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China-Finland ICT Alliance: Newsletter: January-March 2014
Apr 16 2014
China-Finland ICT Alliance Finnish Partners Workshop
It includes University of Oulu, Aalto University, University of Helsinki, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Tsinghua University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), and Huazhong University of Science and Technology as its academic partners. Sensing City Traffic was presented by Dr. Timo Nyberg, Aalto University. The academic partners include Aalto University and Chinese Academy of Sciences. These projects intensify research cooperation among each other and with related projects in Finland and China as described in the Research Forum Working group section below.
The project focusing on navigation systems cooperation, Finland’s Enhanced Navigation using COMPASS/Beidou Signals, was presented by Dr. Laura Ruotsalainen, Finnish Geodetic Institute (FGI). Finnish Geodetic Institute (FGI), GNSS Research Center (GRC) in Wuhan University, and Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping (CACSM) are the research partners. There is an interest both sides in China and Finland to extend this cooperation to include new research partners and companies (e.g. with Geostar who also joined the workshop).
Related to future activity planning, presentations were also given by invited experts: Dr. Sergey Andreev with Prof. Evgeny Kucheryavy, Tampere University of Technology, presented their research on Improved Connectivity and Service Experience in Heterogeneous 5G Deployments; and Future Networking cooperation (Beyond Internet) was represented by Dr. Arto Karila and Dr. Dmitrji Lagutin, who have been carrying on cooperation with Future Network Innovation Institute of China (FNII) based in Nanjing.
In the working session Prof. Jyrki Nummenmaa, University of Tampere, introduced their research activities in intelligent traffic (related to the City of Tampere’s Intelligent Traffic activities) and cooperation links in China.
An update on eServices and eBusiness research and the eBEREA network activities was presented by Prof. Jukka Heikkilä, University of Turku. Currently, active areas include research on developing and implementing digital services for “young elderly” in the BeWell research activity. It is now a part of DIGILE’s D2I research programme and has several company and research partners in Finland and is closely linked with international partners in China, Germany, Italy, Sweden and The Netherlands.
Dr. Risto Vilkko, Academy of Finland, presented the cooperation framework between the Academy of Finland and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the process for the ongoing preparation of a joint call on 5G networks. Dr. Mika Klemettinen, Tekes, described Tekes’ activities and future directions in the networking and Internet of Things areas that are thematically related to the ongoing and new initiatives in ICT Alliance. Companies in the field of future networks, everyday sensing and social media, and geoservices were presented by Dr. Philip Ginzboorg, Huawei, Mr. Kimmo Valtonen, M-Brain and Mr. Tony Liu, Geostar (WudaGeo).
China-Finland Workshop on 5G Networks in Shanghai
The objectives of the workshop were to discuss current developments in future network research, identify joint research interests in the field of 5G and finalise the collaborative Finland-China research project agenda. Considering the long term track record in Finland on cellular network development starting from General System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the urgent demand for advanced mobile technologies in China, it is beneficial and strategic important to carry on joint 5G research in areas such as system design; air interface and multi-antenna; new spectrum, millimetre wave air interface and backhaul; efficient hardware and platforms, multi-cell, and signal processing; as well as management and modelling.
From the Chinese side, technical presentations were given by Prof. Xiaohu Ge, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Prof. Jianhua Zhang, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Prof. Honglin Hu, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Qinyu Zhang, Harbin Institute of Technology, Dr. Fusheng Zhe, ZTE Corporation, Prof. Hua Zhang, Southeast University, Prof. Pinyi Ren, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Prof. Shengjie Zhao, Tongji University, Prof. Zhisheng Niu, Tsinghua University, Prof. Gang Wu, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Prof. Wuyang Zhou, University of Science and Technology of China, and Prof. Lingyang Song, Peking University.
From the Finnish side, presentations were given by Prof. Evgeny Kucheryavy, Tampere University of Technology, Prof. Mikko Valkama Tampere University of Technology, Dr. Sergey Andreev, Tampere University of Technology, Prof. Sasu Tarkoma, University of Helsinki, Dr. Tao Chen, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Prof. Antti-Heikki Tölli, University of Oulu, Prof. Riku Jäntti, Aalto University, and Dr. Kari Pehkonen, Broadcom Communications Finland Ltd. On behalf of China-Finland ICT Alliance, Dr. Jani Kaarlejärvi talked about the 5G elements of Horizon 2020, and financial opportunities in setting up joint, large-scale Finland-China-EU projects in the field of 5G. To begin a joint 5G EU proposal planning raised a lot of interest, and one or two joint teams could be set up to begin the planning for Call 14.
