by Tiina Mäki-Petäjä

On a winter afternoon, when it was plenty of snow and -10 degrees Celsius outside in Rovaniemi, Finland, students from different faculties in University of Lapland found warm welcome in networking event organized by Skills2Scale project. Over a cup of coffee inspiring conversations were held and ideas exchanged how deep tech, 5G technology and applications can lead to new business opportunities in Lapland. 

Skills2Scale Lapland team member Laura Ulatowski presented the project’s work and how it supports students in start-up activities, provides learning on 5G and Beyond Technology through online course (MOOC) and in building a regional 5G ecosystem. The event then continued with a presentation from one of the biggest 5G networks providers in Finland, sharing benefits of 5G usage as a consumer and also how businesses can benefit from 5G. Lastly, two student entrepreneurs from University of Lapland shared their business story from start-up phase to well established business. These companies take advantage of modern technology by connecting with staff, clientele and also by using the most up to date software, when performing business operations. 

Lapland holds enormous potential for businesses to take advantage of 5G technology. Students in the university are business-oriented, new business ideas are ready to be realized and new connections were made for future collaboration.  

Source: Stakeholder event held by Skills2Scale project: Tech in Business – Networking event, 30th of November, 2023, University of Lapland, Finland 

Author: Jana Simanova

It all started on 6th October with an Ideathon. During the three-hour event, representatives from T-Mobile, Linet and the Regional Hospital in Liberec presented their innovative challenges to thirty students from the Faculty of Mechatronics, the Faculty of Health Studies and the Faculty of Economics. During the Ideathon, the students questioned the challengers and expert mentors about the details of the problems and known solutions. In the end, they formed 4 teams with representatives from all three faculties and defined the goals of their joint projects and initial proposals for innovative solutions.

Over the next two months, the students worked on the solutions in their faculty courses and developed them according to their expertise – from a technical, economic and future user point of view. The work of the interdisciplinary teams culminated on 23rd November. In front of a panel of experts, the students presented their solution and business plan.The panel of experts included representatives from innovative technology companies and experts in the field of digitalisation and healthcare.

The winner of the first year of the 5G Interdisciplinary Innovation Lab was a team of students who designed a new solution for the paramedic team to share information about patients and the course of interventions between dispatch, hospitals and field teams in dealing with mass disasters.

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