Innovation Centre team introduction: Part 1

Eleven experts work at the Oulu University Innovation Centre. This story series presents interviews of team members compiled during the summer of 2022. You will get to know everyone’s area of expertise, background and learn other interesting about the team members. The series starts with the introductions of Niina, Maria and Anne!

Niina Karvinen – Business Development Specialist

niina.karvinen@oulu.fi

Niina’s role at the Innovation Centre: 

x Niina is responsible for student entrepreneurship at the University of Oulu and helps human scientists commercialize their research results. Niina's expertise includes Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Education, University of Oulu Business School, Architects (Faculty of Technology), Kerttu Saalasti Institute and undergraduate students. 

x “I coach students and researchers. If a student has a business idea or a researcher has an idea of commercializing research results, they can be in direct contact with me,” says Niina about her role. 

Niina’s background: 

x Niina has spent more than 15 years working in international marketing communications, in particular in the technology sector.  

x Four years ago, her path first led to university and soon to build the Innovation Centre, bringing her own expertise in areas such as business development, mentoring and coaching to the team.  

x Niina also makes use of her service design studies and her own extensive networks created from the business world. 

Highlights of Niina’s work and opportunities for new learning: 

x Niina is inspired by the ideas of students and researchers. What is meaningful for her at work is to help others forward with her own expertise. 

x At the same time, people who share their own ideas also develop Niina teaching her new ways of looking at the world and how the next generations of working life see it. Constant learning opportunities about humanity and ways of doing things challenge, but also inspire Niina in her work. 

On what issues can you contact Niina? 

x “Anything! If I am the person you know, I will help you forward to find the right partner for your own business development need, if I don't know how to help myself,” says Niina supportively. 

X In her own field of doing, Niina encourages researchers and students to connect if they have the slightest idea that their own research has business potential. Companies may also be in contact with her if, for example, working together with students is their interest. 

Niina’s favorite innovation:

x Best innovations in Niina’s opinion are often simple ways of doing things in a new way. Right now, Niina especially likes domestic food innovations, such as products made of oat like Härkis. Moving the world forward in a green way is close to Niina's heart. 

Niina’s summer 2022: 

X “Summer included cottage life “in the middle of nowhere”, swimming in natural waters and wandering in the woods. Detective stories in a hang-swing. And, of course, a traditional trip to Northern Norway,” Niina describes her vacation when returning to work. 

Maria Juurikka – Business Specialist

maria.juurikka@oulu.fi

Maria’s role at the Innovation Centre: 

x Maria works as a Business Specialist and the extensive title includes a wide variety of job tasks. 

x One responsibility of the role is to operate as an account manager. Together with Petri and Kaisa, Maria takes care of Business Finland's business cooperation and funding. The team also organizes various events and Maria sees networking as an important task of the role. 

x Maria is also involved in the communications of Innovation Centre. Currently she is building homepages where she finds creating content with customer-orientation in mind very important.

Maria’s background: 

x Maria has worked for 10 years in various funding programs, for example, as a developer manager. She has also developed the Oulu Chamber of Commerce's regional networks. From there, she has come through a few bends to the Innovation Centre. At the same time, Maria is one of the team's newest employees who joined the team in April 2022.

Highlights of Maria’s work and opportunities for new learning: 

x When asked about the best aspects of the job, Maria states: “This is what I know exactly. Work at the university is incredibly inspiring!” 

x Maria's own background is such that she is used to think with interdisciplinary. This is something she wants to bring to her new work community as well, developing a multidisciplinary offering for businesses as an example. 

On what issues can you contact Maria? 

x Maria splits a lot of work with her own team, Kaisa and Petri. “All contacts are welcome both from researchers and companies.” The team also coaches researchers for funding applications such as Co-Creation and Co-Innovation. One session is ongoing in the adjacent workspace during this interview as well!

x When you are thinking about how to assemble your own research or the team, and what would be new research that could be funded in the future, Maria's email box is the right destination for your questions.

Maria’s favorite innovation: 

x Maria is passionate about dressage. For 7 years Maria and her horse Rusina (Raisin) had the wrong kind of saddle in use. According to Maria, when the “open shoulder” saddle came to the market a few years ago as a new innovation, it revolutionized their life. 

Maria’s summer 2022: 

x “In our family, summer is always a time filled with labor for one reason or another. I would like to try sometime to see if I could not implement the to do list accumulated throughout the year, try if I could just be and chill. That target is now set for next summer,” sums Maria up. 

Anne Orava – Contract Specialist

anne.orava@oulu.fi

Anne’s role at the Innovation Centre: 

x Anne is a contract specialist and one of the IPR experts at the Innovation Centre together with Maarit and Pekka.  

x Anne's role currently includes various support and background work relating to IPR and business cooperation agreements. On the desktop Anne now has an IPR guidance for students. She also assists with material transfer contracts.  

Anne’s background: 

x Anne studied law in Helsinki and returned to her hometown Oulu after graduating as a lawyer (LL. M). Already in her studies, Anne was particularly engaging in IPR issues through course choices and theses work. 

x During the studies Anne gained work experience, for example, from Nokia in the contract management of patent licensing agreements. Anne joined the Innovation Centre team through an internship last year. After that she continued as a contract specialist in 2022.

Highlights of Anne's work and opportunities for new learning: 

x “I am pleased when so much new is learned especially at this early stage of my career” Anne says and chuckles that at this stage she can still get excited about all sorts of things that come down the road. “I like learning new things, and this is a great place to do that. University is a pretty inspiring work environment.”  

x Anne describes her studies as very theoretical and legal, thus it has been interesting to learn more about IPR issues “in the field.” “Laws, after all, are always just the tip of the iceberg. There's much beneath the surface,” concludes Anne. 

Anne’s favorite innovation: 

x Anne thinks that best innovations are definitely household appliances. They free up people's time for whatever — for example, innovating new and even better inventions. Anne considers her own robotic vacuum cleaner almost as a family member. 

Anne’s summer 2022: 

In the summer, Anne has been traveling all over Finland with her fiance and child, both in the south and north. They also have their own yard for the first time, so time has also been spent shovel in the hand in the garden. In the picture you can see Anne’s beloved Shiba Inu dog Tipu.