100 years of Helvar celebrated through Aalto University donation towards intelligent building research

“Helvar is a pioneer in intelligent lighting control for Smart Buildings. Our Brighter Spaces mission reflects spaces that are exceptionally well lit and support people’s wellbeing, creativity and productivity”, says Adel Hattab, CEO of Helvar. “In these smart spaces the data captured by lighting sensors can be refined into insights that benefit different building systems and help them to interact smoothly to make the spaces both people-centric and environmentally sustainable”, says Hattab.

“Helvar has had close co-operation and a long-term involvement with Aalto University. We are delighted to have the possibility to support and invest in the teaching and research development of smart building technology and intelligent buildings with this Helvar100 donation”, comments Hattab. “We are pleased to contribute to the development of the sector, helping to ensure that the industry has access to broad-based experts whose education is centred around the latest research. For us, co-operation with Aalto University is especially relevant for exchanging knowledge around state-of-the-art information technology and for sharing our own expertise and passion in this field. We see this as a good way to support the education of future experts that will develop, research and produce people-centric and sustainable intelligent buildings, something that is aligned with our ambition to increase the wellbeing of people through our intelligent solutions”, says Hattab.

The Aalto University School of Electrical Engineering doctoral programme has been established to expand the teaching and research of intelligent buildings. It aims to train new experts who want to make a difference, and this is achieved by creating a comprehensive understanding of the future opportunities in the field. The doctoral programme to be established with donations is the first in the field in Finland. The role of intelligent buildings will grow further in the breakthroughs brought about by renewable energy and digitalisation. At Aalto, education and research around intelligent buildings focuses on user-centric approaches, autonomous self-learning systems, new operating methods enabled by digitalisation, and the various integrations between building technology, ICT systems, energy networks and transport.

2021 marks Helvar’s 100th year in business. The company is continuing to introduce innovative and futureproof technologies to support its mission of Turning Everyday Places into Brighter Spaces.