Insights

Do you know an exceptional CTO in Finland? We are now looking for nominations to find the CTO who is the most inspiring team-builder and leader, who adds significant value to the company through technology.  you can submit your nomination at http://www.ctoforum.fi/nominate. Anyone who is responsible for their company’s technology in Finland is eligible. The selection criteria are very comprehensive and are divided into three section: the person, the CTO's company and societal impact.

The European Commission has earmarked €30 billion for Horizon 2020 during 2018-2020 in the last work programme. According to the Commission, over the next 3 years, it will strive for greater impact of its research funding by focusing on fewer, but critical topics such as migration, security, climate, clean energy and digital economy. Horizon 2020 will also be more geared towards boosting breakthrough, market-creating innovation.

The exponential development of technology is driving fundamental change in the world. As the pace of change is continuously increasing, people and companies need to understand the nature of exponential growth.

Eyal Shimoni, CTO of Strauss Group and Sebastien Equis, CTO of Nanolive have been awarded with the title European Chief Technology Officer of the Year 2017 in their respective categories: large corporations and SMEs. The awards ceremony took place during the CTO Forum 2017 at Empa Academy, Zurich, Switzerland on October 26^th, 2017. Both awardees serve as prominent role models fuelling growth and strengthening European innovation and technology leadership.

Companies are now investing in digitalisation due to the competitive advantage and customer value it brings and not due to cost savings. Finnish CTOs believe that the key challenge in digitalisation is to develop related knowledge and skills. The latest CTO Survey conducted by Spinverse, Tekes and Technology Industries of Finland focused on how digitalisation transforms Finnish companies.

In May, the Finnish medical technology company Optomed was granted 1,97 M€ from Horizon 2020 SME Phase 2 instrument under the topic Accelerating market introduction of ICT solutions for Health, Well-Being and Ageing Well. The funding will help Optomed make their product Smartscope-X the leading solution for diabetic retinopathy screening, supporting the company’s vision to provide affordable eye screenings to everyone.

During the summer, Spinverse Innovation Management and Spinverse Management Consulting have joined forces and are now Spinverse Oy.  Spinvese is now better equipped to offer its customers expertise to fulfill their requirements in today’s fast-paced global environment.

When making a pitch, you usually have only a couple of minutes to get a potential investor interested in your innovation. Facing you, there are people who do not share your interest in technical details and do not have your level of knowledge in the field. "In order for an innovation to reach the market, the existing technical information needs to be refined into communication that the market and potential financiers can understand and put to work," says Ulrika Wahlström, from IMCG and Innovation Project Manager in the EU project InspireWater says.

There is a growing need worldwide for digital health solutions. A new innovation ecosystem coordinated by HUS (The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa) called CleverHealth Network, brings together the health technology knowhow, healthcare professionals and the precise healthcare data of HUS. The aim of the CleverHealth Network is a turnover of 11 billion euro and export earnings of 7,7 billion euro for the companies in the ecosystem.

The possibilities of EU funding - case example of a success story.