Where it all began—together with Aalto University
Aalto University joins Slush 2025 to accelerate their ecosystem of research-backed innovations — the very same ecosystem where the group of students with ambitious dreams and strong entrepreneurial drive initiated AaltoES, and later Slush in its current, student-led format.
In the hands of Aalto students back in 2010s, Slush was transformed into what we are today—a powerhouse of young, ambitious and curious 20-somethings building one of the most influential startup events in the world.
Bringing together three leading Finnish universities in 2010, Aalto was founded to work as a societally embedded research university. By today, they have become a forerunner in entrepreneurial thinking, radical creativity, multidisciplinary research and innovation, and have been an integral support for Slush from the very beginning.
Supporting a constant flow of research-born innovation, for Aalto Slush offers a relevant platform to network with investors, partners and media. The focus is on giving the floor to new projects making their way to change the world and offer a variety of investment opportunities in health and sustainability focused deep tech. At their booth, Aalto will also welcome new members to join the Aalto Startup Center accelerator.
Joint effort to boost Finnish economy
This year Aalto celebrates its 15th anniversary as a multidisciplinary university with a mission to boost entrepreneurial thinking. The newly launched, student-oriented Founder School initiative brings entrepreneurship closer to students through monthly Founder Talks event series, a new minor studies programme, and a tailor-made Founder Sprint for the most driven founders.
‘Finland’s strongest asset—economically and as a country—is the success of its growth companies. The programme aims to ensure that more companies emerge from Aalto in the future, and that they have better chances of success,’ says serial entrepreneur Mårten Mickos, previous CEO of global names such as HackerOne and MySQL AB, and one of the programme leaders. Mickos will be available for interviews during Slush.
Read more about Founder School here.