sv, Åbo universitet
, latin_name = Universitas Aboensis
, image_name = University of Turku.svg
, motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle''
, established = 1920
, type =
Public University
A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universit ...
, endowment =
, administrative_staff = 3,412
, rector =
Jukka Kola
, students = 20,768
, undergrad = 8,247
, postgrad = 6,244
, doctoral = 1,984
, city =
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
, country =
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, campus = Urban
, free_label =
, free =
, colors =
, colours =
, mascot =
, affiliations =
Coimbra Group
The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...
,
UArctic
The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arct ...
, website
Official Website (in English) , motto_lang = fin
, mottoeng = The gift of a free nation to free science
, native_name_lang = fin
The University of Turku ( fi, Turun yliopisto, in sv, Åbo universitet, shortened ''UTU''), located in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
in
southwestern
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, is the third largest
university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in the country as measured by student enrollment, after the
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...
and
Tampere University
Tampere University (, shortened TAU) is a Finnish university that was established on 1 January, 2019 as a merger between the University of Tampere and Tampere University of Technology. The new university is also the major shareholder of Tampere U ...
. It is a multidisciplinary university with eight faculties. It was established in 1920 and also has facilities at
Rauma,
Pori
)
, website www.pori.fi
Pori (; sv, Björneborg ) is a city and municipality on the west coast of Finland. The city is located some from the Gulf of Bothnia, on the estuary of the Kokemäki River, west of Tampere, north of Turku and north-w ...
,
Kevo
Kevo Strict Nature Reserve ( fi, Kevon luonnonpuisto) is a strict nature reserve located in Utsjoki, northern Lapland, Finland. It was established in 1956 and covers .
The reserve is a popular backpacking destination due to its canyon-like g ...
and
Seili. The university is a member of the
Coimbra Group
The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...
and the European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U).
History
The Royal Academy of Turku
The first university to be established in Turku was
The Royal Academy of Turku
The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...
, in 1640, which was transferred to the new Capital,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, after the
Great Fire of Turku
The Great Fire of Turku ( fi, Turun palo, sv, Åbo brand and russian: Пожар Або) was a conflagration in the city of Turku in 1827. It is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The city had burned ...
in 1827.
Three famous Finns began their studies in Turku in 1822. These were
Johan Vilhelm Snellman
Johan Vilhelm Snellman (; 12 May 1806 – 4 July 1881) was an influential Fennoman philosopher and Finnish statesman, ennobled in 1866. He was one of the most important 'awakeners' or promoters of Finnish nationalism, alongside Elias Lönnrot an ...
,
Elias Lönnrot
Elias Lönnrot (; 9 April 1802 – 19 March 1884) was a Finnish physician, philologist and collector of traditional Finnish oral poetry. He is best known for creating the Finnish national epic, ''Kalevala'',
(1835, enlarged 1849), from short ...
, and
Johan Ludvig Runeberg who have a statue on University Hill. Another reminder of the Royal Academy is the
Old Academy Building near the university's campus.
The University of Turku
The modern University of Turku was founded in 1920. The Finnish intelligentsia wanted a purely
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
university, the first of its kind in Finland. 22,040 people contributed to the fund-raising campaign. Newly gained
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
and the campaign are reflected in the motto of the university about a free people's gift to free science. To honour the memory of these donors, the university has named its specially created
liqueur
A liqueur (; ; ) is an alcoholic drink composed of spirits (often rectified spirit) and additional flavorings such as sugar, fruits, herbs, and spices. Often served with or after dessert, they are typically heavily sweetened and un-aged beyond ...
"22 040". Developed by the university's own food chemists, the liqueur does homage to some of the distinctive fruits of the Finnish landscape: the
cloudberry
''Rubus chamaemorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to cool temperate regions, alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest. This herbaceous perennial produces amber-colored edible fruit similar to the blackbe ...
