Tampere University of Technology

Not to be confused with University of Tampere.

Tampere University of Technology
Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto
Former names	Tampereen teknillinen korkeakoulu, also translated as Tampere University of Technology
Motto	Technology for the Benefit of People and the Environment
Established	1972
Type	Public Foundation
Budget	Approx. €147 million (2013)
Rector	Markku Kivikoski
Administrative staff	1,463 (2013)
Students	9,904 (2013)
Undergraduates	8,449 (2013)
Doctoral students	1,455 (2013)
Location	Tampere, Finland 61°26′58″N 023°51′36″E
Campus	Urban
Colours	Green, Blue and Grey
Affiliations	EUA, SEFI, VTT, MCA
Website	www.tut.fi

Tampere University of Technology (TUT) (Finnish: Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto (TTY)) is Finland's second-largest university in engineering sciences. The university is located in Hervanta, a suburb of Tampere.

The university's statutory duty is to pursue research and give the highest education in its field. The research, conducted by some 1,800 staff and faculty members, mostly focuses on applied science and often has close ties to many different companies (such as Nokia). Located next to the university campus is a Technology Centre Hermia, including a large Nokia research facility. The yearly budget of the university is some 147 million euros. TUT is one of the only two Finnish universities which operate as foundation. Close to 50% of its budget is external funding.

History

Festia viewed in front of the Päätalo building

From the late 19th century, Tampere had been the most important industrial center in Finland. The Technical Institute of Tampere had provided engineers for its industries since 1911, but all higher technological education in Finland took place in Helsinki University of Technology. In 1950's, the city of Tampere started actively remedying the situation, first founding a municipal scientific library in 1955. This library later formed the core for the libraries of the TUT and the medical faculty of the University of Tampere In 1960, city succeeded in persuading the small private university Yhteiskunnallinen korkeakoulu to move to Tampere from Helsinki. A few years later, this university changed its name to University of Tampere.

The founding of the Tampere University of Technology was one of the steps of the city and the local business life in bringing higher education to the region. The university was founded in 1965 as a branch of Helsinki University of Technology and became an independent university status in 1972. The Student Union of Tampere University of Technology (Tampereen teknillisen yliopiston ylioppilaskunta, TTYY) was also established alongside with the university.

In 2003, the university changed its Finnish name from TTKK (Tampereen teknillinen korkeakoulu) to TTY (Tampereen teknillinen yliopisto) so that the Finnish name would be closer to the English name and to distinguish itself from polytechnics that are not universities in the meaning of the Humboldtian university ideal or in the meaning of the Finnish law.

As a part of the Finnish university reform, Tampere University of Technology chose to become one of the two Finnish universities operating as foundations in the beginning of 2010. The university hopes that compared to the previous form of state agency, the foundation form gives it more operational freedom.

Faculties

Tampere University of Technology comprises four faculties:

• Faculty of Business and Built Environment:
  • School of Architecture
  • Department of Civil Engineering
  • Department of Industrial Management
  • Department of Information Management and Logistics
  • Language Centre
  • Centre for Professional Development Edutech
• Faculty of Computing and Electrical Engineering
  • Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering
  • Department of Signal Processing
  • Department of Electrical Engineering
  • Department of Pervasive Computing
• Faculty of Engineering Sciences
  • Department of Automation Science and Engineering
  • Department of Intelligent Hydraulics and Automation
  • Department of Materials Science
  • Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Systems
• Faculty of Natural Sciences
  • Department of Chemistry and Bioengineering
  • Department of Mathematics
  • Department of Physics
  • Optoelectronics Research Centre

• 

  Päätalo

• 

  Konetalo

• 

  Sähkötalo

• 

  Rakennustalo

• 

  Festia

• 

  Tietotalo

Academics

University rankings

QS World	362
QS Engineering	267

Research

Tampere University of Technology is primarily a research university, which specializes in technology and architecture. While all departments pursue scientific research and publish in international, peer-reviewed journals, the strongest areas of the university are signal processing, nanophotonics, biotechnology, and intelligent mobile hydraulic systems. The university has one Finnish Center of Excellence, the Signal Processing Laboratory. In addition, it participates in two other Finnish Centers of Excellence.

In 2007, the researchers of TUT published 1282 papers in peer-reviewed international publications, meaning an average of a little more than one article per researcher.

The university has 131 full professors, 78 tenured lecturers, and 842 researchers.

Tampere University of Technology was selected as one of the best universities under 50 years old by Times Higher Education.

Research assessment 2011

An international independent team made an assessment of research quality in TUT in 2011 . The Assessment Scale was: Outstanding International Level (5), Very Good International Level (4), Good International Level (3), Fair International Level (2), and Poor International Level (1). When comparing the results between different faculties, the results are not comparable as the assessment was done by different group of people for different faculties. Intra-faculty comparisons however can be done based on the results. Furthermore, the numerical evaluations were accompanied with the verbal assessments, which give better understanding than the plain integer numbers. Overall, the results were mostly in the range of Very Good and Good International Level.

HR Excellence in Research

In recognition of development activities related to research careers and the position of researchers at the University, the European Commission awarded Tampere University of Technology the right to use the HR Excellence in Research logo in spring 2014.

