What?
Aalto on Tracks is taking around one hundred Aalto University students and other enthusiastic people with a private train from Helsinki to Shanghai World Expo, China. That is over 10 000 kilometers and about a week in a train!
Why?
We want to take Finland and Aalto University to the world, unite Aalto people and create Aalto spirit. For the participants, we want to create an unforgettable trip and learning experience. What could be a better place to get to know enthusiastic people and make lifelong friendships? Come on board and experience the trip and Shanghai World Expo!
Who?
Aalto on Tracks is organized by Aalto students. There is no secret project organization to make this happen. We want to keep the organizing process as open as possible. We would like to see every participant collaborating in a way or another. That’s why we need you!
We are of course doing close cooperation with Aalto University, Aalto University Student Union (AYY), Aaltoes and partners or sponsors, but you as a possible participant are the key to success.
Aalto on Tracks is endorsed by Mr. Alexander Stubb, Minister for Foreign Affairs in Finland. Mr. Stubb is the Patron of Aalto on Tracks.
When?
We will leave from Helsinki on 14th May, 18:23 with a Tolstoy train and arrive in Shanghai on 23th of May. We will also stay one night in Beijing and visit Tsinghua University.
What’s the program?
The one week train trip is going to be used wisely. Our train includes specialized cars, like conference cars, along with the sleeping cars so we can arrange different kinds of activities during the trip. These events could be workshops, short lectures, getting to know Russian and Chinese culture, movie nights, playing nights, improvisation nights, having fun — you name it! The best thing is that everyone can collaborate to plan the program and anyone can get their own activities on the train. We will also arrange an Internet connection to the train so you can follow the trip even if you are not on the train. Blog posts and Twitter will be alive during the trip!
We already have lot of company workshop cases, university research cases, Aalto course on Chinese project management and TEDx event, to mention few! In addition to these, we have sport, culture, reading/book, party and cases teams working on different kind of program.
Our final destination is the Shanghai World Expo! It’s going to be massive, the biggest world expo yet, with over 70M estimated visitors and over 200 countries participating. Finland is putting much effort, too, and building a Finland Pavilion there. Aalto University will be there as well. There are also many Finnish companies, organizations and Finnish heavy metal bands. However, the expo area is huge and there is a lot to see!
How can I join?
We have fully booked our train. You can follow us on during the trip and blog and tweet about us! You can also participate in the farewell party on 14th just before departure. We will host it near to Helsinki Railway Station!
Media
Hi press and media people! We are more than willing to tell about our project. Contact Mikko, Heikki, Santeri or Saara for more information (see the Team page for contact details).
Feel free to download color logo or our logo and use it freely. You can also use our route map. Please mention the designer if you use the photos, Jyri Tuulos.
