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Helsinki University of Technology (TKK), Finland, Reciprocal Exchange
Exchange Program: A brief definition
For every Iowa State student participating
in the exchange program, one TKK student comes to ISU. The program
length is either one semester or one academic year. Students earn full
academic credit and remain eligible for financial aid. Study abroad
scholarships are also available.
Helsinki Unversity of Technology (TKK)
Founded as the Helsinki Technical School in 1849 and granted university status in 1908, the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) now trains close to 50 percent of all Finnish university students in technological fields. The university today has about 11,000 students pursuing M.S. degrees (the first degree in Finland) in technology or architecture and 2,000 postgraduate students working on Licentiate's degrees or doctorates in technology. Foreign students number 400. The engineering and architecture faculties are the largest in size and are complemented by such facilities as the low temperature laboratory and the Center for Urban and Regional Studies.
TKK is situated on the coast at Otaniemi (population 176,000), ten kilometers west of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The modern airport, harbor, train, and bus links have turned Helsinki into an important connecting point between West and East. The self-contained campus was designed by the famed architect Alvar Aalto. It includes classroom and laboratory buildings, a student village, and various national institutes such as the Technical Research Center of Finland, Geological Survey, and State Computer Center. Student union facilities include a multi-purpose student center, stadium, swimming pool, indoor sports center, and athletic fields.
Helsinki
Helsinki is located on the Baltic Sea in southern Finland. Approximately 900,000 people, or roughly one-sixth of the population of Finland, live in greater Helsinki. It has been called "the city of the sea" because it is built on the peninsulas and islands that jut out into the Baltic. Its streets curve around the bays, bridges span the distance to nearby islands, and ferries shuttle back and forth to the islands farther off.
As a European capital, Helsinki is relatively young and new. Approximately 400 years ago, the King of Sweden ordered the people of four Finnish villages to move to the rapids on the Vantaa River, the site of modern Helsinki, to challenge the trading monopoly of the Hanseatic League. The city, however, did not begin to flourish until the early 1800s when the then Russian rulers moved the capital of Finland to Helsinki from Turku. When Turku suffered a devastating fire shortly after this, the Russians decided to also move the university to Helsinki.
Helsinki also suffered a devastating fire shortly after it became the capital.
The Russian rulers subsequently commissioned the German architect Carl Ludvig Engel to design and rebuild the city. As a result, Helsinki has some of the best examples of neoclassical architecture in the world. Several modern buildings designed by world-renowned Finnish architects such as Eliel Saarinen and Alvar Aalto add to the beauty of Helsinki's skyline.
Helsinki is a three- to four-hour train ride from St. Petersburg. Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is only a short ferry ride from Helsinki, perfect for a day trip. An overnight ferry connects Helsinki with Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. In addition, an inexpensive train or bus ride can quickly take you to Lapland. Most Finns consider the fall Lapland colors to be one of the wonders of the world.
Academic notes
The university offers a number of International University Programs (Linkage Programs) that are taught in English and are most appropriate for ISU participants. These programs are Architecture (including building, urban planning, and landscape architecture), International Business and Business Strategy, and Modern Technology in the Pulp and Paper Industry (process control and management), in addition to Mining Technology and Economics. In the future, there will be a new International University Program in Materials Science. Also recommended is the program in Finnish society and culture.
Language notes
The Linkage Programs described above are taught in English. Knowledge of Finnish language is not required but is desirable. Independent study and research projects can be arranged in English, Swedish, German, or French. Semi-intensive and regular courses in Finnish are available beginning in September but are not part of the exchange agreement.
Brochure
