’s pedagogical specialists. More information is available here: Teaching Forums at the School of Engineering | Aalto University
In addition to the Teaching Forum, ENG also hosts Teachers’ Lunch meetings, where current teaching-related topics are discussed over a light lunch. These sessions are facilitated by ENG’s pedagogical specialists, who are happy to receive topic suggestions from teachers (heidy.tiits-tikkanen@aalto.fi and karoliina.pakkanen@aalto.fi).
Information about teachers’ events is shared with all ENG staff via calendar invitations, the “ENG Teaching Staff” Teams channel, and newsletters.
All those involved in teaching—and anyone interested—are warmly welcome to participate!
At the School of Electrical Engineering (ELEC), regular Teachers’ Coffee sessions are organized with programmes themed around current topics in teaching and learning at ELEC and across Aalto University. The sessions also offer a space to share and discuss your own teaching-related topics with colleagues from different departments. The school’s Vice Dean for Education hosts the events.
Dates and further details can be found on the ELEC Teaching Teams channel. Everyone involved in teaching or supporting teaching at ELEC, in any role, is welcome to join the channel. For more information, you can contact your School’s pedagogical and digital pedagogy specialists: Marja Elonheimo (marja.elonheimo@aalto.fi), Kirsti Keltikangas (kirsti.keltikangas@aalto.fi), and Sanna-Katja Parikka (sanna-katja.parikka@aalto.fi).
At the School of Science (SCI), events for teaching staff are typically organized at the department level. These sessions offer teachers an opportunity to meet and discuss various teaching-related topics as well as other timely issues relevant to the Aalto community.
Information about other school- and university-wide events is shared via newsletters and SCI Teaching -Teams channel. Everyone involved in teaching or supporting teaching at SCI, in any role, is welcome to join the channel.
If you have suggestions for more collaboration, or if you’d like to share your expertise within the department or across the school, please contact the School’s pedagogical and digital pedagogy specialists: Miia Forstén (miia.forsten@aalto.fi), Veruscka Xavier Filgueira (veruscka.xavierfilgueira@aalto.fi).
In the Language Centre’s low-threshold Share & Try -workshop, teachers of Language Centre can share their own teaching experiments and learn from each other, particularly in the teaching of language and communication skills. The sessions are voluntary, and the content is shaped by the themes proposed by teachers. The venue is either on campus or online, depending on the topic of the session.
The workshop is held on the last Thursday of every month, and the first one is on 24 September 2026. Sign up in the Language Centre’s Teams: LC Teams -> Skills development -> Shared documents.
Other forms of peer learning and support
These activities support peer learning, help participants get to know the teaching community, and foster pedagogical development.
Aalto Educator's Community - Teams
Join the open Teams community for the entire Aalto teaching community, where you can network with other Aalto teachers, hear about upcoming teaching-related events and meetups, and discuss teaching-related topics—for example, conducting pedagogical research or sustainability-focused teaching.
Related to the topic in aalto.fi
Aaltogether
Information, training and services to help us in building a community where everyone belongs.
Community and academic wellbeing
Teachers’ well-being is supported by a positive work community.
Teacher Services
The Teacher services team advances learning centricity and the quality of teaching by offering support services for the teaching staff. The team is a part of Learning Services.