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Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT ('' Finnish'': Lappeenrannan-Lahden teknillinen yliopisto LUT), better known by the abbreviation LUT University ('' Finnish'': LUT-yliopisto) is a Finnish
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...
which was established in 1969. The university's
Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...
campus is situated on the shore of lake
Saimaa Saimaa ( , ; ) is a lake located in the Finnish Lakeland area in southeastern Finland. With a surface area of approximately , it is the largest lake in Finland, and the fourth-largest natural freshwater lake in Europe. The name Saimaa likely co ...
– the 4th largest lake in Europe. LUT University's second campus is in the Finnish city of
Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...
. The university also has research units in the Finnish cities of
Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...
and
Kouvola Kouvola () is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th m ...
, as well as a regional office in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
,
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. LUT University is split into two schools of engineering and technology, a school of business and a department of social sciences. The schools focus on renewable and sustainable technologies such as clean water and air, renewable energy, circular economy and the impact of technology on society. There are 1,380 staff members and 7,770 students in the university. Over 5,000 students reside in the Lappeenranta campus area, and the Lahti campus hosts around 1,000 students. The university also has 701 students attending
Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...
and 621 students in continuing education. Over 15% of the university's student population is international and the school has a representation of 98 different nationalities LUT University is a public university under the advisory of the
Finnish government The Finnish Government (; ; ) is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility an ...
. LUT University and LAB University of Applied Sciences form the higher education organization LUT Universities. LUT University is a theoretical research university branch that focuses on academics and research, while LAB University of Applied Sciences is a career oriented school with practical innovation.


History

In the 1950s, the
Finnish government The Finnish Government (; ; ) is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility an ...
noticed that the country lacked accessible higher education, with most of the universities in Finland at that time being located in
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
and a few other cities that were largely out of reach for the average Finn. This caused a reform of the higher education system in Finland that would eventually lead to the creation of several universities in the following decades. The Finnish government made plans to establish the University of Eastern Finland in various cities, eventually landing on
Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...
,
Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...
and
Joensuu Joensuu (; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Karelia. It is located in the eastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Joensuu is approximately , while the sub-region has a population ...
as candidate cities. It was recognized that each city needed a university, but were too small population wise to support a complete university, hence the future university would be split, with each city teaching a specific subject, with the engineering and technical education being placed in Lappeenranta. The three new universities would be called Lappeenrannan teknillinen korkeakoulu (LTKK), Kuopion Korkeakoulu (University of Kuopio), and Joensuun Korkeakoulu (University of Joensuu). LTKK was the third and newest technical university, after TKK and TTKK. LTKK would start its operations in the city center of Lappeenranta in 1969 with a class of 39 students. The first buildings of the current Skinnarila district campus were completed in 1974. In 1991, a department of business was also added to the university. In 2003, LTKK would change names to Lappeenrannan teknillinen yliopisto (LTY/LUT). Generally in Finland, universities would be named ''korkeakoulu'' if they had only a few study fields and subjects, with universities that had multiple fields of study carrying the ''yliopisto'' name. The english name of the university, Lappeenranta University of Technology, would be used more frequently, and the abbreviation ''LUT'' would become synonymous with the university in Lappeenranta. LUT University started permanent operations in Lahti in 1996 in the form of a small research unit. University of Kuopio and University of Joensuu were combined into the University of Eastern Finland in 2010, while LUT stayed independent and kept its Lappeenranta campus as well as its previously added operations in Lahti. The LUT Universities Group was formed in 2017 when LUT acquired Lahti University of Applied Sciences (LAMK) and Saimaa University of Applied Sciences (SAIMIA). This change came as the Finnish government was looking to reduce the amount of small universities in Finland, and also move the operations of universities of applied sciences under universities. SAIMIA had previously moved from its city center campus to the same campus area as LUT in Lappeenranta, and the fusion of the two universities into one organization was a natural one. LAMK had faced some difficulties in the past, with many critiquing the institution due to its decisions to reduce programs in fields like arts due to budget constraints. Eventually, the decision was made to transfer the organization under LUT. With both LAMK and SAIMIA under LUT's organization, both universities were closed permanently and their operations were moved to the new LAB University of Applied Sciences. LAB took the parts that worked with LAMK and SAIMIA, and created a new fused university of applied science with a stricter focus on education and work. LAB also strengthened the arts departments of LAMK and SAIMIA. After the acquisition of LAMK and the creation of LAB University of Applied Sciences, LUT expanded its reach and opened a second campus. The city of Lahti was a natural choice since the new LUT Universities Group already managed the university of applied science operation in the city, and the city also lacked a full science university despite its large population. In 2019, the new campus was opened and the university requested a change to the Finnish Universities Act to change names from ''Lappeenranta University of Technology'' to ''Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT'', not only keeping the LUT abbreviation but officially adding it to the full name of the institution. This request was accepted by the Finnish government, and from then on the name ''LUT'' was used less as an abbreviation but rather as a descriptive name for the university, leading to the abbreviation name change to ''LUT University''. LUT University began their first English bachelor's program of Technology and Engineering Science in 2019, allowing students a multidisciplinary opportunity for engineering education in Finland. Later in 2020, the university negotiated a joint contract with Chinese Hebei University of Technology (HEBUT) to offer English based bachelor's programs in both the Lappeenranta and Lahti campuses. In 2023, the university started its first bachelor's programs in social sciences, with master's programs in social sciences and communications sciences starting up in 2024.


