The new Wärtsilä Innovation Node is situated at the heart of the Aalto University campus in Espoo, Finland. The surrounding area is one of the most significant R&D hubs in Finland.
Wärtsilä has launched a new and exciting R&D initiative together with Aalto University in Finland. Wärtsilä Innovation Node brings together the talent of students, researchers and business experts to shape the future of technology. Wärtsilä Innovation Node is part of the newly opened Aalto University Open Innovation House.
Wärtsilä opens up a new kind of research and development centre in the new Aalto Open Innovation House in Espoo, Finland. Wärtsilä Innovation Node brings business experts, students and researchers to the same venue to stimulate creativity and boost effectiveness as well as the cross-disciplinary nature of Wärtsilä’s research and innovation activities. The opening ceremony was held on Wednesday 13 March.
“It is hard to interact in physically separate venues. We want to encourage creativity by uniting the brain power of business professionals, researchers and young talent in the same space,” says Ilari Kallio, Director of Research and Innovation Management, whose desk among a few others is now located on the first floor of the Open Innovation House.
Wärtsilä Innovation Node will be used in cooperation projects for example in the fields of automation and control engineering, industrial design, and combustion engine technology and user experience.
Long roots in student cooperation
Wärtsilä has a long history of cooperation with universities across the globe and the company has been very active in involving students in business life, for example, by continuous thesis commissions. One of the latest course cooperation projects with Aalto University – called Augmented Reality – engaged students to explore new innovative ways to improve safety and manoeuvrability of vessels at sea.
“We are very happy about the Augmented Reality project. We cannot wait to start the next hands-on project in our new Wärtsilä Innovation Node”, says Kallio.
Wärtsilä is one of the leaders in research and product development in its industry with 13 R&D centres and over 700 specialists.
Paolo Tonon, Vice President R&D, emphasized the importance of research and development for Wärtsilä in his opening remarks at the opening ceremony.
