HIIT Quarterly September 2026
Helsinki Distinguished Lecture Series
The Helsinki Distinguished Lecture Series on Future Information Technology will have two exciting lectures for this autumn semester. The focus of the lecture series is on the research challenges and solutions faced by current and future information technology, as seen by internationally leading experts in the field.
The lectures are intended to be approachable for people with scientific education in fields other than information technology, whilst at the same time providing information technology experts new viewpoints to their own discipline.
8 October: Yvonne Rogers "Out of Our Minds: What is AI Doing to Us and for Us?"
Yvonne Rogers is a Professor of Interaction Design at University College London. Her research is concerned with designing interactive technologies that empower humans. Her current focus is developing human-centred AI tools to think and reflect with. Central to her work is a critical stance towards how visions, theories and frameworks shape the fields of HCI, cognitive science and ubiquitous computing.
Event time: 08 October 2026 14:15-15:15 (Helsinki Time Zone UTC+3) Followed by a small reception
Place: University of Helsinki Kumpula Campus, A110 Chemicum Building
28 October: Reza Rejaie "From Observations to Insight: Measuring Networked Systems under Constraints" Reza Rejaie is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oregon and the 2026–27 Fulbright-Nokia Distinguished Chair in Information and Communications Technologies, hosted by the University of Helsinki. His research spans network measurement, cybersecurity, Internet architecture, peer-to-peer and multimedia networking, and social computing.
Event time: 28 October 2026 14:00-15:00 (Helsinki Time Zone UTC+2) Followed by a small reception
Place: Aalto University, Maarintie 8 (TUAS) AS 2
Event Highlights
Postdocs n Pizzas HIIT is launching a new series focused on postdocs to support them in their academic career now and in the future. The first in the series is on 22.9 in Dipoli.
AI Day is the biggest annual event highlighting the leading AI research in Finland. The event brings together researchers, companies, students and the public sector involved in the fast-developing field of AI. AI Day promotes matchmaking, information sharing, and cross-border collaboration.
Date: October 20, 2026
Location: Dipoli, Aalto University(Otakaari 24, Espoo)
Our next round of HIIT Special Seminars will happen from November 2-11. The talks in this series are provided by candidates who have applied to our HIIT Fellowship recruitment call and are highly considered for the position. All talks are virtual, open to the public, and recorded for the future.
Note: The schedule for the talks will be published at the end of October/early November.
You can find all events listed in our calendar
Meet our Fellow
Meet our Fellow: Junhao Li We asked our fellow more about themselves and their research. For this article we ask our Fellow Junhao Li more about his research. Junhao is currently working under the supervision of Dorota Glowacka at the University of Helsinki Department of Computer Science
You can find out more about our current HIIT fellows on our website
News
Postdoctoral Fellow positions in Computer Science
We are hiring Postdoctoral Fellows to join the Helsinki region information technology research community. The position is intended to support early-career researchers on their road towards being independent researchers, in collaboration with one or more supervisors in HIIT Faculty. The position gives the fellows excellent opportunities for high-quality and high-impact research and for creating research networks supporting their careers.
Application closes on 4.10.2026
Vili Lehdonvirta and Samuel Kaski are appointed in the working group.
Emotions help explain why people click phishing emails
People are currently taught to recognise phishing attempts in ways that may be counterproductive. Researchers call for information security training to take emotions into account more effectively.
New podcast explores Finnish contributions to artificial intelligence
In Aalto University's podcast “Ja ihminen loi älyn” (And humankind created intelligence), researchers Arno Solin ja Eric Malmi interview pioneers, entrepreneurs and experts about the AI field's history, disruptive consequences and the probability of humanity's destruction.