An agreement was made during the meeting of the Presidents of Finland and Russia on co-operation between Turku Science Park Ltd, universities in Turku and the Skolkovo science and technology cluster that is rising near Moscow. The University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku Science Park Ltd and the Skolkovo Foundation, which administers the Skolkovo area, are signing an agreement on co-operation in The Forum Marinum Maritime Centre in Turku today, 25 June 2013 at 17.00 EET.
The new co-operation concerns especially the fields of life sciences and ICT which are important to Turku. The co-operation in life sciences focuses on biomaterials, diagnostics, personalised medicine and biomarkers. Focal areas in drug development include e.g. inflammatory diseases, diseases of the central nervous system, cardiovascular diseases, and endocrinology. Areas of co-operation in the ICT sector include health technology, e-learning materials, data security, imaging, and data analyses.
“The modernisation of health care and pharmaceutical industry has been put on the agenda for the next few years in Russia. Russia’s Pharma 2020 programme sets the goal to raise the country’s self-sufficiency regarding drugs and medical equipment quickly from 20 per cent to 50 per cent. It will open up significant business opportunities also for the universities in Turku as well as the drug development companies operating in the Turku region”, says Rikumatti Levomäki, CEO of Turku Science Park Ltd.
The health care needs are also emphasised in the ICT sector.
“The Russians are interested in using health technology to develop the quality of health care. eHealth and mHealth are important for their future, too. Their interest in the co-operation indicates that the long-term work in the fields of drug development, diagnostics and health technology in Turku is recognised also outside Finland”, Mr Levomäki reminds.
The objectives of the agreement are to accelerate the commercialisation of scientific research and support the creation of Public-Private Partnerships. Another objective is to create a joint Russian-Finnish start-up community and new financing instruments, as well as accelerate the co-operation between the contracting parties when they target each other’s, European and global markets.
“For the University of Turku it means an opportunity to expand the positively started research co-operation with a number of Russian research organisations. This is particularly interesting because of the opportunity to implement it also together with other European and international players”, says Kalervo Väänänen, Rector of the University of Turku.
The agreement is signed in Turku on Tuesday by the President of the Skolkovo Foundation Victor Vekselberg, Rector of the University of Turku Kalervo Väänänen, Rector of Åbo Akademi University Jorma Mattinen, and Turku Science Park Ltd CEO Rikumatti Levomäki.
Turku Science Park Ltd is an accelerator of innovative growth. It promotes the utilisation of university-based expertise and competitiveness of enterprises as well as generating new business especially in the fields of biotechnology (BioTurku® - Life Science and materials technology) and information and communication technology (ICT Turku). The principal owner of Turku Science Park Ltd is the City of Turku. www.turkusciencepark.com
The Skolkovo Foundation is a non-profit organization founded in September 2010 by the Russian government with an objective to accelerate transformation of Russia from a resource-intensive to an innovation-based economy. To achieve this objective the Foundation is overseeing the creation of the Skolkovo Innovation Centre composed of companies and start-ups, developing innovative technologies (currently numbering almost 1000), a Technopark, the Skolkovo Institute of Technology (Skoltech), a new graduate research University established in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Skolkovo city, located near Moscow. Together these entities will establish a vibrant eco-system of technology innovation and entrepreneurship. More than 30 world’s most successful corporations, including Boeing, Cisco Systems, EADS, GE, Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Siemens, Nokia, etc. have already recognized the opportunity Skolkovo presents having signed R&D partnership agreements with the Foundation. www.sk.ru
Professor Kalervo Väänänen has been the Rector of the University of Turku since August 2012.
From 2010 Mr Väänänen acted as the Academic Rector in the University of Eastern Finland. He worked as Associate Professor in the University of Oulu between 1983 and 1997. He has been Professor of Cell Biology in the University of Turku since 1998. Additionally, Mr Väänänen has acted as the Head of the Institute of Biomedicine at the University of Turku, the Scientific Director of BioCity Turku, and as a member of the Academy of Finland. He has also worked as a visiting researcher in the University of Kansas and as a visiting professor in Uppsala University.
Mr Väänänen operates in several national and international expert positions and positions of trust. He has received many recognitions and scientific awards. He has actively developed business applications for research innovations and participated in the founding of research-based businesses.
Professor Jorma Mattinen has been the Rector of Åbo Akademi University since 2006.
In January 1989 he started as a Docent/Associate Professor in the University of Turku and in 1991 as Acting Professor in Åbo Akademi University. In the same Åbo Akademi University he started as a Professor in Organic Chemistry in October 1991. Mr Mattinen has been the Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences.
Mr Mattinen is also a Member of the Board of Technology Academy Finland.
Rikumatti Levomäki has been the CEO of Turku Science Park Ltd since May 2010.
Mr Levomäki has previously worked in the City of Salo as the Branch Director of Developmental and Industrial Affairs from 2009–2010. He acted as the Director of Federation of Municipalities in the Development Center of Salo Region from 2004–2008. In years 2002–2004, Mr Levomäki worked as the Managing Director of Ukipolis Ltd. He has also worked in the Regional Council of Southwest Finland and in several universities as a researcher.
Mr Levomäki holds Master’s degrees in Engineering and Economics.