Marika Paakkala has been appointed to Aalto University’s Center for Knowledge and Innovation Research (CKIR). She joins CKIR after leading Aalto Startup Center for 25 years, during which the unit developed into an internationally recognised and award-winning actor whose operating models have been widely used to support entrepreneurship, innovation, and the development of high-growth enterprises.
Paakkala has led numerous entrepreneurship and innovation programmes supported by the European Union, national funding bodies, and private actors, both in Finland and internationally. At the heart of her work has been long-term collaboration and building trust and networks together with researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, universities, cities, and other stakeholders.
Marika Paakkala brings to the CKIR team extensive experience in network building, European initiatives, and cross-organisational collaboration. Her role will be to develop CKIR’s partnerships and build new collaboration opportunities, particularly between research, companies, public sector organisations, funding organisations, and European innovation networks. This work will strengthen CKIR’s role as a connector that brings together expertise from different sectors and helps build long-term collaboration across organisational and national borders.
CKIR and Paakkala have already worked together to build Aalto’s participation in the EU-funded Seeds of Bravery and D2XCEL projects. The projects have been implemented in collaboration with Aalto Startup Center and a broad network of European partners. Through this collaboration, new connections with European startup and innovation ecosystems, funding organisations, research organisations, and other key stakeholders have been established.
Through European projects and international networks, CKIR takes an ecosystem-level approach to startups and innovation:
“At CKIR, I get to build new connections and explore new directions between research, companies, startup and innovation ecosystems, and international networks. The work carried out in previous projects has shown how many new opportunities emerge when different areas of expertise and actors from different countries are brought together. It is exciting to join CKIR’s expert team and strengthen its role as a connector of networks and ecosystems,” says Paakkala.
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Paakkala’s move to CKIR strengthens the continuity of this work and lays the foundation for new international initiatives. The aim is to build on existing networks, establish new partnerships, and identify opportunities where CKIR’s expertise in research, projects, and ecosystems can bring actors together and advance joint initiatives.
In her new role, Paakkala will also contribute to the development of CKIR’s future projects and collaboration models. Her work supports the unit’s ambition to serve as a bridge through entirely new partnerships.
“We are extremely pleased to have Marika in the CKIR team. Marika brings us valuable expertise in the areas of startups, deep tech, and digital innovation to support CKIR’s objective in research-to-market initiatives. Marika will also head our long-term co-operation with the German BRYCK Startup Alliance and with the Greek Demokritos’ Innovation team. Our recent CKIR–ASUC co-operation in the EU-funded projects provides a solid foundation for her work at CKIR,” says Ilkka Lakaniemi, Director of CKIR.
Interested in collaborating with CKIR?
Photo © Päivi Kapiainen-Heiskanen