Post by Annika Forstén

Did you ever think we could grow coffee in a lab in Finland, make egg white without chickens, solve energy challenges with small nuclear reactors or scale a quantum computer to groundbreaking computing power? Janica Ylikarjula from VTT opened the fourth #EspooInnovationDay for international #diplomats with examples, that perfectly illustrate the groundbreaking innovations emerging from Otaniemi #DeepTechHub in Espoo 🇫🇮 Janne Laine from Aalto University continued by explaining how Aalto has risen into the world’s #top100 universities through a deliberate internationalization strategy: over the past 15 years 300 international professors have been recruited and 40% of doctoral thesis student are international. 70–100 new businesses are created every year, and Aalto ranks 6th in Europe for university–industry collaboration. Nowhere else in Finland can such a community of international expertise be found: 20% of all international experts and leaders in Finland reside in Espoo. #Diversity is a key ingredient of the remarkable achievements of the innovation ecosystem: Deputy Mayor Mervi Heinaro shared how Espoo ranks fourth in Europe in patent applications, and Finland’s startup scene, as well as the space and quantum industries all have been born in Espoo innovation community. Mayor Kai Mykkänen underlined how Espoo aims to be the best possible home for international professionals and how the city helps businesses on multiple fronts. One example is how the city acts as a #testbed and platform for new solutions: for instance, the Hepokorpi Data Centre is the world’s largest excess heat recovery project. It will provide up to 40% of Espoo’s district heating needs - a key step towards making Espoo climate-neutral by 2030. Onwards and upwards we go (literally)! 🚀 Milla Ovaska Hanna Eskelinen Anastasia McAvennie Nelli Vasse Mari Ala-Mikkula Sara Pitzén Mari Paavilainen Teemu Haapalehto Melissa Arni-Hardén Petri Lautjärvi Jenni Selosmaa Niko Karinen Miska Hakala Ossi Ritvos Mayumi Shimizu Heli Hidén