, the
rowan
The rowans ( or ) or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus ''Sorbus
''Sorbus'' is a genus of over 100 species of trees and shrubs in the rose family, Rosaceae. Species of ''Sorbus'' (''s.l.'') are commonly known as whitebeam, r ...
and the
sea buckthorn
''Hippophae'' is the genus of sea buckthorns, deciduous shrubs in the family Elaeagnaceae. The name sea buckthorn may be hyphenated to avoid confusion with the unrelated true buckthorns (''Rhamnus'', family Rhamnaceae). It is also referred to as ...
.
The first premises of the University of Turku were in the centre of the city, by the market square. In the 1950s a new campus was built on (''Russian Hill'' – now known as University Hill). In the 1960s the university started to expand rapidly, a process that still continues.
The university was made a public institution in 1974.
Since 1995 the University of Turku has been a member of the
Coimbra Group
The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 41 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and resear ...
. In 2017, the university became a member of The European Campus of City-Universities (EC2U).
In January 2010, the
Turku School of Economics
Turku School of Economics ( Finnish ''Turun kauppakorkeakoulu'') is a unit of the University of Turku located in Turku, Finland. It was established as an independent higher education business school in 1950, until it was acquired by the state in 1 ...
merged with the University of Turku, forming a seventh faculty of the university.
[
In 2021, the Faculty of Technology was established as the eighth faculty of the university.
]
Enrollment
The university has approximately 22,000 degree students. Bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees are offered both in Finnish and in English. The largest faculties are the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Science and Technology.
The University is a home for The University of Turku Graduate School (UTUGS) which consists of doctoral programmes covering all disciplines. The graduate school has approximately 2,000 doctoral candidates pursuing a PhD.
Faculties
There are altogether eight faculties in the University of Turku
* Faculty of Humanities
* Faculty of Education
* Faculty of Medicine
* Faculty of Science
* Faculty of Law
* Faculty of Social Sciences
* Turku School of Economics
Turku School of Economics ( Finnish ''Turun kauppakorkeakoulu'') is a unit of the University of Turku located in Turku, Finland. It was established as an independent higher education business school in 1950, until it was acquired by the state in 1 ...
* Faculty of Technology
In addition to the faculties, the research and learning activities at the university take place in five independent units: Brahea Centre of the University of Turku, Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Turku PET Centre, Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO and Turku Bioscience Centre.
Organisation
250px, Turku School of Economics
The university management consists of the Board, The Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
and the vice rectors and the University Collegiate Council.
''The Board'' is the highest decision-making organ of the university and is made up of 10 members from academia, society and studentshi
It develops the university's operating processes and approves plans concerning its financing and activities; it decide on the guidelines of granting appropriations; it give its opinion in any matters of significance that concern the university in principle and the Board approves the service regulations and other similar rules.
''The Rector'' directs the activities and processes of the university and solves any issues concerning its general management. The Rector represents the university and uses the university's right to speak in courts of law and in dealings with the authorities. Professor Jukka Kola is currently the elected Rector.
The University Collegiate Council consists of 30 members: ten professors, ten other teaching and research personnel and other staff and ten students.
Campus area
The University of Turku shares a campus with Åbo Akademi University
Åbo Akademi University ( sv, Åbo Akademi , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activiti ...
and elements of Turku Science Park
Turku Science Park is a community of businesses and educational establishments in the city of Turku, Finland. It focuses on development of the biotechnology and IT industries in southwestern Finland through cooperation of the different factors i ...
. The area also encompasses Turku University Hospital (TYKS) and the Student Village. The Main Building and the surrounding complex was built in the fifties on what became known as the University Hill. The campus is constantly expanding, the latest example is the Medisiina D building which houses the facilities of the Faculty of Medicine. The university also owns the Botanic Garden at Ruissalo as well as the research station at the Island of Seili. In addition to the campus area in Turku, the university also has campus areas in the nearby cities of Pori and Rauma.