Lappeenranta Campus

LUT University's Lappeenranta campus is the original and largest campus of LUT University. The campus is located off from the city center of
Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...
in the district of Skinnarila. The campus gives students round-the-clock access to campus resources such as the
academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...
and gym at all times. The campus also has the Jamie Hyneman Center (JHC), named after LUT University's professor of practice
Jamie Hyneman James Franklin Hyneman (; born September 25, 1956) is an American special effects expert who was co-host of the television series ''MythBusters'' alongside Adam Savage, where he became known for his distinctive beret and walrus moustache. He ...
, who is known for the show
Mythbusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...
. Most of LUT University's research and laboratories are located in the Lappeenranta campus. The Lappeenranta campus is connected to the campus of LAB University of Applied Sciences' Lappeenranta campus via a skybridge. LAB students have access to LUT's academic library and other portions of the LUT building, while LUT students have access to LAB spaces such as the sports hall. Overall, the campus houses over 8,500 students among LUT University and LAB University of Applied Sciences, and combined with other experts and companies on campus the campus population exceeds 10,000. There are about 3,500 LAB University of Applied Sciences students and over 5,000 LUT University students studying on the Lappeenranta campus. Each program at LUT University has their own unique guild (study/subject organization) and guild room. Incoming students can expect an alive and vibrant student life. The Lappeenranta campus is known for holding the world's longest Vappu, normally a one-day celebration in Finland which in Lappeenranta lasts between three and four weeks each year. Each guild of LUT in Lappeenranta has their own distinctly colored overalls which distinguish them in student events. Overall colors are as follows: It should also be noted that the students from LAB University of Applied Sciences also have their own overall colors and traditions on campus, and that the student clothing tradition is not limited to just LUT students. Each year, first year students get "baptized" typically in Lake Saimaa, and become first year students. Students get baptized a second time during Vappu to become a "Teekkari" student, meaning a Technology and Engineering Student, "Kylteri" student, meaning business student. Social science students also take part in the tradition. The Lappeenranta campus has a large variety of restaurants, cafes, and bars. This includes the student union owned YOLO restaurant, and a restaurant operated by
Compass Group Compass Group plc is a British multinational contract foodservice company headquartered in Chertsey, England. It is the largest contract foodservice company in Europe, ahead of Sodexo, employing over 500,000 people. It serves meals in location ...
at the KIELO campus building for companies. Inside the university there is a campus shop, cafe, buffet, pizza buffet restaurant, and some other restaurants and recreation. There is a restaurant and cafe inside the LAB University of Applied Sciences connected to LUT through a skybridge, and there is also a bar that is near student housing on campus. The student union building also has a grocery store students can use to buy essentials. The Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS/YTHS) also has a health center on campus that students can use which includes but is not limited to dental, physical and mental health support.


