Sirkka Heinonen highlights the importance and benefits of systematic futures thinking. It is a critical skill and strategic capacity in the VUCA world (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity) we are living in. We cannot predict or control the future but we can learn to manage and surf it i.e. to survive and thrive in our cities, organisations and private lives. Every organisation and city needs a robust futures strategy. It means anticipating future of urban environments in light of futures signals that let us pre-taste of futures to be. We can use weak signals to build sustainable and desirable cities and to be resilient when strong surprises such as pandemics occur.

Sirkka Heinonen

Professor emerita, Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC)

Perttu Pölönen gives some structure to the unpredictable world we currently live in and explains how the future, at the same time, does and does not reflect the past. His presentation will challenge us to carefully consider what we decide to rebuild after the crisis. Perttu will highlight the return to fundamentals that provide us with something to hang on to in midst of a storm. In these fundamentals we can find a firm basis to build a new future that holds up against uncertainties. Could we perhaps learn something from this turmoil? It might be worth reconsidering if we wish to return to our old habits, or if it’s time for something else.

Perttu Pölönen

Inventor and futurist

Deborah Simmons believes the key to future-proofed design is in placing the user at its heart. It is especially critical when the products and services being built are designed to cater to an entirely new audience. The emergence of the digital nomad movement has sparked an exciting new wave of service design, built around a lifestyle where work, home and social life blend and flex and the 'centralised office' is no longer the heartbeat of industry. This paradigm shift is impacting many aspects of life; not least how we design the work and living spaces of the future. Deborah's detailed study into the motivations, attributes, lifestyles and needs of digital nomads provides a framework for design going forward. In light of the current pandemic being a catalyst for remote working, this insight has never been more relevant.

Deborah Simmons

Founder and Director, Camino Insight

Antti Tuomela will have a keynote about how we can use network model - a space as a service concept – for adaption, optimisation and sustainability. We will hear about ways to have more adaptable and effective solutions for user organizations and real estate owners. Tuomela will tell how large occupiers and building owners can both benefit from flexible use of spaces. He will also have a look at the bigger picture; what about space efficiency in climate change? This is a global grand challenge.

Antti Tuomela

CEO & Co-Founder, TRACTR

After Antti Tuomela’s keynote about spaces as service we will hear about a real-life example. Jukka Vakula will present us Salo IoT Campus, which is a community of companies, scientists and educational institutions. A company can book a space at the core of Finnish technological knowledge and take full advantage of Salo IoT Campus’ versatile premises, comprehensive services and active expert community. Salo IoT Campus is a foundation for growth for companies that aim higher than average.

Jukka Vakula

Managing Director, Salo IoT Campus

Working life is in a constant turbulence. Constant change in the operational environment demands even faster adaptability from companies as well as higher productivity and new innovations. Harri Mikkanen will explore the situations and opportunities that impact the working culture in organisations. Wellbeing at work is at the core of his approach. He will provide practical examples that have been proven to work and will demonstrate a systemic approach to improving teamwork. Additionally, Harri will stipulate how new technologies can either support or challenge wellbeing at work. Good leadership is to carefully pick suitable solutions from the enormous amount of new innovations and to fit them to the team as opposed to making the team fit the technologies.

Harri Mikkanen

Microsoft 365 Product Marketing Manager, Microsoft

Janne Keskinarkaus continues with the cutting edge of working environments as he introduces the Lapland Central Hospital expansion project. The basis of the project has been to set ambitious goals for well-being at work and for the operational efficiency of new spaces and solutions. Resources have been set aside specifically for functional planning, in order to design spaces that cater to the precise needs of the hospital’s different functions. The use of data and expert knowledge is at the heart of their design philosophy. Keskinarkaus will explain how the current situation has been researched using measurement and modeling and how the new solutions and ways of organizing have been tested using simulation - it's very important for the project's success that the new operational models and ways of working will be adopted immediately in the new working environment.

Janne Keskinarkaus

Project Director, ITU 2022 -project, Lapland Central Hospital