Espoo’s innovation community is of interest abroad
Jukka Mäkelä, Mayor of Espoo, is on a business trip to the United States from 20 to 24 March 2023. The Mayor participated in the European Innovation Day at the invitation of European Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. The aim of the delegation put together by the Commissioner is to increase Europe’s attractiveness among experts, companies and investors in Silicon Valley.
During the trip, Mayor Mäkelä meets business leaders, investors and experts from San Francisco’s Silicon Valley. On 22 March, the European Innovation Day was attended by some 300 operators interested in employment, business and investment opportunities in Europe. Europe was presented to American operators as a leading area of deep technology expertise.
“Experts, companies and universities in Espoo are developing research-based, globally significant high-tech solutions to the challenges of sustainable development, such as climate change. Of all European cities, the sixth-largest number of patent applications is produced in Espoo. I appreciate the opportunity to showcase Espoo’s innovation community and the high-quality opportunities it offers to operators in both Silicon Valley and the EU delegation,” says Mayor Mäkelä.
The EU Delegation of Commissioner Gabriel, who is responsible for innovation, research, education, culture and youth, brings together 50 leaders from European businesses, universities, cities and EU institutions. In addition to Mayor Mäkelä, Finland and Espoo were represented in the delegation by Ilkka Niemelä, Rector of Aalto University, and Jan Goetz, CEO of IQM, which develops quantum computers in Keilaniemi, Espoo.
Better representation for the EU and Finland in the United States
In addition to the European Innovation Day, which was organised for the first time in Silicon Valley, Mäkelä participated in the delegation’s internal networking event and in an event where the opportunities offered by Europe were marketed to local researchers, experts and entrepreneurs. At the event, the Mayor presented the opportunities offered by Finland and Espoo. The joint objective of the delegation is to promote the New European Innovation Agenda, the main objective of which is to make Europe a leading player in the global innovation field. Mäkelä’s participation in the European Commissioner’s delegation is a continuation of strengthening Espoo’s profile as a leading European city of innovation.
The European Union and Finland also aim to strengthen their presence in the United States (in Finnish). In the autumn of 2022, the European Commission opened an office in San Francisco on the West Coast. The Confederation of Finnish Industries EK and the largest cities in Finland have, together with Business Finland and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, placed a commercial and industrial business expert in the Embassy of Finland in Washington on the East Coast. The task of the business expert is to strengthen business cooperation with American business partners.
Further information
EU 9 March 2023: Time for the First European Innovation Days in the Silicon Valley(external link, opens in a new window)
Annika Forstén, Deputy Head of International Affairs, +358 40 6369681, annika.forsten@espoo.fi