Why I Chose to Study at Aalto University

Hi everyone! I am Elisa Pöyry, a first-year master’s student at Aalto University School of Business majoring in marketing. I completed my bachelor’s degree at Aalto University BScBA programme in Mikkeli, with a major in international business. Thus, I started my studies at Aalto already in 2020 but still remember the main reasons that made me want to study and apply here. In this blog post, I will discuss those reasons, as well as my experience at Aalto.

High Quality of Education

Aalto is a university of high international standing, and is known for its excellent ranking positions. In subject-specific rankings, Aalto places 6th globally in art & design, and is in the top 100 in many other subjects. Moreover, the Times Higher Education (THE) ranking list places Aalto as 53rd most international university in the world. The international reputation is also connected to Aalto’s excellent reputation in Finland, which of course affected my university decision as a Finnish student.

In Aalto, science and art meet technology and business, and the university shapes a sustainable future. Aalto also creates positive social impact through strong research work, which can be seen through several recognitions. In the beginning of this year, Financial Times gave international recognition to the sustainability education of the Aalto University School of Business, when the Responsible Business Education Award 2024 was given to five business schools in the world. 

Multidisciplinary Studies

As a university that combines science and art with technology and business, Aalto has very multidisciplinary courses across different fields. Furthermore, students can also take electives and minor from different schools at Aalto. This allows them to build multidisciplinary skills that are highly valued in the working life. Moreover, the course selection at Aalto is wide and therefore you can create very unique combination of courses to your degree, based on your interests.

I was also very impressed by the selection of courses offered at the School of Business, when choosing my university. There exist a lot of multidisciplinary courses in the marketing program, which I am currently attending. Furthermore, I am able to enhance my skills and study other subjects very flexibly as well. For example, I am taking courses in finance due to my interest in topics of financial markets and institutions as well as corporate finance. Moreover, I am also planning to include courses from the information technology programme to my degree.

International Community

Another thing that caught my attention to Aalto was the international atmosphere of the university. The Aalto community is a blend of cultures since there are students and faculty from all around the world. In addition, students can also gain international experience through exchange studies at other top universities around the world, and you can also get a grant for your exchange at Aalto.

Exchange semester is also part of studies at the BScBA program in Mikkeli, which further strengthened my decision to complete bachelor’s degree there. I did an exchange semester at Aston University in Birmingham, in the U.K, which was an extremely valuable experience especially for someone majoring in international business. Furthermore, having an international community at Aalto also brings great value to course discussions and group work.

There are, of course, several other reasons to choose Aalto as well. These include active student life and wide variety of clubs and associations, advanced research opportunities, as well as strong career prospects. Overall, I am extremely grateful for my decision to study at Aalto and for my experiences in Mikkeli and Otaniemi. Aalto has enabled me to learn and grow in an international environment, explore different fields, as well as develop valuable skills for the future.

Elisa Pöyry

MSc Student in the Marketing Programme