RDI activities
Kuopio is a vigorous and internationally significant university city, where sustainable growth is based on business renewal and job creation. Kuopio has strong research, development, and innovation activities close to businesses and working life. Kuopio is important for the whole of Eastern Finland.
In order to promote regional growth and the availability of talents, it is important to ensure the adequate status and resources of educational institutions and to make sure that regional innovation, research and development work is possible.
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The operational conditions of the centre of expertise focussing on health and wellbeing must be ensured.
Kuopio University Hospital KUH is one of the leading teaching hospital in Finland and a significant industrial policy RDI development platform together with the University of Eastern Finland. The heart of the health sector is formed by an open innovation ecosystem Kuopio Health.
Kuopio has more than 5,000 health sector jobs, and Kuopio region hosts more than 1,000 health-related businesses. The university campus is located near the city centre in Savilahti. The new Savilahti district has a campus with three degrees of education, and it is also an experimental area for low-carbon smart city solution. Savilahti has more than 20,000 talents, top professionals, and students.
The funding model for wellbeing services counties must be fixed. The allocation of the university hospital supplement on the basis of the population of the wellbeing services county is unfair and has nothing to do with the extent of the obligations of the university hospital, such as research and teaching activities. A more just method would be base the allocation on the population of the cooperation district.
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We must ensure that regional innovation, research, and development work is possible.
The ecosystem agreement between the City and the state (coordinated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment) supports the City’s innovation-driven growth, competitiveness, economic development, employment, and internationalisation. Kuopio focusses on Health and wellbeing technology and Water.
The main idea behind the ecosystem agreements are innovative cities that build on their strengths to harness the opportunities of digitalisation, new technologies and carbon neutrality to drive economic renewal and sustainable cities.
The agreements will strengthen the development of attractive clusters of excellence and innovation environments, and link Finnish actors to international RDI networks and value chains. This will develop innovation ecosystems, i.e. close cooperation networks, strengthen knowledge spearheads and increase the impact of research, development, and innovation activities in a city-oriented manner.
The key tools include urban development projects, innovative public procurement, utilisation of research results, new business ecosystems, start-up communities, and the strengthening of skills through international talents. These measures are expected to create new local development dynamics; new, internationally important growth opportunities; and closer cooperation between cities in the priority areas of the agreement.
Further information:
- Arto Holopainen, Innovation manager, arto.holopainen@kuopio.fi, +358 45 139 3996
Anu Häiväläinen, Business agent, anu.haivalainen@kuopio.fi, +358 44 718 2036
- Arto Holopainen, Innovation manager, arto.holopainen@kuopio.fi, +358 45 139 3996
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The role and strengths of the Kuopio region must be taken into account in matters concerning security and security of supply, as well as in development related to Finland’s future fighter procurements, and in the broader development of competence in the security sector.
The Emergency Services College is a specialist in civilian preparedness, contingency planning, and international rescue operations. The Emergency Services College in Kuopio has an excellent training area and other security field learning environments. The Emergency Services College, the Rissala base and garrison of the Finnish Defence Forces, and the security expertise of the higher education institutions and research institutes in the region together form a significant entity and have plenty of development potential, based on which a national security cluster is being built.