University Business Forum 2025

AI-powered human performance for research, innovation and business — Get ready to be inspired!

AI is driving unprecedented efficiency and innovation — amplifying our abilities, accelerating innovation, and redefining productivity across sectors. We have begun to see how AI tools can transform our work and creativity, and we have also learned how to mitigate their risks and inefficiencies — and realized that AI is not only about technology. Or have we? What comes next? How do we lead this change responsibly and effectively?

Join us for an experience filled with inspiration, networking, latest research and collaboration opportunities.

Register for UBF2025

Preliminary program

• 08:30–09:00 Coffee, registration and networking (Saalasti Hall)
• 09:00–09:15 Welcome words by Petteri Alahuhta, Vice Rector for Cooperation
• 09:15–09:35 Keynote: AI, innovation, economics: A clear path to success? Heli Koski, Research Director, ETLA
• 09:35–09:55 Keynote: Lessons learned and visions for our AI journey, Sasu Tarkoma, Professor, University of Helsinki
• 09:55–10:25 Keynote: Insights from business: It's not only about technology.
  • Part 1: Global perspective, John Bailey, Director of AI, CGI
  • Part 2: Local perspective, Heidi Kananen, CCO, Kaleva Media
• 10:25–10:40 Introduction and transition to thematic sessions (Tellus)
  • Keep the conversation going — join us at Tellus for hot coffee, cake, and great discussions! Choose your two favourite workshops on AI-powered human performance, and explore collaboration in research, innovation, and business.
• 10:40–11:20 Short thematic sessions for focused discussions, part 1 (More information coming soon)
• 11:20–12:00 Short thematic sessions for focused discussions, part 2 (More information coming soon)
• 12:00–13:00 Lunch at Saalasti Hall

You can attend two thematic sessions, each lasting 30–45 minutes, that offer opportunities for interaction. The initial session titles are listed below; more detailed descriptions will be available soon.

Initial thematic session titles

Advancing AI-powered infrastructure platforms for medical data and biomedical discovery

• Join us for a dynamic session showcasing two pioneering initiatives from the University of Oulu:
  • Oulu Medical Data Infrastructure: A regional effort, in collaboration with Pohde, building a scalable infrastructure for processing sensitive data, supporting AI-driven analytics and predictive modeling.
  • BioParts: A cutting-edge platform for nanoparticle research, leveraging AI in structural analysis, simulation, and molecular modeling.
• We invite you to share your views on how these future infrastructures would best serve to strengthen local expertise and accelerate research, development, and innovation activities. This session is ideal for companies in biotech, health tech, data services and AI development looking to engage with academic partners, and vice versa, and to gain insights into emerging collaboration opportunities and technology transfer potential.
• Confirmed speakers (session facilitators Irja Kärkkäinen and Mirva Saaranen)
  • Teija Kekonen, Director of Research, Development, and Innovation, Pohde
  • Henna Härkönen, Project Manager, OMDI
  • Outi Lampela, Project Manager, BioParts

Bio-based nanomaterials in action: from molecular design to industrial applications

• This workshop aims to bring together leading researchers and industry innovators to explore the full lifecycle of bio-based nanomaterials from molecular engineering and advanced characterization to scalable applications in coatings, composites, electronics and biomedicine. Participants will gain insights into how nanostructured materials are being engineered for enhanced performance and how biological nanoparticle infrastructure enables precise material validation and AI-driven modeling. Whether you're developing sustainable materials, optimizing production processes, or exploring new frontiers in bioeconomy or biomedicine, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to connect, collaborate, and co-create across disciplines.
• Confirmed speakers
  • Henrikki Liimatainen, Professor
  • Outi Lampela, Project Manager, BioParts
    

Beyond 6G

Human-AI interaction research for Hybrid Intelligence

From campus to commerce: Students building startups

From campus to commerce: Research to revenue

Rethinking AI beyond the hype

Quantum roadmap for Finnish industries

This half-day event is free of charge. The language of the event is English.

UBF is the University of Oulu’s main event for industry–university collaboration and is now being organized for the 7th time. The event has annually attracted around 150–250 participants on-site at the Linnanmaa campus. In recent years, over one-third of the participants have come from the university, another third from companies, and the rest from the public sector. Previous speakers have included, for example, professional board member Kaisa Hietala, Juha Vidgrén (Ponsse), Sari Heinonen (OP, now at LähiTapiola), Katarina Segerståhl (Aava, now running her own consultancy), Markku Heikura (Finnish Tax Administration), and Subho Mukherjee (Nokia).

Register for UBF2025

Past UBF events

2024: People, planet, profit
2023: Future proofing and future boosting
2022: Power to renew
2021: Sustainable future