On the 15th of May, 2012, Innopoli 2 in Otaniemi served as the venue for the first MoneyTalks® event, which only featured Russian cases. Alongside Technopolis, Finnode, Greater Helsinki Promotions, Wirma and International VC Zone partnered to sponsor this exclusive event. The interesting companies and solutions present gathered nearly all of Finland’s Venture Capital firms into attendance.  Other institutional actors and angel investors also took part, as the scalable business opportunities for and from the immense and unified Russian market garnered a lot attention. Many of the participants, investors and companies alike, utilized the opportunity to pre-book meetings with their desired partners actively.

The event itself kicked-off with registration, coffee and networking at 13.00, after which Jukka Jokinen, Director of Development Services at Technopolis, gave a few welcoming words. From 13.35 onwards the stage was given to the participants, with Sami Ahvenniemi of Conor Venture Partners starting of the presentations with a VC Perspective. After this the Russian cases started off with 7 and 2 minute pitches slotted together. The 7-minute pitches were  JetTaxi, Kwikpik, PlanBMedia, CVS, and Workle with Alloka, Boardmaps, Octopod and 3DiVi having 2-minute slots to power pitch their cases. The VCs in attendance were asked to rate each pitch according to their assessment of the presentation in terms of intrigue and potential.  The best rating was given to Workle, a provider of online work for the finance, insurance and travelling sector.s CVS or Computer Vision Systems JSC received the second highest score for its unique gesture recognition solution ViEye for televisions and screens and JetTaxi, with its single tap taxi ordering mobile application, came in third.

Via a networking break, the marketplace for pre-booked one-to-one meetings between entrepreneurs and investors started. From 15.15 onwards the investment seeking participants moved around from one table to another presenting their proposed solutions to the present financiers. In total over a 100 of these pre-booked meetings were scheduled in advance. Delicious snacks and drinks were offered all the way through the marketplace section, which concluded the event at 17.30.

The next MoneyTalks® event will be the MoneyTalks® Forum held on the 14th of June, 2012 in Lappeenranta. This event will be organized in association with EU Russia Innovation Forum 2012 with the theme of Energy & Environment, and Logistics & Mobility. To participate: sign-up and pay the participation fee through the EU Russia Innovation Forum web page: www.eurussiainnoforum.com. To receive the Early bird special price of 199€ (+VAT 23%) register by the 30th of April, 2012. Later payments will be charged the normal fee of 299€ (+VAT 23%). Technopolis tenants will receive a 40% discount! Please ask us a discount code. Cancellations are handled through EU Russia Innovation Forum.

On Thursday 10th of May, 2012, the second edition of TalentTalks® was held in Nokia Siemens Networks Solution Experience Center. The collaborative event arranged by Technopolis Events, Otaniemi Marketing and Nokia Siemens Networks managed to attract 19 interesting companies seeking for established professionals to join their cause. Companies ranging from global corporations to ambitious Finnish start-ups were in attendance and pitched their job openings to the talented crowd of Nokia Siemens Network employees. The program for the attending companies began already at 10.30 by a welcome and a demo of the Nokia Siemens Network Solution Experience Center. This was followed by setting up the stands for the later networking and 1:1 meetings. From 12.30 to 13.00 coffee was served and free conversing took place.

At 13.00 the main event started by welcoming speeches from all the organizing parties. Nokia Siemens Networks Finland’s Country Manager, Pekka Soini, gave a few forewords after which Kaisa Säde from Nokia Siemens Networks, Karita Huotari from Technopolis and Melissa Arni-Hardén from Otaniemi Marketing gave their own regards to the professionals and companies in attendance. Nick Vertigans from AJAN Consulting delivered the Keynote of the event with an inspirational and entertaining speech on presentation skills in general and especially in promoting oneself as a job applicant. A networking break ensued after which the companies and professionals were given the stage to pitch their agenda to the audience. Companies were each given 4-minute pitching slots to advertise their company and the positions they wanted to fill, while the individuals had to garner interest in their abilities and personality in a frame of 2-minutes. The companies that pitched their job-openings and career opportunities were Blancco, Ekahau, Nixu, Sibesonke, Supponor, KPMG and Vendep. The event was concluded over a Talent Fair, which included pre-arranged 1:1 meetings and free networking. The atmosphere during the ensuing Talent Fair was enthusiastic and individuals kept company representatives busy well over 16.00 in the afternoon. From the looks of it many new contacts were formed and time will tell if these initial conversations produced the desired talent matches between companies and individuals.

