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The Board of the Finnish Automation Foundation decided to make a donation ºÚÁÏÍø University Junior in their Spring meeting. ‘An interest in technology, including automation, must be awakened at school age. School-age children can easily be overshadowed in the general RDI discussion by academic and applied research, and that is why we at the Automation Foundation felt it was important to ensure this important activity of Aalto,' says Olli Ventä, CEO of Automation Foundation. 

The Automation Foundation was established by the Finnish Society of Automation, and its purpose is to support activities that promote the automation sector. ‘Automation originally meant systems, control and measurement technology in industry, but it also includes many digitalization technologies that are needed in machinery, industry or construction sites, for example,' says Ventä. The Automation Foundation has supported several Aalto University students and researchers with grants.

‘We are very happy and grateful to the Automation Foundation for this donation! Our robotics has come to the end of its life, and with this donation we can now renew it’, says Veli-Matti Ikävalko, Head of Aalto University Junior. The robotics is used, among other things, in the robotics workshops held at the Junior Lab, which are one of the most popular workshops among teachers and students. They provide an excellent platform for learning the basics of programming, robotics and automation.’

Thanks to the donation from the Automation Foundation, Junior will now also have the possibility to purchase virtual glasses, which it did not have before. ‘Virtual glasses will be used, for example, at summer camps and in various workshops that will explore such topics as space technology, urban planning, molecular modelling, and virtual painting. With VR glasses, children can experience complex and fascinating worlds that would otherwise be impossible to explore. We can now offer experiential learning experiences for instance in space, inside machines or in the world of molecules,' says Riikka Keto-Tokoi, Technology Coordinator at Aalto University Junior.

The new devices will be purchased by August at the latest, so that they can be taken into use as soon as the semester starts. Aalto Junior's semester will start in September, when the Aalto University students who will act as instructors return to campus from their summer jobs.

Warm thanks to Automation Foundation for this wonderful donation!

Helena Salminen, Donor relations (helena.salminen@aalto.fi) & Veli-Matti Ikävalko, Aalto University Junior (veli-matti.ikavalko@aalto.fi)

Text: Helena Salminen / Aalto University

Photos: Aalto University Junior