The merger that transformed Finnish innovation
Part I
Helsinki, Finland, 2007: Tuula Teeri stood before the Finnish Parliament defending a university that didn't exist yet. As the newly appointed president of Aalto University, she faced skepticism from faculty, students, politicians, and international observers who questioned whether merging three institutions could create something greater than the sum of its parts.
The proposed merger of Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics, and University of Art and Design Helsinki represented the most ambitious institutional transformation in modern higher education. This was an attempt to redesign how universities organize themselves to address 21st-century challenges.
"Finland's most pressing problems require expertise that no single discipline can provide," Teeri told the assembled parliamentarians. "Climate change, digital transformation, sustainable innovation [...] these challenges demand engineers who understand business, designers who grasp technology, and business leaders who think systematically about human needs."
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