Remember to visit www.talentmatch.fi and create your own job-seeking or company profile. The next edition of TalentTalks® will be arranged on the 7th of June, 2012, in Innopoli 2, Otaniemi. The Event is free of charge, but registration is required. Companies and individual professionals can register to the event by May 31, 2012 at http://talentmatch.fi/happening/view/id/61. Recruitment and other HR-related service providers, please contact Melissa Arni-Hardén +358 50 543 4788 for separate offer. Inquiries, pitching slot and company stand requests to melissa.arni-harden@otaniemi.fi or marita.tainio@technopolis.fi.

Health 2.0 Finland is an open forum for sharing ideas around Health 2.0 between different actors (industry, healtcare providers, SME´s and cities).

The second Health 2.0 Finland meeting will take place on Tuesday 22nd of May, 2012 from 17.00 to 21.00. The event will be hosted by Culminatum Innovation at the Innopoli 1, Conference Room Panorama in the Technopolis’ Otaniemi premises.

The theme of the meeting is finance and venture capital in healthcare technology innovation and the program goes as follows:

  • Opening words by Roope Ritvos, Program Director at Culminatum Innovation
  • Keynote by Timo Ahopelto, Founding Partner at Lifeline Ventures
  • Discussion
  • Demo by Michael Quarshie, CEO and Founder at Wellness Foundry
  • Demo/Pitch 2
  • From 6.30 PM onwards the Panorama Sauna will be warm for pitching and socializing

For more information about the event and to register visit http://h20finlandmay2012.eventbrite.com/

If you wish to demo your product / service, please contact topi.hanhela@laaketietokeskus.fi as soon as possible. Please register by the 15th of May, 2012, so that sufficient refreshments can be reserved.

The following blog post is written byTallinn School of Economics and Business Administration, which collaborates with Technopolis to offer Bachelor’s studies in the Helsinki City centre starting in September 2012.

Starting from September 2012 the School of Economics and Business Administration of Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) will provide you with the opportunity to obtain a degree in International Business Administration without leaving Finland. Tallinn School of Economics and Business Administration (TSEBA) welcomes all qualified candidates, who have already acquired secondary education and would like to combine family and work commitments and university studies, to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in the field of business administration at weekends in Helsinki. It is also possible to study in parallel with obtaining another higher education.

Study sessions are held five times a semester at weekends, on Friday evenings, Saturdays and Sundays in Technopolis( Technopolis Ruoholahti, Hiilikatu 3, 00180 Helsinki, Finland), which is located in the region of Helsinki city centre. The language of instruction is English and courses are delivered by the leading teaching staff members of TSEBA. Students are free to determine their own course load.  Nominal period of study is 4 years.

A student who has completed the full program will be awarded a diploma of Tallinn University of Technology, one of Estonian leading public universities.

International Business Administration programme will provide you with:

-    an opportunity to earn a degree while working
-    an opportunity to study without leaving Finland
-    a diploma which is awarded by a public university and recognised inside and outside  European Union
-    a good price-quality ratio
-    a good balance between academic knowledge and practical skills
-    study sessions only on weekends once a month

TSEBA is a faculty of Tallinn University of Technology which has been providing a high quality education in economics and business administration for more than 70 years; teaching experience in English nearly 20 years.

TSEBA is the most international faculty at TUT with more than 300 international students studying in English; the majority of them come from Finland. Graduates of TSEBA are working as leading specialists in Estonian enterprises as well as abroad, in the European Union and elsewhere. Many of today's leaders in Estonia and this region are graduates from TSEBA. Their knowledge, skills, and experience are recognized in various sectors: from the central bank to ministries and from IT and telecommunication companies to finance and manufacturing industries.

