The 5th international PLATE conference (Product Lifetimes and the Environment) will take place at Aalto University. Aalto University is located in Espoo, Otaniemi campus, and is accessible by bus and metro from Helsinki city center. We recommend using the metro as there is a direct metro line from Helsinki city center. Aalto University has its own metro stop.
The main conference site is the Dipoli building in Otakaari 24, Espoo. On Friday afternoon, we will also use the Väre building in Otaniementie 14, Espoo (that is the same building where the metro station is located).

Aalto University

About Aalto University

Aalto University is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics, and the University of Art and Design Helsinki.

The university is named in honour of Alvar Aalto, a prominent Finnish architect, designer, and alumnus of the former Helsinki University of Technology, who was also instrumental in designing a large part of the university’s main campus in Otaniemi.

Otaniemi Campus

Aalto University is located in Otaniemi in the municipality of Espoo. It is about 10 kilometers from the center of Helsinki. More information about the campus is here.

Since 2019, all of the Aalto University schools have been primarily located in Otaniemi, Espoo, roughly 10 kilometers from the center of Helsinki. The original buildings of the campus were designed by Alvar Aalto. Several high-tech companies, the Finnish forest industry’s joint experimental laboratory KCL, and business incubators Innopoli and Technopolis are also situated nearby. It is also directly adjacent to Keilaniemi, with the Life Science Center and the headquarters of several notable Finnish companies, such as Kone and Fortum. The “Teekkarikylä” Student Village, home to over 2,000 students, makes up the majority of residences in Otaniemi. There are over one hundred student organizations on campus, which provide a range of opportunities to take part in pastimes of various kinds, from sports to music.

More details about transportation services 

Public transport is well organized and punctual in Finland. The Helsinki region has buses, trams, local trains, metro, and even ferries organized by Helsinki Region Transport (HSL). 

Please note that you must always have a valid ticket when traveling. There are ticket controls frequently and traveling without a valid ticket or with the wrong kind of ticket can cost you a penalty fare of €80. 

1) From Helsinki international airport 

Helsinki – Vantaa (airport information) 

By Taxi: 

• Otaniemi is approximately 22 km away from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
• Taxi fare is around 40/50 euros (travel time about 30 minutes).
• Public transport from the airport takes about an hour: either the train or bus to the Helsinki Central Railway station and metro to Aalto University, the train to Huopalahti, and change to bus 550.

2) From Helsinki to Otaniemi in Espoo 

By Taxi: 

From Helsinki city center it takes approx. 10-15 minutes and €20 (pricing and time vary depending on the time of the day). 

To order a taxi, please call +358 100 0700. Bookings in advance can be made at the earliest two weeks and at the latest half an hour before the desired pick-up time. 

By Bus: 

Besides the Metro, there are some bus lines serving Otaniemi: 52, 111, 550, 510, and 555. All these stops are by the Aalto University Metro station, entrance A (Otaniementie). Outside the Metro operating hours bus 108N runs to Otaniemi.

Single metro or bus tickets can be bought in advance at the ticket machines or from the HSL mobile application. The same ticket is valid on buses and the metro.

By Metro: 

There are two exits from the Metro station, Otaniementie, and Tietotie. Take the Otaniementie exit to access, you can access the Main Building Dipoli and Väre.

The Metro line’s end station in the west is Tapiola or Matinkylä (Espoo), and in the east Vuosaari or Mellunmäki (Helsinki). The Metro runs every 2.5 minutes at Aalto University station during the rush hour, and every 4–5 minutes at other times. The journey from Kamppi to Aalto University in Otaniemi takes 11 minutes.