Lahti Campus

LUT University's second campus is located in the Finnish city of
Lahti Lahti (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Päijät-Häme. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lahti is approximately , while the Lahti sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mo ...
. The Lahti campus shares a space with LAB University of Applied Sciences' Lahti campus. The campus is located inside a renovated factory, of which a portion belongs to the universities, but is also shared among various companies and institutes. While operations in Lahti were started in 1996, the campus itself is very new. Because of this, the campus is still forming and a variety of features and offerings of the Lappeenranta campus are not yet present in Lahti. The Lahti campus shares some of the student traditions of guilds and colored student overalls, and has many of the same features to the Lappeenranta campus. The campus has been steadily growing and new programs and features are added consistently. With LAB University of Applied Sciences, the Lahti campus has about 6,000 students, of which about 1,000 are LUT students. About half of LUT University's international bachelor's programs in English are located on the Lahti campus. The campus also has a large amount of Finnish master's programs relating to commercial science and engineering. Because of this, the student population of the Lahti campus largely consists of master's level students. The Lahti campus hosts several student guilds, which are responsible for the students on the Lahti campus. LAB University of Applied Sciences also has their own student guilds on campus for their respective fields. While other universities like the
University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Åbo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...
have had higher education opportunities in Lahti, LUT University and LAB University of Applied Sciences are the currently the only schools of higher education in the area with an extensive list of study subjects, making it a choice for those who want to study and live near the city of Lahti. The Lahti campus has two restaurants and cafes for students. The campus also has a small section of the university academic library.


LUT Regional Units and Offices

The Mikkeli research unit opened in 2002, and currently has five professors working with groups of research students. The research unit focuses on research and doctoral studies. The current research in Mikkeli centers on climate issues. The Kouvola research unit has also been operational since 2002, and is focusing on research relating to technology and business, as well as railway logistics. The research unit houses the innovation logistics master's program. The Brussels regional office exists to strengthen the university's cooperation with its European partners.


Degrees, Reputations and Rankings

LUT awards the following degrees: Bachelor of Science (Economics), Bachelor of Science (Technology), Bachelor of Social Science, Master of Science (Economics), Master of Science (Technology), Master of Social Sciences, Licentiate of Science (Economics), Licentiate of Science (Technology), Doctor of Science (Technology), Doctor of Science (Economics), and Doctor of Philosophy. LUT University has been ranked in the top 5 Finnish universities in the 2023 QS Top 500 universities list, and is in the top 3% of universities globally. The university is ranked second in Finland in the fields of
Physical Sciences Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together is called the "physical sciences". Definition ...
and
Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
and fifth in
Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
. LUT has been ranked as one of the world's 20 most rapidly developing challenger universities and was also ranked as the 9th best university for climate action. The university has further been ranked in the Times Higher Education's Top 20 world's best small universities list. In the year 2024, LUT University received ''6,601'' domestic applicants, and accepted ''591'' new students. This puts LUT University's overall domestic acceptance rate for the year 2024 at 11%. However, some fields are more popular and difficult to be accepted into than others. The field of business itself accounts for roughly 50% (3,069) of the overall applications to the university despite only having 140 starting spots. At the same time, the fields in engineering tend to have a much less drastic application-to-spot ratio.


Organisation


Board

* Chairman Teresa Kemppi-Vasama, Chairman of Kemppi Oy * Pia Erkinheimo Director, Finnish Climate Fund * Kimmo Rauma, Vice President, Danfoss Power Solutions, Electrics * Olli Rehn Governor and chairman of the board, Bank of Finland * Liisa Rohweder, Secretary General, WWF Finland * Juhani Hyvärinen, Professor, LUT * Ahti Jaatinen-Värri, Associate Professor, LUT * Paavo Ritala, Professor, LUT * Henna Raekorpi, Business student, LUT


Rectors

* Rector D.Sc. (B.A.) Juha-Matti Saksa * Vice Rector (Research) Jari Hämäläinen, PhD, Professor * Vice Rector (Education) Jaana Sandström D.Sc. (Tech.), Professor