After three days of actively elaborating of the content of the joint call for Chinese-Finnish scientific cooperation, National Natural Science Foundation of China and Academy of Finland signed the Memorandum of Understanding concerning joint call on 5G networks. According to the preliminary schedule, the joint call will be published and opened in June 2014, decisions will be made in October 2014 and the funding period would begin in early 2015.
China-focused EduTech Business Ecosystem Workshop
Education is a focal area in China-Finland cooperation and to better synchronise activities and boost the impact of cooperation, the ”Sino–Finnish Learning Factory” (SFLF) initiative has been prepared under the direction of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture together with a team of experts from companies, research institutions and organisations. The initial areas suggested for the SFLF initiative include: learning research, teacher training and learning solutions, i.e. technology, services, and content ranging from kindergarten to primary, secondary and higher education and to vocational and professional education. When preparing the SFLF initiative, Digile as the Coordinator of China-Finland ICT Alliance has been invited to facilitate the cooperation of education technology and services companies, including related piloting and research. The preparation of EduTech business ecosystem started by Digile in 2013 together with those companies that were interested in education technologies and services area, under a theme “Education-as-a-Service”.
The second pilot was outlined by Mr. Ari Ketola, Context Learning Finland, Mr. Pentti Mero, Airport College, and Mr. Esa Tervo, Neoxen. It focuses on professional and corporate training, on transport and logistics in particular, targeting e.g. airport professional training. Mr. Mika Martikainen, Skilltize, described their offering in real-time online training and tutoring, with an initial focus on languages (English and other) and mathematics. Synergies were identified among these two pilots in planning and potential for a few additional pilots to be specified during the planning process. It has also become obvious that there is an interest among the partners to involve research centers in the EduTech cooperation model. A Research forum for education technologies and services focus area within ICT Alliance is now in active planning.
Focus area: Intelligent Sensing and Services for Traffic and Mobility in Urban Environment
Focus area: Elderly Services and Smart Home
In the ICT Alliance context, there has been an interest among a group of universities and companies to develop cooperation that would more actively link the areas of elderly services, personal health and wellbeing and smart home together. A “Home-as-a-Service Platform” concept has been introduced by Digile as a potential framework to bring together related activities in these complimentary areas. For example, a “Home based personal services for elderly” concept is being developed by Active Life Village and its partners in close cooperation with cities, such as the City of Espoo.
Elderly services and smart home solutions will be discussed in Beijing in early May 2014 in an international cooperation meeting hosted by the Beijing Academy of Science and Technology (BJAST), a key ICT Alliance partner in this area, involving also Fraunhofer IAO and representatives from Taiwan and Korea. Dr. Matti Hämäläinen, as the ICT Alliance representative, will also join the “3rd China International Senior Services Expo” (CISSE 2014) that is the main event in this field. This trip will also include visits to Zhongguancun Z-Park and Life Science Park for extending cooperation in these areas (these events coincide with the planned visit of Minister for Social Affairs and Health, Paula Risikko, in Beijing at the same time).
Hanasaari Forum on Nordic Education, Exporting Education Knowhow and China Cooperation
Focus area: Environmental Monitoring (Air Quality)
Pure Finland 2014 – High-level Events in Beijing in Autumn 2014
- “Coolest brands from Finland”, September;
- “Destination Finland”, 23-25 October;
- “Innovation Finland”, 25-27 November; and
- “Creative Finland”, December.
Jani Kaarlejärvi Appointed an Advisory Board Member in the European Commission funded CHOICE project on EU-China cooperation on ICT R&D&I
Through its objectives, the CHOICE project creates a bridge towards Horizon 2020 to shift away from technology-driven towards innovation-driven ICT R&D based on societal and consumer needs:
• Identify obstacles to reciprocity and encouraging a more balanced ICT R&D&I relationship with China based on reciprocity, supporting European nationals, companies and organisations willing to access Chinese research programmes;
• Highlight and showcase European and Chinese excellence in ICT R&D; and
• Strengthen EU-China industrial ICT R&D cooperation, also with the view of preparing the ground for new upcoming rules governing EU-China ICT R&D cooperation under Horizon 2020.
