Awards for undergraduate theses

Thesis awards 2025

The City of Helsinki grants awards each year for exemplary academic theses that explore Helsinki-related themes. The award can be granted to authors of relevant theses completed towards a master’s degree or equivalent during the 1st of August 2024– 31st of July 2025 academic year. 

There are no restrictions on the theses’ subject matter or scientific discipline. Each year, the city seeks to award theses that represent a wide variety of academic fields. 

A total of EUR 4,000 is divided among the selected recipients of the award. Between 4–10 theses are granted a share of the total each year in December. 

We kindly request that universities, faculties and departments recommend theses they feel are deserving of the award. Please attach the following material to the recommendation: 

• thesis abstract
• link to electronic version, if available
• information on the grade awarded to the thesis and the associated evaluation and the date of approval
• author’s contact information (phone number, postal address and email)
• name of thesis supervisor.

Please submit the recommendations by 16 October 2025 to the following address:

City of Helsinki Registrar’s Office
Thesis awards
P.O. Box 10
00099 CITY OF HELSINKI
or: helsinki.kirjaamo@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)  

Questions about the awards can be directed to Research Director Katja Vilkama at tel. +358 9 31078396 and Planning Secretary Nina Weurlander at tel. +358 9 310 36555, email: firstname.lastname(at)hel.fi.

Thesis awards 2024

The thesis awards were received by the following persons:

Joona Jalava: Kaupunkilaisen ja kaupunkilaisuuden narratiivit Helsingin kaavoituksen diskursseissa. Spatial Planning and Transportation Engineering, School of Engineering, Aalto University.

Kia Kautonen: Kestävät työmatkat ja kestävien kulkumuotojen käytön potentiaali neljällä suurimmalla suomalaisella kaupunkiseudulla. Master’s Programme in Communications and Planning, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki.  

Fanni Laukkanen: Inclusive Interior Architecture in Learning Spaces - General upper-secondary school students' perceptions on sensory-friendly spatial elements. Master’s programme in Interior architecture, Interior architecture, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Aalto University.  

Akseli Manninen: Spatiotemporal Traffic Accident Prediction Using Deep Learning Models. Master’s Programme in Computer, Communication and Information Sciences, Machine Learning, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, School of Science, Aalto University.  

Nabila Nur: The housing preferences and choices of highly skilled second-generation Somalis in Helsinki. Master’s programme in Geography, Human and urban geography, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki.  

Sandra Nyström: Unused potential in the teaching of biology: An exploration of student experiences about the teaching of sex, gender, and sexual diversity in biology classrooms. Master’s Programme in Neuroscience, Biology Subject Teacher Study Track, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki.  

Linda Rautio: ”Voidaan kysyä, onko asuminen edelleen kohtuuhintaista”: Hekan vuokrankorotukset julkisessa keskustelussa. Master’s Degree in Communication, School of Marketing and Communication, University of Vaasa.  

Suvi Rinkineva: Improving the employer image of public sector organizations. Attracting technical and business talent to public employment. Industrial Engineering and Management, School of Science, Aalto University.  

Jesse Soininen: Estimating urban carbon uptake using carbonyl sulfide fluxes as a tracer. Master’s Programme in Atmospheric Sciences, Meteorology, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki.  

Tuomas Tavi: Pääkaupunkiseudun kerrostalolähiöiden asuntokannan sekä sosioekonomisen kehityksen yhteydestä 2000-luvulla – Määrällinen tarkastelu kahdella aluetasolla. Master’s Programme in Communications and Planning, Faculty of Science, University of Helsinki.