1.4 Universities in Finland Join the Computer Era, cont.
(Partly compiled from [Tienari 1993])Because of the problem with ESKO, the first organizations in Finland to install computers were organizations that had been using punched card systems. The two first computers were of type IBM 650, the first installed on October 17, 1958 at Postipankki in Helsinki, the second installed at Kansaneläkelaitos in 1959.
The first two computers for technical computations, also installed in 1959, were of type IBM 610, one installed at Valmet OY (now Valmet Paper Machines) in Jyväskylä for technical planning and the other in Lauttasaari, Helsinki at a firm consulting in community planning. The sixth computer (counting ESKO as the fifth) was an Elliot 803 A, installed at Kaapelitehdas (now Nokia) on Sept 20, 1960.
The seventh was Wegematic 1000 installed in Turku in 1960. Another Wegematic 1000 was installed at the Physics department at Helsinki University in 1961. In 1961 Kaapelitehdas acquired an Elliot 803 B, and the 803 A was installed at Helsinki University of Technology. Helsinki University installed their first usable computer, an IBM 1620, in 1962, Turku replaced Wegematic 1000 by an IBM 1620 in 1964, University of Oulu installed an Elliot 803 B in 1965 and University of Tampere an Elliot 803 B in 1966. By this the main universities in Finland had entered the computer era.
It is interesting to note that the early start of the computer era in Turku parallels that of Oslo University, which also obtained a Wegematic 1000 as donation in 1960 and then replaced it with a IBM 1620 in the middle of the sixties.
The First University Computers in Finland Year Site Computer (1960 Helsinki Esko (G1a) ) 1960 Turku Wegematic 1000 1961 Helsinki Univ. of Technology Elliot 803 A 1961 Helsinki University Wegematic 1000 (Phys) 1962 Helsinki University IBM 1620 1964 Turku IBM 1620 1965 Oulu Elliot 803 B 1966 Tampere Elliot 803 B