Joensuu City Challenge – International Competition for Innovative SMEs Opened

City of Joensuu, Finland, has announced an international competition in which 200,000 euros will be used for innovative pilot projects in the city centre. Joensuu has defined four city platforms on which companies or other interested organizations are invited to present innovative proposals. The winning proposals will be implemented as pilot projects in Joensuu. The deadline for the proposals is 18^th March 2018. The implementation phase of the proposals should be carried out by May 2019. Competition information is provided in English, and proposals can be made in English and Finnish.

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The four challenges for which solutions are sought are versatile. A smart solution pilot related to city services is searched for. In the City-Lab approach, innovative proposals such as CityLabs or StreetLabs are expected. The third case is related to a river/lake tourism solution, proposals can range from tourist service solutions to VR/AR applications for recreational purposes. Finally, green energy solutions are expected for a vast recreational area at the lakeside where one of the oldest Finnish rock festivals takes place every summer.

Joensuu is a university town and a growing regional centre in the eastern part of Finland in the Finnish Lakeland. The town has one of the most ambitious climate targets in Europe - to be carbon neutral by 2025. One-third of the population is under 25 years old, and there are more than 20,000 students in the town. The city population approaches 76,000 and the nearby region has 120,000 inhabitants. Joensuu core competencies are forest bioeconomy, education, photonics, ICT, metal industries and new materials. The European Forest Institute, an international science-based organization is also located in Joensuu. The town has a strong policy for innovative public procurement, investments and solutions.

The competition was launched at the Bioeconomy Investment Summit in Helsinki, Finland, 14^th of December 2017 which gathered over 500 participants from 40 countries. The competition will also be announced via the Finnish and European e-tendering systems Hilma and TED next week. The initiative is supported by the Urban Growth Agreement of the Finnish Government and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Further information:

Competition procedure: challenge@joensuu.fi

Competition information: www.joensuu.fi/challenge

General information of Joensuu’s core competencies: www.joensuu.fi/business

Finnish e-tendering Hilma https://www.hankintailmoitukset.fi/fi/

European e-tendering TED http://ted.europa.eu/TED/main/HomePage.do

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Contact information

The City of Joensuu
Dr. Janna Puumalainen, +358 50 5115028
Director of Strategy
janna.puumalainen@joensuu.fi