I had no access to the internet on Wednesday, so this blog is a little late. Wednesday began with checking out of the University of Hesinki Guest House and then walking to Dr. Fairweather's hotel to grab taxis to go to Aalto University. Aalto is in one of Helsinki's suburbs, Espoo. Aalto opened its doors January 1, 2010 and was created when three other universities merged: Helsinki University of Technology, Helsinki School of Economics, and University of Art and Design Helsinki. Currently they are at three separate campuses, but the goal is to move all of the bachelor students to the Espoo campus by 2015 (I think). They are currently in the process of reforming the bachelor program so it aligns with the Bologna Process. Aalto University's organization resembles that of American schools because it has a board of external members and schools (instead of Faculties).
We had a tour of the Espoo campus, which was the Helsinki University of Technology campus before Aalto was created. Again, this campus is very similar to a campus you would find in America. They even have campus housing . . . but the university doesn't control the housing. We did not get to see the housing. :( After touring the campus, we attended the Year Show which showcases the theses of the masters students . . . 92 exhibits. They had a very cool system to provide you with additional information of exhibits that you liked. I indicated on a card what exhibits I liked and at the end I put the card in a machine and it created a website specifically for me with those exhibits. My favorite was the creation of the Half Chair! Many of us sit on the front half of a chair and then lean back, but this isn't good for posture and back. So, this chair gives you the half seat with the backing. Simply amazing! When I get a chance, I'll give you the website so you can see what exhibits I liked. Click here for the website.
We had to check in at another hotel . . . for one night. This hotel is located in the northen part of the city . . . no where near the City Centre. Ironically, the restaurant we decided to go to was closer to our original hotel. This restaurant, Savu, is located on the island Tervassari. It was amazing!! We were there for about 3 hours and got back to the hotel about 10:30pm . . . just as the sun was setting. :)
Overall, it was a wonderful day. We are currently taking the train to Tampere. Dr. Fairweather knows this city extremely well because he's been coming to the University of Tampere since 2004.
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