Stera Technologies and technology companies in the Loimaa region, together with the City of Loimaa and the Loimaa Chamber of Commerce section, are funding a new professorship at the University of Turku’s Faculty of Technology.
The cluster of technology companies in the Loimaa region works closely with the University of Turku’s Faculty of Technology. The new endowed professorship will strengthen the faculty’s mechanical and automation engineering expertise. It will focus on smart manufacturing and product systems lifecycle management. The professorship will also reinforce the University of Turku’s emphasis on digital technologies in mechanical and automation engineering. The donation totals EUR 610,000. Recruitment for the professorship will open during 2023.
The participating companies are Pemamek Oy, Dinolift Oy, LMCE Group, Wille Machines Oy, Stera Technologies Oy, Hydoring Oy, Nordic Traction Oy and Dometal Oy.
In the university’s announcement, Pekka Heikonen, Chair of the Board of Pemamek Oy, says that close cooperation between technology companies and the Faculty of Technology creates major opportunities for product development, innovation projects and staff skills development.
“Companies in the Loimaa region manufacture a range of demanding technology products, such as welding automation systems, machinery and aerial work platforms. Developing these requires broad expertise combining mechanical engineering, automation engineering and information technology. Bringing master’s-level engineering education to Turku increases the competitiveness and growth of the region’s companies,” Heikonen continues.
“With its Faculty of Technology and new degree programmes, the University of Turku is becoming an important provider of engineering education, both regionally and nationally. High-technology companies in Southwest Finland have supported this expansion with long-term commitment and determination. This endowed professorship will help us build a modern degree programme in mechanical and automation engineering and respond more quickly to the strong demand for engineering professionals. We will continue to work closely with the donor companies in the Loimaa region, specialists in high technology,” says Jaakko Järvi, Dean of the Faculty of Technology.
According to our CEO Jussi Ohlsson, ensuring the availability of mechanical and automation engineering professionals has a significant positive impact when manufacturing companies plan future investments. “For Stera, participating in this endowed professorship project was an obvious choice. It allows us to help strengthen educational cooperation between the University of Turku’s Faculty of Technology and the region’s companies. These measures and investments will have more far-reaching positive effects on the operating environment of companies like ours than we may even realise.”
The University of Turku’s Faculty of Technology, which began operating in 2021, has 50 professors, 350 other teachers, researchers and specialists, and 3,000 students. Nearly 700 students will start in the faculty’s degree programmes in 2023, including 30 in the new automation engineering programme beginning in the autumn.
Further information:
Dean Jaakko Järvi
jaakko.jarvi@utu.fi, tel. +358 44 526 0799
Jaakko Järvi, University of Turku
