The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters was founded in 1908 to support and unite Finnish-speaking scientists. The founding of a new scientific organisation alongside the long-established Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters (founded in 1838) was due to the linguistic-political situation at that time. Today, the Academy is a general scientific society that covers the full range of academic disciplines; it is devoted to the promotion of scientific and scholarly research and serves as a bond uniting researchers engaged in these activities at the highest level.

The number of members is limited, and new members are selected by the existing members. The Academy is divided into two sections representing science and the humanities; each is organised internally by disciplines. Foreign members are also appointed. Membership is regarded as the highest distinction in the scientific community.

Helsinki University of Technology

The predecessor of the Helsinki University of Technology (beginning in 2010, the Aalto University School of Science and Technology) was founded in 1849, with the purpose of modernizing the Finnish economy by training professionals for new industrial professions and for governmental roles requiring technical knowledge - for example, for the planning of transport and infrastructure.

Helsingin Teknillinen reaalikoulu, as it was then known, began in the Litonius House on Aleksanterinkatu Street, moving in 1877 close to Hietalahdentori Square to new premises which were subsequently extended many times. The school changed its name several times: it became Polyteknillinen koulu in 1872, Polyteknillinen opisto in 1879 and finally, by a government decree on April 2, 1908, it became known as Suomen Teknillinen Korkeakoulu, the Finnish University of Technology. The university is still affectionately known as Poli, a name derived from its previous names.

In 1949, the state acquired the Otaniemi manor from rural Espoo as the new campus for the university. Teekkarikylä, the residence hall, was built first and served as the Olympic village in the 1952 Games. The first departments moved to Espoo in 1955. The master plan of the Otaniemi campus was drawn up by architect Alvar Aalto, whose agency also designed the main building and a number of other buildings. The university has been based in Otaniemi since 1966.

On January 1, 2010, the University of Technology, the University of Art and Design Helsinki and the Helsinki School of Economics were merged to form the new Aalto University. The University of Technology will be called the Aalto University School of Science and Technology.