Next Activities and Actions
- China-Finland ICT Alliance new initiative meetings in Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan, 7-17 April
- Cooperation meetings on Elderly Care Services and “Smart Home for elderly”, 3-9 May, Beijing
- China-Finland ICT Alliance new initiative meetings in Shanghai and Beijing, June
- ICT Alliance Research Forum on Intelligent Sensing and Services in Urban Environment for Traffic and Mobility (ISSUE-TM) during the 10th ITS European Congress, 16-19 June, Helsinki
- International Conference on Management Science and Engineering (21th) (ICMSE2014) in cooperation with eBEREA network, 17-18 August, Helsinki
- Finnish-Chinese Workshop on Analysis of Social Media, University of Tampere, 6-13 August, Tampere
- Pure Finland, “Coolest brands from Finland”, September, Beijing
- Shanghai Design Week, 13.-17.10.2014, Shanghai
- Radical Design Week, 16.-25.10.2014, Shanghai
- Pure Finland, “Destination Finland”, 23-25 October, Beijing
- Pure Finland, “Innovation Finland”, 25-27 November, Beijing
- Pure Finland, “Creative Finland”, December, Beijing
More Information on China-Finland ICT Alliance and Digile
For more information, please visit the China-Finland ICT Alliance website www.ictalliance.org, Digile website www.digile.fi and http://www.digile.fi/DIGILEintro or contact Dr. Matti Hämäläinen and Dr. Jani Kaarlejärvi (firstname.lastname@digile.fi).
ICT Alliance Workshop meeting for Finnish partners on 11 Feb 2014 at DIGILE (Otaniemi)
Jan 15 2014Dear ICT Alliance partners,
Thank you for active work in 2013 and Happy New Year 2014 to you all!
We would like to inform that next Workshop for the Finnish ICT Alliance partners is suggested to be held on 11 February 2014 at DIGILE in Otaniemi.
There we aim at reviewing the progress since Shanghai kick-off event and spending substantial part of the time in discussing the ways of developing the ICT Alliance activities further so that they could better serve the needs of current and future partners – and also enable parties to actively contribute.
Please let us know by Friday 24.1 the expected participants from your projects.
Also, please advise us who will be the main contact points in your project .
These may be different than the original contacts in the Tekes application (as we already learned when preparing the September 2013 Shanghai Workshop).
Also, let us know if some people should be added to the list for your projects.
China-Finland ICT Alliance Finnish partners Workshop
Time: Tuesday 11 February 2014, 9:00 − 15:00
Location: DIGILE, Showroom,
Vaisalantie 6, 02130 Espoo (Falcon Business Park in Otaniemi), see: http://www.digile.fi/contact
When at reception call Matti (+358 40 758 0150) or Jani for picking up (+358 40 540 7896)
Participation: Representative(s) of the Phase II projects and Invited experts in New Initiatives.
Tentative Agenda:
1. Update on the China-Finland ICT Alliance
2. Projects update (max 10 min each)
by the project leads/representatives, summaries will be requested beforehand
3. Discussion on modes of cooperation, including Research Projects, Business Ecosystems and Research Forums, and other planned for 2014
4. Planning the events in 2014
Timing and content of Workshops and other events
5. Other issues
—
Year 2013 in retrospect:
Year 2013 was the beginning of a new phase (Phase II) of the China-Finland ICT Alliance.
Building on research cooperation in information and communication technology the ICT Alliance has continued to extend its activities in digital services in areas of joint interest. Aging society, urban mobility and traffic, and education – among other – are application areas that have become focal in cooperation and the activities are expected to expand during this year in addition to the future energy efficient networks, sensing and other technology topics.
