Åbo Akademi University (Swedish: Åbo Akademi [ˈǒːbʊ akadɛˈmiː], Finland Swedish: [ˈoːbu ɑkɑdeˈmiː]) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in Vaasa. Åbo Akademi should not be confused with the Royal Academy of Åbo, which was founded in 1640, but moved to Helsinki after the Turku fire of 1827 and is today known as the University of Helsinki.
Åbo Akademi was founded by private donations in 1918 as the third university in Finland, both to let Turku again become a university town and because it was felt that the Swedish language was threatened at the University of Helsinki. The Finnish University of Turku was founded in 1920, also by private donations and for similar reasons. Åbo Akademi was a private institution until 1981, when it was turned into a public institution.
As the only uni-lingually Swedish multi-faculty university in the world outside Sweden and consequently the only one in Finland, Åbo Akademi University is responsible for higher education for a large proportion of the Swedish-speaking population. This role has many implications for education and research as well as for the social environment. As there are few students in most subjects, cooperation between faculties and with other universities is very important.
A minority of students are Finnish speakers who have passed a university entrance Swedish language test. While Turku itself is a bilingual city, the university provides a strong Swedish environment. Most of the students, regardless of their original language, will be functionally bilingual when finishing their studies.
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Organisation
After reorganization approved in February 2025, the university consists of two faculties:
Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, with departments:
Business and Economics and Law (Turku)
Humanities (Turku)
Education (Vaasa)
Social Sciences (Turku)
Faculty of Science and Engineering, with departments:
Natural and Health Sciences (Turku)
Engineering and Information Technology (Turku)
In addition, there are several other units and joint programs, such as:
Language Centre
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Donner Institute for Research in Religious and Cultural History
Institute of Human Rights
Turku PET Centre (jointly run by the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi and the Turku University Hospital)
Turku Centre for Computer Science (TUCS) (in co-operation with the University of Turku, among others)
Turku Centre for Biotechnology (in co-operation with the University of Turku, among others)
Vasa övningsskola, located in Vaasa, is the normal school of the teacher training programme.
Notable people
Alumni
Di Wei, research fellow at the University of Cambridge
Rectors
The following people have served as rectors of Åbo Akademi:
1918–1921: Edvard Westermarck
1921–1929: Severin Johansson
1929–1936: Otto Andersson
1936–1942: Rolf Pipping
1942–1950: Georg Olof Rosenqvist
1950–1957: Lars Erik Taxell
1957–1962: Sven Lindman
1962–1966: Oscar Nikula
1966–1969: Nils Erik Enkvist
1969–1975: Karl-Gustav Fogel
1975–1978: Kurt Nyholm
1978–1982: Bill Widén
1982–1988: Caj-Gunnar Lindström
1988–1997: Bengt Stenlund
1997–2005: Gustav Björkstrand
2006–2014: Jorma Mattinen
2015–2019: Mikko Hupa
2019–1 November 2021: Moira von Wright
2022–4 April 2025: Mikael Lindfelt
4 April 2025–present: (Acting Rector) Gunilla Widén