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| Otaniemi Otnäs |
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| Main District | Suur-Tapiola |
| Inner District(s) | Otaniemi, Keilaniemi |
| Population | 3,496 (2006) |
| Languages | |
| - Finnish | 82.6 % |
| - Swedish | 4.3 % |
| - Other | 13.2 % |
| Jobs | 12,826 |
Otaniemi (Finnish) or Otnäs (Swedish) is a district of Espoo, Finland. It is located near the border of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
Otaniemi is the home of (and often synonymously used for) the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) campus. However, several research and business facilities are also located in Otaniemi. The most prominent insitution for science in engineering in Otaniemi are the Finnish Innovation Center, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Micro- and Nanotechnology research center Micronova, the KCL pulp and paper research center, the CSC IT center for Scientific computing, the Geological survey of Finland (GTK) and the national bureau of measures MIKES. Business is represented in the area by the business incubator Technopolis. In the autumn of 2009 Otaniemi will become home to the Aalto University as Helsinki University of Technology merges with the University of Art and Design Helsinki and Helsinki School of Economics, it is however yet unknown if Otaniemi will be chosen as the sole future campus for the university.
Otaniemi hosts a vibrant - and at times rowdy - student community especially concentrated in the several blocks of student housing called Teekkarikylä (Swedish: Teknologbyn, literally technology students' village). Some buildings of Teekkarikylä are owned by the student association of TKK, others are owned by HOAS.
Many buildings located in the Otaniemi campus area, including the main building of TKK, are designed by the world-renowned Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. For this reason, the area is protected as a national scenic area, representing the modernist and functionalist architecture that Finland is famous for internationally.
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History
As late as the 1940s, Otaniemi was farmland. In 1949, the Government of Finland purchased the lands of Otaniemi manor for use as the campus of the University of Technology - TKK and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. First to be built was the student campus of the Helsinki University of Technology, which also served as one of the Olympic Villages in the 1952 games. Several thousand students currently live in Otaniemi. The region has since been built up around TKK and VTT and is at the core of Finnish scienctific and technological activities. The area is architecturally unique, boasting buildings designed by leading Finnish architects including Alvar Aalto, Heikki and Kaija Sirén, and Reima and Raili Pietilä. Otaniemi is a prime example of how physical proximity and interconnectedness foster collaboration and innovation between public and private organizations.
Education
Otaniemi is many times a been used as a synonym for the Helsinki University of Technology that has its campus in Otaniemi. In autumn 2009 Helsinki University of Technology will merge with the University of Art and Design Helsinki and Helsinki School of Economics to create a interdisciplinary university called the Aalto University. The name of the university symbolises change and is a tribute to Alvar Aalto, a prominent architect who is renowned for his achievements in technology, economics and art. The name portrays the new university’s idea, spirit, values and ambitions. Alvar Aalto is TKK’s alumnus and the designer of both the city plan for the Otaniemi area and the main building of TKK.
Aalto University creates a new science and arts community by bringing together three existing universities of technology, economics and art. The combination of three universities opens up new possibilities for strong multi-disciplinary education and research.
Research and Development
Otaniemi is also home to many of Finland's research and development organizations: VTT the national research center of Finland, Geological survey of Finland, Micronova the micro- and nanotechnology research center, VTT's paper and pulp industry research center (former KCL), MIKES the centre for metrology and accreditation and Helsinki University of Technology's 10 national centers of excellence create most of Finland's hitech patents within this small area.
Social roots of Information Technology in Otaniemi
Otaniemi has gained international recognition in ICT thanks largely to Nokia, but it also contains a host of other cutting-edge technology clusters, including mobility-based software and web ware, as well as nanotechnology and microelectronics. Companies, institutes and universities do world class research in a close-knit community that encourages collaborative R&D and commercial collaboration. Hundreds of networking and matchmaking events and activities are organized to help generate transactions between key players and their stakeholders and potential partners.
External links
Maps
| Preceding station: Keilaniemi |
Helsinki Metro stations (Länsimetro extension) |
Following station: Tapiola |
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