Finland and Sweden, guest countries in 2023

Finland and Sweden have been the guest countries in the 12th edition of Transfiere. Thus, the nordic R+D+i ecosystem have been present in the different activity areas of the event – networking, content programme and commercial exhibition, among others.

Both countries are leading the european innovation ranking, as well as in the top positions at the global level. In this edition of Transfiere, they have presented their models of success based on learning, implementing a national model of R+D+I, increasing the investment in this sector and putting in place the results within society.

Innovation in guest countries 2023

Finland

In global rankings, Finland has been qualified as the most stable, happiest and innovative country in the world. The European Innovation Scoreboard 2022 measuring innovation performance awards Finland the status of an innovation leader, performing at a rate that is considerably higher of the EU average.

Finland stands out favourably in the comparison due to strengths such as lifelong learning, public-private partnerships and collaboration between small and medium enterprise. The most R&D intensive Finnish sub-regions are among the largest city regions in Finland including Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu.

Innovation is also a priority for the public sector in Finland. In relation to GDP, Finnish public investment to innovation is among the highest in Europe and the country is committed to reaching the level of 4 %/GDP by the year 2030.

The backbone of the Finnish success consists of universal public services, high-level of generalized trust in the society, strong tradition of local governance as well as a large-scale participation in civic associations. Finland’s renowned education system is also a crucial factor that lays the foundation for cutting-edge research and provides the country with high-quality workforce.

Ranked as the best business environment in the world, Finland is a country of digital and tech-savvy people, who are used to utilizing the latest technologies as well as developing them further. Finnish down-to-earth approach guarantees that the Finns listen the needs of a partner or a customer, and come up with a truly functioning answer.

In Transfiere there was a chance to meet and greet the most important stakeholders of innovation in Finland: governmental organizations, leading technology research centers and universities as well as innovative Finnish companies presenting their success stories and looking for partners abroad.

Sweden

Last century, Sweden was one of the poorest nations of Europe. It is a small country, where only 0.13% of the world’s population lives. Nevertheless, it is today one of the leading countries in innovation worldwide, according to several international rates.

Millions of hearts around the world beat with the help of a pacemaker. Candles are lit up by matches and countless lives were saved thanks to the three-point safety belt. Swedish solutions like Klarna, Skype and Spotify have hundreds of millions of users in the whole world. These are only a few Swedish innovation examples that have entailed important changes in society.

Sweden is one of the main countries in innovation in the European Union. Some of the reasons are the following: a historic tradition of inventors (even getting to be the country of origin of the Nobel Prize), a diverse society with a significant commitment to gender equality and a strong belief in the individual. The close collaboration between research institutes, the private and public sector (the so-called “triple helix”), is another key factor within the innovation ecosystem in Sweden, and it lays the foundations of Swedish multinationals like AstraZeneca, Ericsson, Volvo, H&M and Scania.

Innovation is closely linked to research and development. Sweden is one of the EU and OECD countries that allocates the most to R+D+i (3,5% of the GDP in 2020). It should also be highlighted the fact that the most part of the research is funded by the companies (70% of the total funding in 2020).

Sweden is one of the leading countries in terms of knowledge creation and technological production, which means that it has an infrastructure that fosters a creative environment. It is particularly strong in sectors like digitalization and connectivity, biotechnology and life-science. Also, in sustainable solutions.

Through this country’s participation in Transfiere the assistants had the chance to discover more about the Swedish Innovation Ecosystem and several Swedish companies, in terms of digitalization and connectivity.

Why was the presence of Finland and Sweden important for Transfiere?

Finland

  • Finland is pioneer in smart and sustainable digital solutions. It excels in supporting start-ups and R&D&I activities

  • Finland is one of the leading countries in terms of growth and development in the economic, technological and social spheres.

  • With an HDI of 0.94 (UN, 2021), Finland is one of the most developed countries with the best quality of life.

  • It has a literacy rate of 99.9% (2022). Its education system is considered a model for innovation and equal opportunity.

Sweden

  • According to the 2022 edition of the WIPO World Innovation Index, Sweden is ranked No. 3 of the most innovative economies in the world and No. 2 in Europe.

  • Sweden is at the top of all rankings for competitiveness and good business climate

  • It has been the economic leader in the Scandinavian region for several years

  • Sweden has a culture of entrepreneurship supported by social protection measures that allows greater opportunities for innovation and business creation. 

Nordic Ecosystem Participation

International Innovation Programme

Finland and Sweden had a large presence in the International Innovation Programme.

Exhibition Area

The Nordic companies had a space within the exhibition area of the Transfiere Forum that allowed them to visualize projects and create synergies with the rest of the agents of the ecosystem.

Networking

The entities belonging to the Finland – Sweden delegation were present in the Networking space of Transfiere 2023.

Participating institutions and companies

Alfa-Laval
Business Finland
Business Sweden
Cámara de Comercio Hispano - Sueca
Ericsson
Embajada de Finlandia
Embajada de Suecia
Gofore
IoT-Sweden
IVL
KONE
Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Nokia
Oulu Innovation Alliance
Region Västerbotten
RISE Research Institute of Sweden
Sensative
Sofigate
Step
University-of-Helsinki
University of Umeå
VTT

Finland and Sweden Patents, Trademarks and Designs (2015 – 2021)

Consult the grants of national patents for residents of these countries distributed by technical sector and the patents granted in Spain for residents of both countries distributed by year.

Guest countries from previous years

Get to know the world reference countries that were present in past editions of the Transfiere Forum.

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