Tampere University presented awards for excellence at the Annual Celebration

As the main event of Tampere University’s Year of Celebrations 2025, the Annual Celebration highlighted the University’s 100-year journey and the 60-year history of higher education and academic research in technology in Tampere.  

The event featured speeches, musical performances and an awards ceremony. The event was hosted by theatre arts students Vilma Hartikainen and Vincent Kinnunen.

In his opening speech, President Keijo Hämäläinen emphasised the importance of collaboration between the University and technology companies, as well as the active participation of researchers and students in the societal debate.

“These two tasks - societal impact and innovation-driven cooperation - are now placed in the same university. They do not compete, but reinforce each other," said Hämäläinen.

In her keynote speech, Paula Eerola, President of the Research Council of Finland, emphasised the importance of new knowledge in navigating our changing society.

More than 1,000 employees, students and stakeholders gathered to celebrate the University at Tampere Hall.

Johanna Lamminen wins the Alum of the Year Award

President Keijo Hämäläinen announced Johanna Lamminen as the winner of the Alum of the Year Award. Lamminen holds a doctorate in industrial engineering and management and currently serves as the CEO of Novana Ltd, where she advances Europe’s self-sufficiency in minerals. Before joining Novana, Lamminen led Gasum from 2013 to 2021 and Danske Bank’s Finland branch from 2011 to 2013. She is also an experienced Board member.

Read more about our Alum of the Year Johanna Lamminen.

Markku Karjalainen receives the Societal Impact Award

Tampere University’s Societal Impact Award was presented to Professor of Architectural Construction Markku Karjalainen in recognition of his excellent and long-standing contributions to the development and advancement of timber construction in Finland. Known for his strong advocacy of timber in the construction of blocks of flats, Karjalainen is a well-liked supervisor, instructor and teacher within the university community. The award was presented by Vice President Jarmo Takala, who chairs the Societal Interaction Council at Tampere University.

“Markku Karjalainen has extensively engaged in specialist activities related to timber construction, and his expertise has been highly regarded by industry, companies, educational institutions, the Finnish Government and the media for over 30 years,” Takala said.

The award is granted by Tampere University’s Societal Interaction Council and funded by the University of Tampere Foundation and the Industrial Research Fund at Tampere University of Technology. The award is worth €2,000.

Read more about the research conducted by Professor Karjalainen. 

Open Science Promoter Award presented to CIVIT

Tampere University’s Open Science Promoter Award was granted to the Centre for Immersive Visual Technologies (CIVIT) from the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences (ITC). CIVIT is a pioneer of producing and providing openly accessible visual materials. CIVIT has devised a storage model for multimodal, visual data that has also been widely utilised for research purposes beyond CIVIT. Not only researchers but also students and companies have benefited from the data generated by CIVIT. 

The award was presented by Vice President for Strategic Development Antti Lönnqvist.

The Open Science Promoter Award is granted based on nominations from the Tampere University community, with the recipient selected by the University’s Open Science Steering Committee. The award is funded by the University of Tampere Foundation sr and the Industrial Research Fund at Tampere University of Technology sr. The award is worth €5,000.

Read more about the Open Science Promoter Award granted to CIVIT. 

The Excellence in Teaching and Pedagogical Development Award shared between Sanna Ala-Kortesmaa and Transport Research Centre Verne

The Excellence in Teaching and Pedagogical Development Award highlights the exceptional quality of teaching and pedagogical development at Tampere University. In 2025, the award focused on the importance of multicultural perspectives, inclusion as well as global and ethical responsibility in teaching. The award criteria emphasised teaching that opens up opportunities for internationalisation among students, promotes the integration of international students and fosters the development of international collaboration skills. This year, the award was shared between two recipients.

The first recipient is University Lecturer Sanna Ala-Kortesmaa from the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences (ITC). Besides her other achievements, Ala-Kortesmaa has developed an English-taught Digital Communication Course that supports internationalisation among students on their home campus and makes international learning accessible to all. 

The second recipient is the Transport Research Centre Verne housed within the Faculty of Built Environment (BEN). Verne offers courses that bring together Finnish and international students, allowing them to interact, share experiences and build networks. Markus Pöllänen, Hanne Tiikkaja and Erika Kallionpää accepted the award on Verne’s behalf.

The awards were presented by Vice President for Education Marja Sutela.

The award is granted by the University’s Teaching and Learning Centre and funded by Tampere University. Each award is worth €4,000.

Awards recognising high-quality doctoral dissertations and prolific publishers

In a separate awards ceremony, the University of Tampere Foundation and the Industrial Research Fund at Tampere University of Technology presented awards in recognition of doctoral dissertations approved with distinction and high-impact publishing activities. In addition, the student union TREY granted Good Teacher Awards. 

Read more about the awards presented by the foundations.

Read more about the events included in our Year of Celebrations 

Further information

viestinta.tau [at] tuni.fi (viestinta[dot]tau[at]tuni[dot]fi)