Comparability, practicability and extensiveness, which all can be summed up in one concept – quality - have been the key words in program design. Comparability of programmes provides an opportunity to successfully participate in student exchange programmes, and to continue further studies at Master’s or Doctoral level in any world renowned university. TSEBA has entered into partnership with about 70 universities from all over the world (including Stanford, Berkeley and Fudan). TUT has also a permanent representation in Silicon Valley.

For additional information please visit: tseba.ttu.ee

Admission requirements are available at: http://www.ttu.ee/admissions

Contact: Monika Nevalainen, Consultant for International studies, e-mail:  monika.nevalainen@tseba.ttu.ee, phone: +372 6 20 39 40; Admissions: study@ttu.ee

Innopoli 2 in Otaniemi, Espoo hosted the first TalentTalks® matchmaking event of its kind yesterday, on the 29.03.2012, with the aim of linking international talent to Finnish growth companies. The largely untapped talent pool of international professionals in Finland and the growing need for new multi-cultural prospects by growth companies led Technopolis Events to team up with Otaniemi Marketing and create this venue to bridge this clear discrepancy in the job market. As a result the first of hopefully many TalentTalks® events was held and a crowd of nearly one hundred talented professionals and twenty ambitious companies were in attendance to successfully kick-off this new concept.

After registration the event was started by a few complimentary words from the organizers and an inspirational keynote by the CEO of Technopolis PLC, Keith Silverang, on his own one-of-a-kind journey to become the first foreign CEO of a stock listed company in Finland. For the listeners present Silverang also articulated the secret formula to success, which for those absent included a non-scientific combination of hard work, luck and good relationships.

To complement the launch of this new event an impromptu performance by Micke Rejström of Stella Polaris, the first and foremost improvisation theatre in Finland, took place. Beforehand nobody could imagine what the performance would include, but after an interactive half-an-hour with the attendees, the customary Finnish reserved atmosphere became much more relaxed and jovial. After a quick networking break the stage was set for main attraction, as eight recruiting growth companies and eight aspiring professional took the stage to pitch their propositions in fast 2 and 4 minute presentation slots. The companies presenting and searching for international talent ranged from industry giants to fast growing start-ups and in presentation order were: Kone, Supponor, Industrial News Service, Dream Broker, Exaget, Synocus, Kiosked, and Hakema.

Following the presentations structured networking took place and many foreign professionals actively engaged in conversations with the potential employers at their respective stands. Even though it is too early to tell if the event matched individual talent with the needs of the attending companies, the ensuing active networking and a few reported follow-up meetings between prospective employees and interested employers were arranged. The next edition of TalentTalks will be held on the 7th of June, 2012 in the Technopolis premises in Otaniemi, Espoo, which will aim to further build on the successful foundation established by this event. Remember to register at http://www.jobgo.eu/ to find your perfect talent match as an employee or employer if you have not done so already!

To see all coming Technopolis events visit https://www.technopolisonline.com/events.

On the 29th of March, 2012, the Technopolis Russian campus in Pulkovo, St. Petersburg will host the: Retrofit and maintenance of buildings: information technology, energy- and ecoefficiency, conference. This event is organized by Technopolis and the U.S. Russia Center for Entrepreneurship, with the assistance of the Institute for Facility Management and VTT as knowledge partners. The registration will start at 09.30 in the morning and presentations on facility renovation and management will take place from 10.00 to 14.15, after which a buffet style lunch will be served and open networking will take place.

The conference focuses on building management and maintenance with a particular emphasis on energy efficiency and the minimization of maintenance costs as well as the utilization of information technology for their management. The event is intended for developers, building maintenance and management companies, maintenance managers, building owners, and service providers. The conference will be held in Russian, however translation into English will be provided simultaneously.

