Product Development Path Makers

Product development strategies, resources, capabilities and experts are vital for every nation’s future success and corporate’s competitiveness – as well as for tackling global challenges. Aalto Design Factory, Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), the City of Espoo, and Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation have teamed up to direct attention to how product development opens new pathways through a new award, Product Development Path Makers. 
 

Nominees will be evaluated in terms of   

• pioneering new product development practices,
• bold and successful experimentation challenging established norms, and
• potential to generate novel user/customer value beyond the experiment or activity itself. 

For example, a winning experiment or activity could have piloted a new way of co-creating with users, reflect a new type of development collaboration across a network of organizations, or created new methods to support identifying circular innovation opportunities. The award can be granted to a project team or community of people that has enacted the experiment or activity. 

How? 

Nominate an experiment, activity or project you have found inspiring – this can be something you have been a part of yourself. We understand product development broadly, as an interdisciplinary effort that can target physical or digital products or services. To qualify, the core activity or core team needs to have resided or taken place in Finland. The experiment or activity also needs to fulfill the EU criteria of “do no significant harm” (DNSH) – in other words, they should create new opportunities without compromising sustainability.  As the award is given out by Aalto, TEK, City of Espoo and Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation, experiments or activities led by employees of these organizations are not eligible for the award, however, suggested initiatives can contain collaboration with these organizations and their employees. Aalto employees cannot receive the financial award, but may be recognized as a part of an activity.

Based on the nominations, a jury consisting of Aalto University, Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation, City of Espoo and OP Financial Group representatives will select the finalists, each winning 8000 euros. The public will get an opportunity to vote for their favorite from the finalists, which will be awarded a further 8000 euros.

The call for nominations is open 15.8.-25.9.2024, with online form available at the award home page.