Schools and Departments

At the beginning of 2015, the university shifted to an organization model which does not have traditional faculties and departments. Instead, the university consists of three distinct schools which focus on the following research topics:


LUT School of Energy Systems (LES)

*Energy Technology *Electrical Engineering *Sustainability Science *Mechanical Engineering


LUT School of Engineering Science (LENS)

*Chemical Engineering *Computational Engineering and Physics *Industrial Engineering and Management *Software Engineering and Digital Transformation


LUT Business School (LBS)

*Strategy, Management and Accounting *International Business, Marketing and Entrepreneurship * Business Analytics and Data Science


Fields of Study

The following fields can be studied at LUT University to a bachelor's, master's, licentiate and doctoral level depending on program: *
Chemical Engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...
*
Computational Engineering Computational Engineering is an emerging discipline that deals with the development and application of computational models for engineering, known as Computational Engineering Models or CEM. Computational engineering uses computers to solve eng ...
*
Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...
*
Energy Technology Energy development is the field of activities focused on obtaining sources of energy from natural resources. These activities include the production of renewable, nuclear, and fossil fuel derived sources of energy, and for the recovery and r ...
*
Environmental Technology Environmental technology (or envirotech) is the use of engineering and technological approaches to understand and address issues that affect the environment with the aim of fostering environmental improvement. It involves the application of scien ...
*
Industrial Engineering and Management Industrial engineering (IE) is concerned with the design, improvement and installation of integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. It draws upon specialized knowledge and skill in the mathematical, physical, an ...
*
Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...
*
Software Engineering Software engineering is a branch of both computer science and engineering focused on designing, developing, testing, and maintaining Application software, software applications. It involves applying engineering design process, engineering principl ...
*
Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...
*
Social Sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...


Research Institutes

* Centre for Separation Technology (CST) * Carelian Drives and Motor Centre (CDMC) * Centre of Computational Engineering and Integrated Design (CEID)


The Viipuri Prize

The Viipuri Prize, established by the Society for Viipuri School of Economics, is awarded for particularly noteworthy achievements in their respective fields. The Prize is given out every few years to a scholar who is prominent in their of study on a global scale, and whose work significantly impacts the research agenda at LUT Business School. The following scholars have been awarded the Viipuri Prize: *
David Teece David John Teece (born September 2, 1948) is a New Zealand-born US-based organizational economist, Professor emeritus in Global Business and director of the Tusher Center for the Management of Intellectual Capital at the Walter A. Haas School ...
,
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
(2003) * James G. March,
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
(2004) * Peter Buckley,
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(2006) * Sidney G. Winter,
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(2008) *
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,
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
(2010) * John Kay,
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
(2012) * Constance E. Helfat,
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(2014) * Rebecca M. Henderson,
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
(2017) *
Erik Brynjolfsson Erik Brynjolfsson is an American academic, author and inventor. He is the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Professor and a Senior Fellow at Stanford University where he directs the Digital Economy Lab at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI ...
,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
(2019) *
Henry Chesbrough Henry William Chesbrough (born 1956) is an American organizational theorist, adjunct professor and the faculty director of the Garwood Center for Corporate Innovation at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley and Mai ...
,
University of California Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkeley ...
(2022)


Rectors

* Viljo Immonen, 1969 – 1970 * Erkki Kinnunen, 1971 – 1975 * Niilo Teeri, 1975 – 1977 * Juhani Jaakkola * Markku Lukka, 1998 – 2008 * Ilkka Pöyhönen, 2008 – 2014 * Anneli Pauli, 2014 – 2016 * Juha-Matti Saksa, 2016 - present


See also

* LAB University of Applied Sciences * Hebei University of Technology *
List of universities in Finland This is a list of the universities in Finland. Institutions of higher education are designated as universities by Finnish legislation. Only universities have the right to confer degrees in the categories of ''alempi korkeakoulututkinto/lägre högs ...


References

{{authority control Technical universities and colleges in Finland Universities and colleges in Finland Universities and colleges established in 1969 1969 establishments in Finland