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Photos: Antti Lehto, Mary-Ann Alfthán

This year's Aalto Pioneering Excellence Award was given to two teams, one of which is the satellite team led by Associate Professor Jaan Praks. The pioneering work of the research team started the era of small satellites in Finland with the launch of the country's first satellite, Aalto-1, in 2017. A third student-project satellite is now under construction, and satellites have also been built for research use. 

Moreover, satellite projects have led to the development of space tech industry in Finland – the most notable example is the student-driven space technology company Iceye. 

'Many of the awarded team members started out as students working with satellites, and today they are influencers in the space industry in Finland and around the world. The sector is growing and developing rapidly, and the companies created by students and researchers have brought economic success of the field to Finland as well,' says Praks.

'The satellite team has done a great job in promoting multidisciplinary cooperation both inside and outside Aalto. We are also particularly pleased that the students involved have set up companies and continue to work with the research team,' said Veli-Matti Mattila, Chair of the Board of Directors at Orion Corporation, who presented the award and leads the award team. 

The Aalto Pioneering Excellence Award is given annually at Aalto to teams that are doing pioneering work to improve the quality and excellence of operations. The award is made possible by a fund established by long-time business leader Matti Sundberg. The award ceremony took place on 29 November at Dipoli. In addition to Mattila, the awards were presented by Professor Risto Rajala, Director of Aalto Design Factory Tua Björklund and Associate Professor Tuuli Mattelmäki. 

Read more about the Space Technology research group

Another recipient of the Aalto Pioneering Excellence Award is the Research Services Pre-award team, which supports researchers in obtaining external funding. Almost half of Aalto University's funding comes from competitive funding sources other than the basic funding provided by the Ministry of Education and Culture. 

According to the award jury, the team has shown an excellent attitude to sharing knowledge and supporting researchers, and has actively developed research service processes. Researchers from across Aalto have expressed their satisfaction with the support provided by the team. 

"Competition for funding is very fierce and the world of research funding can be very unfamiliar especially for young researchers. The team's experts have extensive experience in writing and preparing proposals, so we can give researchers valuable advice and help with the application process in many ways," says Head of Pre-award services Claudia Dell'Era. 

The pre-award team consists of 15 experts, all former researchers themselves. Some of them are Grant Writers, who are involved in writing research funding proposals, especially for large national funders and the EU Framework Programme. The rest of the team are Research Liaison Officers, who advise applicants comprehensively on all kinds of application matters.

Read more about Research & Innovation Services (for Aalto community only)

The honourable mention was awarded to Closing Loops, a pilot project in the circular economy led by Assistant Professor of Housing Design Antti Lehto. 

The team will build a warehouse building in Mustikkamaa, Helsinki using recycled materials and investigating how the reuse of materials affects design, costs and carbon footprint. The building will be completed in May 2025 for the use of the City of Helsinki. It will also provide valuable research information in the future, for example on the weather resistance of recycled materials and the indoor air quality in the building.

Read more about the Closing Loops project