The participation fee for this event is 3000 rubles (VAT included), which is approximately € 75. You can register for the event by sending your name, contact information, position, company name and address by email to contact.spb@cfe.ru or by completing the form in http://www.cfe.ru/events/entrepreneurs/type/70/1634.htm (link in Russian). Directions and contact information can be found below.

March, 29th  2012, 9.00 – 17.00
St. Petersburg, Pulkovskoe shosse, 40\4, Technopolis Pulkovo
BigBang conference hall
Driving instructions: http://www.technopolis.fi/kontakty/rossiya 
Shuttle bus timetable (from Moskovskaya metro station): http://www.technopolis.fi/index.php?id=3730&news_id=992

For additional information or regarding any questions, do not hesitate to contact:

The U.S. Russia Center for Entrepreneurship:
Yana Polyakova, +7 (812) 325 9832

Technopolis Pulkovo:
Olga Andreeva, +7 (812) 318 0055

On the 13th of March, the 38th MoneyTalks® event was organized and the new Technopolis Helsinki premises in Ruoholahti served as the venue for the first time. The event featured 7 five minute pitches by interesting up and coming companies, multiple one-minute elevator pitches, pre-booked one-to-one meetings between companies and venture financiers, as well as general networking. Altogether 50 early birds grabbed a breakfast, while networking and enjoying the aformentioned pitches. The networking opportunities during the networking reception and during the pre-booked one-to-one meetings were utilized extensively.

Below you can find the presentations of Eigenor, Hakema, NextDays, StatFinn and the presentation of investor Finnvera. The slides of MirrorBird presented by Maria Sorokina are not displayed online, but further details and contact can be provided by request. For this please contact Janina Salo, janina.salo@technopolis.fi.

Eigenor, presented by Janne Käpylehto, Business Development Manager, is a Finnish software house that specializes in mathematical solutions for measurement problems for industrial and scientific applications in tomography and radar technology.

Eigenor Presentation

Ajay Garg, founder and CEO of Hakema, spoke for his company, which provides a novel appointment solution for classified, real-estate, automotive and other relevant industries.

Hakema Presentation

Joonas Tunturi, founder and CEO of Social Ark Ltd (NextDays) introduced a new web and mobile consumer service, which enables its users to spend more time in real life and less online.

NextDays Presentation

StatFinn provides data management and statistical reporting services to the pharmaceutical industry. Pekka Heikkilä, CEO, explained how their eBESTreports is the first-in-market reporting application for reporting the consumption of time and resources in the clinical trials phase.

StatFinn Presentation

Keith Bonnici represented Finnvera which is investing in early stage technologies and technology intensive service companies.

Finnvera Presentation

Maria Sorokina from Moscow located NovilGroup LLC represented their spin-off project MirrorBird - a new generation of advertising that uses a mirror as a screen to display gender-oriented video advertising.

The next MoneyTalks® events will be the MoneyTalks® featuring Russian cases in Espoo on the 15th of May and MoneyTalks® Forum in Lappenranta on the 14th of June. Please note that in the Espoo event in May the pitching opportunity is exclusively for Russian companies, but the networking and meeting options are available for all start-up and growth companies and financiers. Deadline for the pitching applications is April 13 and can be accessed from our events page.

On the 30th of August MoneyTalks® Espoo will be arranged. Deadline for the pitching applications for this event is the 15th of August. Note that this may be right after your summer holidays, so consider submitting your application ahead of time.

Talent talks® will be arranged on Thursday, March 29th 2012 in Innopoli 2 in Otaniemi, Espoo. This event organized by Technopolis Events and Otaniemi Marketing will start at 13.30 and last until 18.30. Talent talks® offers a great venue for structured face-to-face networking to match ambitious organizations with aspiring professionals.

During the event both employers and professionals are given the opportunity to build their own brand in the recruitment scene by giving short presentations (1-5 minutes), hosting meeting points and participating in pre-arranged one-on-one meetings. 

