Press release May 26th

2nd EU-Russia Innovation Forum a Success!

Around 720 participants gathered for the EU-Russia Innovation Forum, held in Lappeenranta on 25-26 May 2011. This, the second annual high-level Innovation Forum, was organised by the City of Lappeenranta in cooperation with the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT). The 2nd EU-Russia Innovation Forum focused on promoting tangible business partnerships between the European and Russian companies and on concrete challenges that companies face in their day-to-day business. At the Forum, companies met potential business partners and obtained valuable information on starting new businesses with foreign partners.

“The Innovation Forum provides a good platform for small and medium-sized businesses to start new international business partnerships. Lappeenranta’s location near the Russian border and a mutual positive attitude have been crucial in promoting co-operation”, Katja Keinänen, Secretary General of the Forum, comments.

This year the Forum focused primarily on Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Information & Communication Technologies and Health & Pharma. The Forum sought practical solutions for barriers to co-operation.

Marko Torkkeli, Professor, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), delivered the 2nd Forum Summary. The 1st Forum delivered the Nine Key Initiatives on innovation and modernization, since which several concrete projects have been implemented. This Forum has continued the work started in the 1st Forum, aiming to bring the policies into practice.

As a result of the Forum the following concrete cooperation proposals were introduced:

1. Energy efficiency & renewable energy

One-stop shop for knowledge and environmental issues

Best practises and benchmarking

Green, clean and sustainable

Smart solutions

2. Promote and activate networks

New services for existing networks

Set up a structure for co-operation between dialogs and business driven initiatives

B2B promotion (matchmaking)

3. Key enablers for modernization

Pan-European-Russian clean energy funds

Long term support mechanism for VC (e.g pension funds in US)

Stable framework conditions (e.g taxes, feed tariffs, emission allowances)

4. EU-Russia innovation and modernization cooperation board

Follow-up and support on the EU-Russia innovation agenda

                  - Business
                  - Science
                  - Policy

A truly European Forum in 2012 with the annual EBN Congress?

In order to organize a truly European event next year, Lappeenranta has applied to become the main organizer of the annual Congress of European Business & Innovation Center Network – EBN – which gathers more than 500 participants from around Europe every year. In the framework of this congress, Lappeenranta will organize a special program dedicated to EU-Russia Innovation Collaboration.

“We are very confident in the selection of Lappeenranta as the organizer of the EBN Congress 2012, which will take place between 13th and 16th of June. Final approval of Lappeenranta as the organizer of this event will be made on 15-18.06 in Toulon, France, during the EBN Congress 2011”, Keinänen says.

Matchmaking delivers results

A large-scale two-day Business Matchmaking Event, jointly organised with the European Enterprise Network (EEN), interested local and international companies alike. More than 125 companies participated in this matchmaking event. The Forum also had 70 business partners that supported the event. One of the Forum’s main partners was Konsu Accountor Group, whose CEO Pirjo Karhu expressed positive thoughts after the Forum.

“I believe that as a result of the Forum we will gain many new customers and a lot of new business in Finland and Russia. Networking and international visibility play a key role at the Forum. I hope to see an event even grander next year with world-class magnetism to gain international media visibility. All in all, the Forum has been great. Congratulations, Lappeenranta!” Karhu says.

Another main partner of the Forum, Oleg Utkin, Head of the Government Relations Division, Russian Venture Company, reflects on the importance of economic integration at the Forum: “The economy of Russia, now that it has overcome the effects of the worldwide crisis, is to accept the new challenge facing technologies’ qualitative changes, based on the latest achievements of science. Traditional economic relations between the EU and Finland, as one of the most significant partners, and Russia show that it is quite logical to apply international experience. Our country has considerable research potential – we must learn to use it as effectively as possible both for internal economic development and for integration into global economics.”

Nordic Set Green Ltd’s story began from the 1st EU-Russia Innovation Forum, where its CEO Xing Shi found his business partners. The company, located in Lappeenranta, focuses on soil and water cleaning and eco-city design. The result of this year’s Forum is a new Russian partner and a newly established joint company to take the Finnish and Russian cleantech-knowhow to the EU and China.

“The EU-Russia Innovation Forum is the best platform for Finnish and Russian companies to connect. The Forums have truly provided me with concrete benefits – two of my companies have started from the Business Matchmaking Sessions’ 30-minute face-to-face meetings”, says Xing Shi, who is also a Lappeenranta University of Technology graduate.

Additional information at: www.eurussiainnoforum.com
Katja Keinänen
Secretary General
EU-Russia Innovation Forum
Tel. +358 50 402 4944
katja.keinanen@lprinno.fi

Reko Juntto
Managing Director
Lappeenranta Innovation Ltd
Tel. +358 50 5527433
reko.juntto@lprinno.fi

About the Organisers:
Lappeenranta is a vibrant international University City of approximately 72,000 inhabitants in Southern Karelia. Lappeenranta has closely cooperated with the City of St Petersburg on innovation issues since 2005 and this cooperation has earned the title of EU-Russia Innovation Corridor. The objective of the partnership programme is to promote cooperation in innovation at the political level, in the education and research sectors and among private companies. The long-term objective is to have the innovation collaboration play a significant role in the new EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement.
Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) has combined two complementary disciplines – technology and business – since 1969. LUT’s strategic areas of expertise include energy efficiency, energy market, strategic management of business and technology, scientific computing and modelling of industrial processes as well as extensive know-how on Russia that traverses these areas. LUT Energy is the largest research and education organisation in the energy sector in Finland.

Regards,

Mirka Kristiina Rahman, MBA USA
Marketing & Communications
EU-Russia Innovation Forum
Tel. +358 40 849 9161
mirka.rahman@lappeenranta.fi

Lappeenranta Innovation Ltd is a non-profit company co-owned by the Lappeenranta City Holding Company, Technopolis Plc and the Society for Viipuri School of Economics. It combines business, research and public administration in an innovative way. Lappeenranta Innovation Ltd is part of the Business & Innovations Service Unit of the Lappeenranta City Holding Company, aimed to support the growth and internationalisation of local companies.

The Lappeenranta City Holding Company is a group company fully owned by the City of Lappeenranta. It is responsible for the management of the city group’s economic policies by promoting and developing the activities of its operative subsidiaries. The Group employs about 50 people, and the combined employment impact of the group of companies is about 960 jobs.