LUT Blossom is a growth event, during which our Lahti campus will become an arena for fresh ideas, networking, and new partnerships.
Today’s major societal challenges call for bold solutions that can only be achieved through cross-sector collaboration. That’s why LUT University is inviting a wide range of Finnish and international voices, as well as everyone interested, to Lahti on Friday 10 April for LUT Blossom. Throughout the day, participants can hear from experts in both business and academia, dive into practical examples of company collaboration, and take time for informal discussions and networking.
“The current business climate is crying out for an event like this where people can discover new ways to grow and work together,” says Aino Pietarinen, project manager at LUT Blossom.
LUT Blossom is not a traditional seminar; it turns the entire Lahti campus into a meeting ground. According to Petri Ajo, Chief Growth Officer at LUT University, the role of universities as partners to business has undergone a huge change, and now is the moment to show, concretely, what collaboration can achieve.
“We have a long tradition of company collaboration at LUT and we have substantially developed new ways for that over the past few years,“ Ajo says. “We want to show just how widely university expertise can be put to use.”
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New initiatives for university-industry collaboration
Finland's sluggish economic growth is in dire need of both more ideas that make it to market and faster routes from research to real-world solutions. Ajo notes that companies are eager to grow, but he points to a key question also for the public sector: do Finland’s structures create enough room for innovation, or do they hold it back?
The event’s main session takes up this theme, with Atte Jääskeläinen, President of Sitra, delivering the keynote. A panel discussion will feature perspectives from a wide range of representatives of both companies and universities.
“We want to spark a broader discussion and challenge the idea that collaboration should stop at individual theses or one-off projects,” Ajo adds.
Many companies, however, are still unsure how far they can leverage the expertise of LUT Universities for business benefit. That’s precisely what Blossom aims to clarify.
“Whether you’re the CEO of a large company or a solo entrepreneur, you’ll quickly find the right person to move your questions and ideas forward,” Pietarinen says.
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What can you expect from LUT Blossom?
- New perspectives on the shifts in business and society that shape your organisation’s future
- Practical tools and insights you can use to support growth
- Meaningful discussions and networking with leading experts and peers
- A clear look at how LUT and LAB collaborate with companies in practice
- A straightforward way to explore or begin collaboration with LUT Universities
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Join us at LUT Blossom on 10 April 2026
LUT Blossom is a growth event, during which our Lahti campus will become an arena for fresh ideas, networking, and new partnerships.
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Inspiration and practical insights for your needs
Blossom features three main sessions and four thematic modules reflecting today’s major forces of change: the energy transition, digital transformation, the regenerative use of natural resources, and business and society.
The main sessions will explore how universities and companies can work together more smoothly and what kinds of skills growth currently requires. The stage will feature leading figures from across Finland’s business and research sectors, including representatives from Genelec, Kempower, Valio and Helen, as well as from the University of Jyväskylä and Aalto University.
Beyond the stage, visitors can explore partner showcases from the Fibre Laboratory to electric-vehicle research. Prototype enthusiasts can drop by the Jamie Hyneman Center -lounge. Workshops will tackle practical topics such as measuring the return on AI investments and increasing the value of forest-based products without additional logging.
As LUT and LAB University of Applied Sciences work closely together within the same group, participants will also have the opportunity to learn about LAB’s services and networks and hear examples of business collaboration from their side.
More information:
Aino Pietarinen
Training Manager
Continuing education, business