The program kicks off by coffee and registration during the first half an hour and is followed by a welcome and a keynote by Technopolis Plc CEO Keith Silverang. Stella Polaris will perform an impromptu warm-up routine, which will be followed by presentations of both companies and individual talents. The presentations give way for the pre-arranged face-to-face meeting and from 17.30 onwards refreshments and snacks will be provided to accompany free networking.

To top it off participation in this talent talks® event is FREE of charge! However registration is required and no-shows without due cancellation (24 hours in advance) will be charged € 75. Register to the event at www.otniemi.fi/oin by the 21st of March. For further enquiries contact melissa.arni-harden@otaniemi.fi or martia.tainio@tehcnopolis.fi.

Once a year MoneyTalks® Tampere gathers together hi-tech and innovation-based start-up and growth companies and financiers. Altogether over 70 participants witnessed three great seven minute pitches and several one minute elevator pitches. The pitching sessions were followed by relaxed networking and business talk over light snacks and drinks.Entrepreneurs and investors had also taken advantage of the possibility to pre-screen participants and request meetings before the event. As a result the one-to-one meeting rooms were fully booked until the end of the event.

Below you can find the seven minute presentations of Team Action Zone and TTS-Ciptec. We also hope to have the presentation by Injeq shared as soon as possible.

Kar Laurila pitched for Team Action Zone (TAZ), a developer of innovative outdoor games that make people move around. TAZ games utilize latest technologies and are designed to be easy to learn. In all TAZ games, exercise, fun, team spirit and ecological aspects are strongly present. TAZ also arranges outdoor game events, which are especially suitable for company teams and groups of buddies in general.

TTS-Ciptec Ltd provides optimizing services for industrial washing systems. Tuomas Pahlman demonstrated how their product provides savings in time, water and energy, reduces environmental impacts and ensures the highest levels of hygiene. The TTS-Ciptec technology and services have been noticed by the world’s biggest dairy corporations and its innovative business model has received multiple awards.

Injeq Ltd, presented by Kai Kronström, develops bioimpedance measurement based tissue identifying medical needles for epidural anesthesia and other medical applications.  The company has its roots in biomedical research conducted at the Tampere University of Technology.

Additionally, the audience was informed how growth, development and competitiveness of technology businesses can be secured by proper intellectual property rights, fertile connections between businesses and research institutions as well as through fundraising and training services provided by MoneyTalks® partners Berggren, Hermia, Innolink and Tampere All Stars.

The next MoneyTalks® event will be held in Helsinki March 13th. Please note that we offer also the opportunity to request meetings in advance, hence do not hesitate to sign-up. Deadline for the pitching applications is February 27 and can be accessed from our events page.

Succeed in Russia! Aalto University School of Economics Small Business Center is organizing two and networking expeditions for representatives for Finnish SMEs to our Eastern neighbour, Russia in the coming months.  The first matchmaking trip will head to St. Petersburg from the 13-15 of March, 2012. Nizhniy Novgorod is the second destination, which will be explored on the 23-26 of April, 2012. On these trips you can learn about the prevailing market conditions and business opportunities as well as form new contacts. Private meetings with pre-selected preferred local partners will also take place on both visits. Below you will find more information and registration details.

St. Petersburg 13.-15.03.2012: The price of this trip is €600 and it includes train tickets (round-trip), a group visa and the required registration payments, accommodation (one-person room) and all the organized transport in the destination as well as the services of an interpreter and a tour leader.

Nizhniy Novgorod 23.-26.04.2012: The price is €1375 and includes the flights (Helsinki – Nizhniy Novgorod – Helsinki), accommodation (one-person room) with breakfasts, as well as all organized and group transport in the destination. The price does not include a visa, travel insurance, or meals.

Registration can be completed in www.pienyrityskeskus.aalto.fi > training. The registration deadlines for the trips are the 20.02.2012 for St. Petersburg and the 09.03.2012 for Nizhniy Novgorod.

For further information, enquiries and possible cancellations contact Elena Mochnikova , tel. 050 4385 737, elena.mochnikova@aalto.fi.

(The Aalto University School of Economics Small Business Center reserves the right to make changes to the presented information)