Åbo Akademi University ( sv, Åbo Akademi , ) is the only exclusively

Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic coun ...

multi-faculty

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

(or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

(Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

. Åbo Akademi should not be confused with the

Royal Academy of Åbo The Royal Academy of Turku or the Royal Academy of Åbo ( sv, Kungliga Akademin i Åbo or ; la, Regia Academia Aboensis; fi, Turun akatemia) was the first university in Finland, and the only Finnish university that was founded when the country ...

, which was founded in 1640, but moved to

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

after the Turku fire of 1827 and is today known as the

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

. Åbo Akademi was founded by private donations in 1918 as the third university in Finland, both to let Turku again become a university town and because it was felt that the Swedish language was threatened at the University of Helsinki. The Finnish

University of Turku sv, Åbo universitet , latin_name = Universitas Aboensis , image_name = University of Turku.svg , motto = ''Vapaan kansan lahja vapaalle tieteelle'' , established = 1920 , type ...

was founded in 1920, also by private donations and for similar reasons. Åbo Akademi was a private institution until 1981, when it was turned into a public institution. As the only uni-lingually Swedish multi-faculty university in the world outside Sweden and consequently the only one in Finland, Åbo Akademi University is responsible for higher education for a large proportion of the Swedish-speaking population. This role has many implications for education and research as well as for the social environment. As there are few students in most subjects, cooperation between faculties and with other universities is very important. A minority of students are Finnish speakers who have passed a university entrance Swedish language test. While Turku itself is a bilingual city, the university provides a strong Swedish environment. Most of the students, regardless of their original language, will be functionally bilingual when finishing their studies.

Organisation

The university consists of four faculties: *Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology (located in Turku) *Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies (located in Vaasa) *Faculty of Science and Engineering (located in Turku, with some activity also in Vaasa) *Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Economics (located in Turku, with some activity also in Vaasa) In addition, there are several other units and joint programs, such as: * Language Centre * Centre for Lifelong Learning *

Donner Institute The Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History (or The Donner Institute, sv, Donnerska Institutet) is a private institute in Finland maintained by the Åbo Akademi University. The Institute was founded in 1959 with an extensi ...

for Research in Religious and Cultural History * Institute of Human Rights * Turku PET Centre (jointly run by Turku University, Åbo Akademi and the Turku University Hospital) * Turku Centre for Computer Science (TUCS) (in co-operation with Turku University, among others) * Turku Centre for Biotechnology (in co-operation with Turku University, among others) * Vasa övningsskola, located in

Vaasa Vaasa (; sv, Vasa, , Sweden ), in the years 1855–1917 as Nikolainkaupunki ( sv, Nikolajstad; literally meaning "city of Nicholas),

, is the

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

of the teacher training programme. While the university turned into a public institution, the foundation Stiftelsen för Åbo Akademi remained. Besides maintaining many of the university buildings, it is also a significant donor.

Rectors

The following people have served as rectors of Åbo Akademi: * 1918–1921: Edvard Westermarck * 1921–1929: * 1929–1936: Otto Andersson * 1936–1942: * 1942–1950: * 1950–1957: Lars Erik Taxell * 1957–1962: * 1962–1966: * 1966–1969: * 1969–1975: * 1975–1978: * 1978–1982: * 1982–1988: * 1988–1997: * 1997–2005: * 2006–2014: * 2015–2019: * 2019–November 1st 2021: Moira von Wright * 2022-

References

External links

Åbo Akademi University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abo Akademi University Universities and colleges in Finland Educational institutions established in 1918 Education in Turku Forestry education Finland Swedish 1918 establishments in Finland

Organisation

Rectors

See also

References

External links