Heikki Koski returned to the University of Tampere in August 1996 as the university’s chancellor. Roughly 36 years earlier, in autumn 1960, he had begun his studies in municipal policy in Tampere.

Koski is part of the first truly Tampere-based generation of students that created local traditions and brought student culture to Tampere in the form of the students’ May Day celebration, the Independence Day torchlight procession and many other student events that bring colour to the city scene. During his second year of studies, Koski gained the position of freshman major in the Student Union, in addition to becoming a member of the Student Union Board, which he moved on to chair in 1962.

In between his studies and years as chancellor, Koski had the time to build a versatile career in the municipal sector and work as the mayor of Pori, the minister of the interior as well as the president and CEO of Alko.