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.

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

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: From AI projects and technology to AI culture: Successful implementation
  • Part 1: Global perspective, John Bailey, Director of AI, CGI
  • Part 2: Local perspective, Heidi Kananen, CEO, Valve Branding
• 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

This workshop brings together researchers from the Hybrid Intelligence research programme.While today’s data-driven AI is powerful, it remains narrow, lacking social and emotional depth. Hybrid Intelligence (HI), by contrast, emphasizes mutual collaboration in between humans and AI, and the creation of multi-reality spaces where physical and virtual dimensions converge. In this workshop, we will share our progress in this multidisciplinary research and explore how humans and AI can augment one another working side by side to strengthen human learning, thinking, and decision-making. We will particularly highlight Hybrid Intelligence research cases in education and healthcare.

• Session facilitators: Sanna Järvelä (Professor, Learning Sciences and Educational Technology) and Kristina Mikkonen (Professor, Health Sciences)
• HI Demos:
  • Justin Edwards, Postdoctoral researcher: Learning and learning processes: MAI metacognitive AI agent facilitating socially shared regulation in collaborative learning.
  • Andy Nguyen, Tenure-track Professor (Assistant): Learning and learning processes: Kai — An Embodied AI Agent in Mixed Reality for Active Learning.
  • Dimitra Gkounta, PhD student, Research Unit of Health Sciences and Technology: Enhancing Clinical Education: The Role of Human-Centered Extended Reality in Healthcare Student Learning.
    
    
    

From campus to commerce: Students building startups

From campus to commerce: Research to revenue

Learning with AI — Implementing AI in architecture, engineering and construction business

AI is reshaping workflows in the businesses, but how do we move from hype to real impact? This session begins with a case: Ramboll’s Quacky, an AI assistant that helps young designers learn parametric scripting. After the case, we’ll open the floor for an interactive discussion on experiences, opportunities, risks, and future directions for AI in business.

• Confirmed speakers
  • Tuomo Palomaa, Development Manager, Ramboll
  • Timo Pohjosenperä, Postdoctoral researcher, Customer Manager, Oulu Business School
    

Rethinking AI beyond the hype

In this discussion-based thematic session we will look beyond the hype of AI and ask if the AI has lived up to our expectations. You will first hear a brief presentation on the trends in the study of knowledge-based work and AI. This is followed by a discussion on what are the possibilities of developing sustainable and humane working practices and conditions in AI-enhanced information environments. How to take advantage on AI based solutions sustainably, where is their use justified and crucial, and where a critical stance would be needed?

• Confirmed speakers
  • Heidi Enwald, University Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities
  • Anna Suorsa, University Lecturer, Faculty of Humanities
    

Quantum roadmap for Finnish industries

Quantum technology has potential to disruptively transform fields ranging from optimization via materials simulations to finance. It is similar to AI as it roots in developments of both the computing algorithms and hardware. Compared to AI, quantum technologies are behind in maturity and wide adoption. Then the relevant business questions are: When will quantum hardware be mature enough for company-specific use-cases? When is the right time to invest in quantum technology, and which parts of it will provide the most added value? In this session we will review the expected roadmaps for quantum hardware, software and computing use-case. We outline perspectives that quantum computing and quantum technologies can provide to Finnish industries.

• Confirmed speakers (Session facilitator: Jussi Paakkari, Research Director at the Quantum Institute)
  • Introduction – Jussi Paakkari: A brief overview of the Quantum Institute’s work on quantum computers, quantum computing, application areas, and collaboration with industry.
  • Main talk – Matti Silveri, Associate Professor: Quantum roadmap for Finnish industries.
  • Discussion – Open floor for questions and reflections.

Our speakers

Petteri Alahuhta

Petteri Alahuhta serves as Vice Rector for Cooperation at the University of Oulu. Drawing on his prior leadership roles at VTT, he has extensive experience at the intersection of research, innovation, and industry, with a background in AI, data, and emerging technologies. He holds a PhD in Computer Science and an Executive MBA, and works to strengthen connections between academia, business, and society.

Heli Koski

Heli Koski, PhD (Economics), is Research Director at ETLA Economic Research. She has previously served as Research Director at Aalto University, where she led the Strategic Research Council (STN) program Disruptive Technologies and Changing Institutions. She has also lectured at the London School of Economics and held a professorship in Technology Management at the Helsinki School of Economics. Her current research focuses on the data economy, competition, and the economics of innovation and business strategies.

Sasu Tarkoma

Sasu Tarkoma is Dean of the Faculty of Science and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Oulu. He is affiliated with the 6G Flagship and the Finnish Center for AI (FCAI). He has authored over 350 scientific articles and four books published by Wiley, CRC Press, and Cambridge University Press. He also holds 13 granted US patents and over 20 international patent applications. His research has been recognized with multiple Best Paper awards, including the ACM SenSys Test of Time Award, as well as awards from IEEE PerCom, ACM CCR, and ACM OSR.

John Bailey

John Bailey is Director of AI at CGI. With almost twenty years of experience in ideating, designing, and developing digital and AI-assisted services, my mission is to promote the development of responsible AI applications by clarifying the value creation opportunities of AI and reducing the uncertainty surrounding it.

Heidi Kananen

Heidi Kananen (M.Sc. in Economics, M.Soc.Sc.) works as the CEO at Valve Branding. In addition, she is an entrepreneur focusing on the business utilization of artificial intelligence. She is also researching the effects of artificial intelligence on strategic management in her doctoral dissertation. Heidi will provide a practical perspective on how artificial intelligence is transforming leadership and how it can be integrated into companies’ everyday operations.

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