Espoo makes it to the semi-final of the European Capital of Innovation Awards
Espoo has been selected as one of the 6 semifinalists in the European Capital of Innovation (iCapital) competition.
The importance of Espoo’s innovation community in solving global challenges has once again been recognised as Espoo progressed to the top six in the European Capital of Innovation competition. Espoo competes in a group of over 250,000 people together with Bristol, Tallinn, Tampere, Turin and the West Midlands Combined Authority (UK). The competition is looking for a European city that has, by a good example, contributed best to the creation of new innovations for a smoother everyday life.
The cases presented in the competition application are chosen with a focus on the following aspects: 1) Scalability throughout Europe, 2) Impact created through a systemic approach, 3) Continuous work responding to EU-wide challenges, 4) Sustainability at the core (social, economic, ecological, cultural).
The city, together with Aalto University and Technical Research Centre VTT, forms a core that brings together all players – start-ups, students, top companies, researchers, and ordinary citizens – to create innovation for a better life.
Our impactful approach is based on four cornerstones:
- radical cross-disciplinary collaboration
- shared values
- closeness and trust
- well-being and inclusion.
If crowned Innovation Capital of Europe 2024, Espoo will share its experiences, lessons, and best practices to foster a sustainable, equitable future. Our work should start with collaboration between people, with the goal of serving the well-being of people and the planet, the vitality of companies, and a sustainable future for future generations. That is what Espoo is about: a leading innovation hub that creates the kind of innovation the world needs.
Learn more about Espoo's innovation community.
The cities that reached the semi-finals will be interviewed during September. The finalist trio will be announced in October and the winner will be announced on 13 November in Lisbon. Progressing to the semi-finals is a continuation of the 2019, 2020 and 2022 finals and indicates that Espoo has a successful culture of innovation. In 2022, Espoo finished second in the competition, which is the best Finnish result ever.
Read more about the competition(external link, opens in a new window).
More info:
Katja Sjöholm, Development Manager
katja.sjoholm@espoo.fi
tel. +358 43 8267645