Aalto Alumni Strategy Circle After Work: Outbound open Innovation, venture studios, and deep-technology spinoffs

Welcome to the eighth Aalto alumni strategy circle after-work event on the topic of Outbound open Innovation, venture studios, and deep-technology spinoffs. Join us if you are interested in best practices and examples of how corporations and research institutions commercialize IPRs, e.g., by setting up new types of incubators and venture studios to attract external business development talent and venture capital investments in deep technology spinoff companies. Hear and discuss the latest insights from academics and practitioners: Wim Vanhaverbeke, Professor Digital Strategy & Innovation, University of Antwerp, Belgium, Tarun Sharma, COO Nokia Ventures, Lotta Partanen, Head of VTT LaunchPad, and Inka Mero, Founder & Managing Partner of Voima Ventures.

Speakers

Wim Vanhaverbeke is Professor Digital Strategy and Innovation at the University of Antwerp and co-editor in chief of Technovation. His research focuses on digital strategies and transformation, innovation ecosystems, and open innovation (including outbound open innovation). He has published in journals such as Organization Science and Journal of Management and co-edited four books on open innovation.

Lotta Partanen is the founder of VTT LaunchPad and heads Incubation and Acceleration at VTT building on a long career experience in strategic innovation in international business environments. She is firm believer of lean methodology, culture of learning also through failure and customer centeredness. Her vision is to accelerate the growth of Finnish economy and renewal of industry with high quality well-funded VTT spinoffs hungry for global impact.

Tarun Sharma is an experienced venture leader currently working as Partner & CCO at Nokia Ventures. He is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in venture building, innovation, growth, and developing technology-based businesses. He is widely recognized as a leading expert in the field, having successfully launched and scaled numerous ventures & accelerators across various industries.

Inka Mero is the Founder and Managing Partner of Voima Ventures deep tech venture capital fund (backed by VTT and EIF and institutional/family offices) investing into pre-seed and seed stage Nordic and Baltic deep tech and science originated startups and top scientific entrepreneur teams with global potential with the purpose to solve big global problems by combining science, entrepreneurship and smart capital.

This is a great opportunity to hear about the latest insights and learn about best practices as well as share experiences with your colleagues. The event is free of charge and open for all Aalto alumni who are interested in the topic of strategy. 

Agenda 12 June

17.00 Welcome and introduction

17.05 Presentations

17.45  Discussion and Q&A

18.30 Networking

The event closes at 19.00

Moderator Professor Markku Maula, Aalto University, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
 

Who should attend?

The event is open for all Aalto alumni who are interested in the topic of strategy. The Aalto Alumni Strategy Circle is an opportunity to meet and discuss with like-minded colleagues, share experiences with them, and hear from the leading experts and practitioners about best practices.

This a regular event with 4-6 sessions throughout the year.

Photos are taken in the event for the events' marketing purposes. Please mention to the photographer if you don't want to be seen in the photos.

Aalto Alumni Strategy Circle

The Aalto Alumni Strategy Circle After Works unites strategy professionals and business leaders for interactive sessions exploring the most current topics around strategy. These gatherings foster learning and idea exchange between international academics and local professionals, facilitating valuable insights and networking opportunities. It is hosted by the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management in cooperation with the Aalto Strategy Alumni.

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