Research
As defined in its strategy 2030, the university's multidisciplinary research is profiled through six thematic areas which are biodiversity and sustainability; future technologies and digital society; cultural memory and social change; children, young people and learning; health, diagnostics and drug development; and sea and maritime studies.
The University of Turku has been involved in many research projects in the Peruvian Amazon
Peruvian Amazonia ( es, Amazonía del Perú) is the area of the Amazon rainforest included within the country of Peru, from east of the Andes to the borders with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia. This region comprises 60% of the country ...
. With the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (''Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana – IIAP''), based in Iquitos
Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the ninth-most populous city of Peru. Iquitos is the largest city in the world th ...
, has been studying the Amazon in the BIODAMAZ Project.
Famous alumni
* Sauli Niinistö
Sauli Väinämö Niinistö (; born 24 August 1948) is a Finnish politician who has served as president of Finland since March 2012, the 12th person to hold that office.
A lawyer by education, Niinistö was Chairman of the National Coalition Part ...
– 12th and incumbent President of Finland
* Mauno Koivisto
Mauno Henrik Koivisto (; 25 November 1923 – 12 May 2017) was a Finnish politician who served as the ninth president of Finland from 1982 to 1994. He also served as the country's prime minister twice, from 1968 to 1970 and again from 1979 to 1 ...
– 9th President of Finland
* Liisa Hyssälä
Liisa Marja Hyssälä (born 18 December 1948 in Ii) is a retired Finnish politician of the Centre Party. She was a member of the Parliament of Finland
The Parliament of Finland ( ; ) is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finl ...
– Member of Parliament, Minister of Health and Social Services
* Paula Lehtomäki
Paula Lehtomäki (born 29 November 1972 in Kuhmo, Finland) is a Finnish politician. She started her political career in 1996, when she was elected to the Kuhmo town council. In 1999 she was elected to the Finnish Parliament, and again in 2003. In ...
– Member of Parliament, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development
* Pekka Puska
Pekka Puska (born 18 December 1945 in Vaasa) is a Finnish physician, docent and politician. Puska held the position of Director General of the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Finland in 2009–2013. THL was formed following t ...
– Member of Parliament, physician
* Ville Niinistö
Ville Matti Niinistö (born 30 July 1976) is a Finnish politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He is a former member of parliament, former chairperson of the Green League and served as Minister of the En ...
– Member of the European Parliament
* Timo Airaksinen – Professor of Moral Philosophy
* Jarmo Viinanen – diplomat, Secretary General of the Presidential Office
* Heli Laaksonen – poet
* Kaisa Sofia Matomäki – mathematician and SASTRA Ramanujan Prize
The SASTRA Ramanujan Prize, founded by Shanmugha Arts, Science, Technology & Research Academy (SASTRA) located near Kumbakonam, India, Srinivasa Ramanujan's hometown, is awarded every year to a young mathematician judged to have done outstanding ...
winner
Rectors
Chancellors
The Chancellor, appointed by the President of Finland upon proposal of the Finnish Government, was to promote science and scholarship, look after the general interests of the university and supervise its activities. The Chancellor confirmed the standing orders and other corresponding general regulations of the university. The most visible task of the Chancellor was the appointment of the Professors and the Docents of the university. Professor Pekka Puska was the last person to hold this position until it was abolished based on the decision of the University Board. The duties were reassigned to the Rector.
See also
* List of modern universities in Europe (1801–1945)
The list of modern universities in Europe (1801–1940) contains all universities that were founded in Europe after the French Revolution and before the end of World War II. Universities are regarded as comprising all institutions of higher ed ...
References
External links
The University of Turku
Turku Centre for Computer Science (TUCS)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turku, University Of
Educational institutions established in 1920
University of Turku
sv, Åbo universitet
, latin_name = Universitas Aboensis
, image_name = University of Turku.svg
, motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle''
, established = 1920
, type ...
Universities and colleges in Finland
1920 establishments in Finland