The logo demonstrates that the working conditions and career opportunities of research staff at TUT comply with recommendations given by the European Commission in The European Charter for Researchers and The Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers. The Charter & Code aim to give equal rights and obligations to individual researchers throughout Europe, therefore improving mobility and working conditions as well as reinforcing research and development across Europe.

Undergraduate Degree Programs

Professor Samuli Siltanen, member of the Finnish Center of Excellence in Inverse Problems, lecturing

The university awards undergraduate degrees of tekniikan kandidaatti (Bachelor of Science in Technology (B.Sc. Tech.) or Architecture (B.Sc. Arch.), diplomi-insinööri (Master of Science in Technology (M.Sc. Tech.), and arkkitehti (M.Sc. Arch.). The recommended time for the completion of master's degree is five years (3 for B.Sc. and 2 for M.Sc.) to complete. In practice, the students use little bit less than seven years for their studies, on average. However, this average includes the compulsory military service of 6–12 months that most of the male students (76% of the student body) complete before graduation. Yearly, some 800–850 masters graduate from TUT.

Studies leading up to a M.Sc. available in the Finnish language are:

• Architecture
• Automation Engineering
• Biotechnology
• Civil Engineering
• Signal Processing and Communications Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental and Energy Technology
• Industrial Engineering and Management
• Information and Knowledge Management
• Information Technology
• Materials Engineering
• Fibre and Textile Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Science and Engineering

International Master's Degree Programs

Apart from the programs in the Finnish language, these M.Sc. programs are available in English:

• Sustainable Architecture
• Bioengineering
• Automation Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Industrial Engineering and Management
• Information Technology
• Materials Science
• Science and Engineering

There are no B.Sc. degree programs in English.

Post-Graduate Degree Programs

All programs leading to M.Sc. also offer the possibility of continuing research until a doctoral degree. As usual in Finland, the completion of doctoral degree requires a certain amount of courses taught (worth at least 60 ECTS) and a dissertation containing original scientific research, usually published in international peer-reviewed journals. Depending on the prior education of the student, the doctoral degree is either tekniikan tohtori (Doctor of Science in Technology or Architecture) or filosofian tohtori (Doctor of Philosophy). As a general rule, the graduate students with a Master's degree in Technology or Architecture will be awarded the Doctor of Science degree, while graduate students with a Master's degree in other majors will be awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. A tekniikan lisensiaatti (Licentiate of Technology) is also available. Yearly, some 70 doctors graduate. The mean age of new doctors is 34.

As in all Finnish universities, all degree programs at all levels offer free tuition both to domestic and international students.

Student life

"Student baptism" for first year students in the rapids during Vappu

All undergraduate students are members of the Student Union of Tampere University of Technology. Post-graduate students are given the option of joining. In addition to the student union, students join numerous associations for studies, cultural activity, and sports. Each of the 14 guilds at TUT serve the students in their respective study program and has their uniquely coloured student boilersuit. There are also numerous other clubs that focus on different hobbies, such as alpine skiing, photographing and skydiving.

List of guilds and clubs known to have an English Wikipedia article:

• Tampere Academic Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: Tampereen akateeminen sinfoniaorkesteri)

Student housing

Most of the undergraduate students at Tampere are living in apartments offered by the Tampere Student Housing Foundation (TOAS). TOAS offers different kinds of housing options also near the Hervanta campus. The apartments are typically small studios and shared flats. The most well-known student housing complex in Tampere region is Mikontalo.

Notable people and alumni

• Jarl-Thure Eriksson - Professor Emeritus, Rector 1997–2008
• Markus Pessa - Professor Emeritus, Millennium Distinction Award
• Gunnar Graeffe - Professor Emeritus, Founder of Physics Department
• Reino Kurki-Suonio - Professor Emeritus, Pioneer of Information Technology
• Jorma Rissanen - Professor Emeritus, IEEE Richard W. Hamming Medal
• Mikko Kaasalainen - D.Phil, Applied mathematician and mathematical physicist
• Hailemariam Desalegn – M.Sc. (Tech.), Prime Minister of Ethiopia
• Rainer Mahlamäki - M.Sc. (Arch.), Architect
• Tapio Kuula - M.Sc. (Tech.) and M.Ec., President and CEO of Fortum
• Jouko Karvinen - M.Sc. (Tech.), Former CEO of Stora Enso
• Jukka Siren - M.Sc. (Arch.), Architect
• Matti Kähkönen - M.Sc. (Tech.), President and CEO of Metso
• Paavo V. Suominen - Vuorineuvos
• Petteri Järvinen - M.Sc. (Tech.), IT-professional and non-fiction writer
• Pentti Avotie - Teollisuusneuvos and Vuorineuvos

Rectors

• Markku Kivikoski 2008–
• Jarl-Thure Eriksson 1997–2008
• Timo Lepistö 1985–1996
• Osmo Hassi 1975–1985
• Pekka Ahonen 1972–1975

See also

• Institute of technology
• List of universities in Finland
• Mikontalo
• University Consortium of Pori

External links

• (English) Tampere University of Technology Official site, tut.fi