• Best Personal Study Plan Supervisor 2011

The Best Personal Study Plan Supervisor 2011 award of the Faculty of Science at University of Helsinki was granted to University Teacher Tiina Niklander of the Department of Computer Science. Niklander was praised being a supervisor who is easy to approach whenever a student have some questions. She is always happy and very helpful, and if she does not know the answer to the questions herself, she knows who to ask next. Niklander is a natural talent as a supervisor whether it is a question of making a personal study plan or any other problem  that a student (or a member of staff) might have.

• The Magister Bonus Award 2011

Every autumn, the Student Union of the University of Helsinki grants the Magister Bonus award to instructors who have demonstrated skills and interest in both teaching and their students. The fifteenth Magister Bonus award was granted to University Lecturer Matti Luukkainen of the Department of Computer Science  on 26 November 2011 at the Student Union's annual festivities. In the grounds for awarding the prize, Luukkainen was praised for his active and innovative manner to develop teaching as well as creating and introducing versatile teaching methods. Luukkainen's special merit was the fact that he has been successful in making the first-year students enthusiastic about their studies. In addition, when mentoring new teachers, Luukkainen has spread positive pedagogic attitude and student-minded thinking, and thus has promoted and spread successful practices to a wider audience.

•  Nordic Collegiate Programming Contest (NCPC 2010), 1st place

ACM's annual ICPC student programming contest -- its Nordic regional contest -- was held today, on Saturday, Oct 2nd, within NCPC Nordic Collegiate Programming Contest. Our team named Bubble Sorters (Mikko Sysikaski, Aleksi Hartikainen ja Mika Laitinen) wrote history by clinching the top spot (#1) in the final standings! Among 177 team, the achievement is truly outstanding! Their quest will continue in NWERC 2010 in Bremen in November.

A special mention goes to another team from our department, Saxrollers, first-timers in ICPC, placed fifth.

• The ACM NWERC programming challenge, 2nd place

The fantastic programming contest successes of the team Bubble sorters, consisting of department undergraduates (Aleksi Hartikainen, Mika Laitinen, and Mikko Sysikaski), continues: the team took 2nd place in the NWERC challenge. A large number of very renowned universities were beaten. The challenge was attended by 64 teams that had been successful in previous trial competitions. It was only a few of the very best teams that were invited to the ICPC World Finals, now including the department's team!

• Nordic Collegiate Programming Contest (NCPC 2009), 2nd place

The Bubble sorters team consisting of department undergraduates Aleksi Hartikainen, Mika Laitinen and Mikko Sysikaski took second place in the Nordic Collegiate Programming Contest (NCPC 2009) on 3 October 2009. This is a brilliant accomplishment since this competition keeps a very high standard, and a record 192 teams participated from the best computer science-teaching institutions in the Nordic countries.

• Cor Baayen Award 2009

ERCIM, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, has awarded Postdoctoral Researcher Teemu Roos at the University of Helsinki the 2009 Cor Baayen award. The award is given to gifted young researchers in computer science and applied mathematics. This was the first time when a Finnish researcher recieved this award.

• The Eino Kaila prize 2009

Lecturer Heikki Lokki was awarded the Eino Kaila award on 26 March for distinguished work as a university teacher. Mr Lokki received his award from the hand of Rector Thomas Wilhelmsson at the anniversary festivities of the University of Helsinki. The Eino Kaila award is worth 5,000 euros. Lecturer Heikki Lokki is an excellent example of how a university instructor can inspire the staff and students of a large department into improving the quality of teaching and learning. With never-ending determination, persistence and resourcefulness, Mr Lokki has headed the development of course planning at the Department of Computer Science for many years now, in cooperation with the head of the department, its steering committee, and the members of the teaching development committee.

• The Kirkman medal 2007

The Institute of Combinatorics and its Applications (ICA) awarded Research Fellow Petteri Kaski their 2007 Kirkman medal for his merits as a young researcher into combinatorics.  Combinatorics is a branch of mathematics that studies finite structures and the relations between their properties. Some of its main application areas are data communication and computer science.

• The Science Award of the City of Helsinki 2007

On Monday 21 May 2007, the science award of the City of Helsinki was conferred on Professor Esko Ukkonen. The award goes to significant scientific work by a Helsinkian or carried out in Helsinki.

• The Anita Borg Scholarship 2007

Google Europe rewarded Sini Ruohomaa with a grant and prize trip. The Google Europe Anita Borg Scholarship is annually awarded to merited female graduate and postgraduate students of computer science and information technology. The prize was first granted in Europe in 2007. The competition was attended by 180 students from 93 universities. The prize committee chose 12 winners. The criteria for selection included the competitors' academic performance and achievements, their replies to essay questions from the prize committee, recommendations from other researchers, and interviews.

• The Magister Bonus Award 2006

Every autumn, the Student Union of the University of Helsinki grants the Magister Bonus award to instructors who have demonstrated skills and interest in both teaching and their students. The tenth Magister Bonus award was granted to Lecturer Arto Wikla of the Department of Computer Science  on 26 November 2006 at the Student Union's annual festivities. The application mentioned, among other things, that one of the strengths of this enthusiastic instructor is his ability to translate difficult and abstract concepts into a form that students can embrace easily. In addition, Mr Wikla's success in utilising feedback, and giving his own feedback, was commended.

• Nokia Forum Champion 2006 and 2009

Mika Raento was appointed a member of Nokia Forum Champion in 2006, and again in 2009.

• Academy Professorships 2004-2009

The Finnish Academy appointed Professor Heikki Mannila of TKK and UH/HIIT to an Academy Professorship for years 2004-2009.

• Academy Professorship 1999-2004

The Finnish Academy appointed Professor Esko Ukkonen to an Academy Professorship for years 1999-2004.

• ACM SIGKDD Innovations Award 2003

ACM SIGKDD granted its innovation award to Professor Heikki Mannila in 2003. The awards committee stated in its proclamation that Professor Mannila has a special gift for recognising new problems, approaches, and concepts, and thereby advancing his area of research.

• Petrozavodsk University Doctor Honoris Causa 2002

Professor Timo Alanko was conferred the title of Honorary Doctor at the University of Petrozavodsk in May. Professor Alanko has played an active part in launching the cooperation between the departments of computer science at Helsinki and Petrozavodsk in the early 1990s.

• Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Helsinki 2000

Linus Torvalds, who studied at the department in 1988-97 and who created the Linux operating system, was appointed Honorary Doctor of the University of Helsinki in May 2000.