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Matti Alahuhta, Chair of the Aalto University Board, and Anna Valtonen, Dean of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, have been selected to be international members of The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA (Kungliga Ingenjörsvetenskapsakademin).

The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences promotes the development of technology and economic and business life, and acts as a bridge builder and network for information exchange.  IVA has around one thousand members from the business, higher education and government sectors. Of these members, 271 live outside of Sweden and 40 are Finnish. The Academy can select as international members individuals who have made significant accomplishments in areas covered by the Academy, and who have developed cooperative work with Swedish research and business organisations.

Doctor of Arts Anna Valtonen works at present as Dean of Aalto University's School of Arts, Design and Architecture. The IVA's reasons for the decision included the fact that Ms Valtonen has for a long time been a forerunner in the realm of industrial design who is developing the subject field further, and is also a respected lecturer.  She has also worked actively to develop research cooperation between the Finnish and Swedish industrial design sectors. Ms Valtonen was the rector of UmeÃ¥ Institute of Design in Sweden from 2009 to 2014.

Doctor of Science (Technology) Matti Alahuhta serves as Chair on the boards of Aalto University, DevCo Partners Ltd and Outotec PLC, and also as Vice Chair on the board of the Confederation of Finnish Industries. He is also a member on the boards of, among others, KONE PLC, UPM Kymmene PLC, Volvo Ltd, and ABB. Mr Alahuhta served as CEO of KONE PLC from 2005 to 2014, and had previously served as, among other things, President of Nokia Telecommunications, President of Nokia Mobile Phones and Executive Vice President of Nokia Corp.

Additional information:

Aalto University, Communications, Eeva Lehtinen, p. +358 50 321 7034