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Brought together by President of Aalto University Ilkka Niemelä, Aalto Alumni Network Board started its operations in 2019. The board represents alumni and organisations of different higher education institutions, guilds and sub-associations. It integrates the views of alumni into the long-term development of the university and the alumni activities in particular. The board also supports some 40 alumni associations and aims to create new alumni activities in Finland and other countries with Aalto alumni.  

‘We have over 100 000 alumni who are a vital part of the Aalto community. The university's impact in society is most evident through the activities of our alumni. We want to give back to them in meaningful ways and provide them with opportunities to develop, network and participate in our community. An active alumni network also supports the development of the university’, Niemelä says.

Chair of the Aalto Alumni Network Board Kaj Hagros welcomes the new members of the Board with open arms. ‘Our board, which represents different schools and classes, strives to create new types of multidisciplinary alumni groups and meetings. It is totally unique also in the global context what our students and alumni have achieved for our country, for example in promoting entrepreneurship. In addition to the communal dimension and continuous learning, participating in alumni activities can have a social impact’, Hagros says.

The Alumni Council brings the associations together

The Alumni Council offers a cooperation forum for about 40 alumni associations at Aalto to share the best practices and develop their activities.

Niko Ferm, who will chair the Alumni Council, is the Development Manager of the City of Espoo and a member of the Board of Otaverkko Oy. Ferm has previously been a member of Aalto Alumni Network Board and the Board of Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK) and chaired the Aalto University Student Union (AYY).

'At Aalto, students from different fields have already found each other, but alumni activities are still siloed in many respects. The Alumni Council offers us an excellent opportunity to meet different actors, organise events together and create new types of alumni activities. The idea is to provide alumni associations with support and opportunities to learn and familiarise themselves with the activities of other alumni associations’, Ferm says.