Innovation vs. Imitation

By Sami J. Anteroinen
Editor-in-Chief

This article was published on NORDICUM 4-5/2008

The Nordic countries have made a name for themselves as hi-tech havens which are rooted on excellent education systems. Finland is no exception in this regard: the Arctic Utopia has come to exist through hard work − and smart work.

In the future, nimble brain power is needed perhaps more than ever before. Small countries can hardly match the rising Eastern powerhouses engineer for engineer, so the focus must be on quality, not quantity.

Some interesting viewpoints into the matter were presented in the recent proposal for a National Innovation Strategy. The proposal was composed, in part, by a steering group chaired by Esko Aho, the President of the National Fund for Research and Development (SITRA). The former Prime Minister is one of the premiere European experts on innovation.

The proposal is aimed at securing the high quality of innovation environment, international competitiveness and attractiveness of Finland. Means of strengthening Finnish innovation activities include reinforcing international operations, involving users and customers in innovation as well as understanding creativity and innovation in a broader sense than has been the case previously.

Aho has remarked that holding onto competitive edge in knowledge-based industries is a tough task indeed and that the nation needs to be quick on its feet to survive.

Minister of Economic Affairs Mauri Pekkarinen echoed Aho’s comments by saying that if Finland wants to be a leading country in terms of research, technology and innovation, it must continue to invest in research and technology. State support will be channelled via a new innovation policy that is based on demand-orientation and user-orientation.

In recent years, the Finnish industries have done their utmost to adopt the innovation mantra. Aker Yards, for example, operates under the slogan “Preferred for Innovation” and has shaped its operations to be a better fit for the Experience Economy of the new millennium.

At the same time, Aalto University seeks to lift higher learning into another level entirely. Dubbed “the innovation university” in its formative stages, Aalto has raised some eye-brows around the world. For instance, Exeter College Rector Frances Cairncross has stated that universities will be the key industry of this century, because they are fundamental to the creation and application of knowledge, the activity at the heart of innovation.

First Pisa, then Aalto?