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The Health Capital Helsinki hub, launched in an open networking event in Meilahti last Wednesday, supports intensified collaboration in the field of health in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The event attracted hundreds of companies, researchers, developers and decision-makers from the field of health and well-being.

Aalto University’s contribution to this collaboration is its extensive expertise in research of health and well-being.

‘There is great business potential in the field of health and well-being. Health Capital Helsinki offers a significant forum for collaboration, in which we can create business and growth from research by solving concrete problems together with customers and our partners,’ says Vice President of Aalto University Tuija Pulkkinen.

Turning research results into commercial applications more efficiently requires an understanding of customer needs and innovation expertise, and now Health Capital Helsinki provides even better prospects for this. Working together is supported by providing open facilities for cooperation and companies, organising workshops and providing researchers with possibilities to familiarise themselves with the challenges physicians’ face in their everyday work.

‘Our collaboration is aimed at facilitating the transfer of research results into ambitious international growth business. The research expertise and innovation background that Aalto University has, for example, in healthcare equipment, information technology and bio and nanotechnology as well as in future hospital solutions contributes to laying a solid foundation for this activity,’ says Markus Mäkelä, leader of Aalto Health Platform.

Working together includes the students, too. Mayor of Helsinki Jussi Pajunen, who gave a speech in the event, brought up the role of students. According to Pajunen, students are needed to provide a certain dynamics in the collaboration.

Aaltoes and Think Company, the entrepreneur communities of both universities, are also intensifying their collaboration.

The networking event for launching Health Capital Helsinki attracted almost 400 visitors ranging from physicians to companies, researchers, students as well as financiers and decision-makers from the field of health.