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Students challenge the Aalto community to support entrepreneurship and innovations

Students from Aalto Running Club invite the Aalto community to join a fundraiser that supports students and strengthens Aalto’s innovation ecosystem.
Members of the Aalto Running Club standing on stairs.
Students from Aalto Running Club are organising a fundraiser to support student‑driven innovation. ARC founder and chair Lauri Tukiainen is pictured in the back row on the right.

Students from Aalto Running Club (ARC) are launching a student‑led fundraiser as part of the A! Sign of Change campaign. With their initiative, they aim to strengthen Aalto’s innovation ecosystem and help more students turn early‑stage ideas into real‑world solutions.

Donations to the ARC fundraiser are directed to entrepreneurship and innovation, a cause that provides students with concrete support through innovation grants. These grants help students test ideas, build prototypes and gain the confidence to take their first steps toward turning their ideas into impact.

Now we challenge all alumni and friends to support students by donating.

Lauri Tukiainen, ARC founder and chair

Lauri Tukiainen is the founder and chair of Aalto Running Club. He studies management at Aalto University School of Business. The reasons behind the fundraiser are personal to him. 

“ARC was born from four students’ desire to experiment, build a community and do things on a bigger scale than we first imagined. Aalto’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem has given me exactly that: the courage to begin – and an exceptional group of talented people around me, with whom ideas can grow into concrete action. Now we challenge all alumni and friends to support students by donating.”

According to Lauri, the student‑driven initiative is both a celebration of Aalto’s entrepreneurial spirit and a reminder that early‑stage support can make a decisive difference.

ARC HALF / 10K event

The fundraiser culminates on 23 May at the ARC HALF / 10K event, where more than a thousand students and alumni will run for a more hopeful future. All members of the Aalto community are invited to take part: by running, cheering or supporting the fundraiser.

to the ARC fundraiser

Donations directed to the fundraiser support entrepreneurship and innovations, providing students with tangible help through innovation grants. By donating, Aalto alumni and friends help students and researchers move their ideas toward real‑world impact – strengthening Finland’s innovation capacity and long‑term competitiveness.

to the fundraiser

A! Sign of Change

University's government funding has decreased. We need your support. Make a donation for a more hopeful future!

Read more about the A! Sign of change campaign
A Sign of Change: Aalto University impacting and changing the world for the better
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