The second half of 2013 reflects the evolution of the ICT Alliance, following the digitalization of almost all aspects of society, industries and our everyday life. In addition to the official kick-off of Phase II projects in September Workshop in Shanghai, quite a few events took place in the September – December time frame to promote ICT Alliance cooperation in business oriented R&D&I in ICT and digital services. Examples include joining the Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai (the key innovation event in China organized by MOST with Finland as the Country of Honor in 2013) as well as joining the visits of Minister Risikko, Viitanen and Kiuru to highlight the ongoing cooperation and new opportunities in ICT and digital services in their respective areas (Health and Wellbeing, Communication and Housing, and Education). The invited participation of ICT Alliance as a Showcase in the OpenChina-ICT Final Conference on Strengthening Cooperation in ICT Research between Europe and China is an example of recognition that may help in positioning Finland as a potential “gateway” for China-EU R&D&I cooperation. In 2014 the work continues in the development of the ICT Alliance as an open “platform” for international cooperation.
Please, find attached the summary of the second half of 2013 ICT Alliance activities: “China -Finland ICT Alliance August – December 2013 Update” (you may distribute it freely to parties you expect to be interested in ICT Alliance and China-Finland cooperation). This newsletter format has proven to be useful in conveying information about the activities and we plan on publishing it on a monthly basis on the Website. We would also be happy to include sections that provide information about the events and progress in the projects more often than what is possible in the Workshops.
Preparing for year 2014
We may expect that 2014 will be an active year in the China-Finland cooperation. At the beginning of the year it is good time to review the progress that has taken place since our last joint Workshop in Shanghai, share information about future plans, prepare for the future events and discuss new opportunities. These may be, for example, involve new cooperation modes such as Business Ecosystems and Research Forums (an update on these will be given in the Workshop), as well as in extending the bilateral work to multilateral and wider international contexts, such as China-EU projects.
While there are several areas where the Chinese entities, including universities, research centers and companies, have indicated their interest in cooperating with Finland and Finnish partners, financing the R&D&I cooperation remains a challenge. This is particularly true when considering public funding for the university research but similar challenges appear also when companies are looking to get financing for initiating cooperation in new areas. In this situation it becomes even more important to be able to link complementary activities and resources as well as different modes of operation (e.g. cooperation in research projects, education and in business pilots).
The project based work may be considered as the “backbone” of the ICT Alliance and it is worthwhile to consider how the next projects can be built on current cooperation and results – and how new parties already working with China or interested in joining may be brought into play in the ares of joint interest. The difference in scale between China and Finland, including size of markets and the resources available, requires both focusing and pooling of resources that may come from other actors and projects in Finland as well as elsewhere (i.e. act as “gateway” or “hub”).
Feedback and ideas for events and activities:
We are working on a list of events that will be organized or co-organized by the ICT Alliance during 2014 both in Finland and in China and will share that in the coming weeks before the February workshop.
We would be happy to get your ideas and input on such initiatives and events in which China-Finland R&D&I cooperation in ICT and digital services could have role. This would allow us well in advance to contact the relevant Finnish and Chinese experts and entities who may contribute our activities – and also benefit from participation. Also, this would allow us to synchronize the Alliance with other Finland-China events.
We look forward to you your ideas and views for developing both the ICT Alliance, the ways of working and the work in the substance areas that you see relevant for the cooperation.
Looking forward to meeting you in Otaniemi, at DIGILE, on 11 February 2014.
China-Finland ICT Alliance Workshop Week in China
Oct 15 2013
China-Finland ICT Alliance Official Phase II Kick-off Forum, Shanghai
The China-Finland ICT Alliance Week gathered Finnish and Chinese partners representing recently completed, new projects and selected future initiatives. It also acted as a forum for several different business meetings and workshop sessions including cooperation in areas such as cloud services, big data applications, traffic services, geoservices and navigation, environmental monitoring technologies and solutions,elderly care and assisted living.
China-Finland ICT Alliance had its official Phase II kick-off forum in Shanghai on 24-26 September 2013. The main objective of the forum was to further develop new ways of international R&D&I cooperation, in particular between China and Finland. One of the key objectives was also to prepare new Finland-China initiatives in the jointly defined areas,such as digital services, aging care, urbanisation, smart traffic, environmental sensing and monitoring, and education, and other areas.
In the opening words the two official ICT Alliance coordinators, Prof. Honglin Hu of WICO and Prof. Matti Hämäläinen of DIGILE, highlighted the results of the completed work in future networking, future wireless, and future services that exceeded the initial expectations and built a good basis for moving forward in the launched Phase II projects. The work now continues in areas of joint interest, including energy efficient networking, development of future digital services based on cloud computing, big data, in particular when linked with sensing and novel IoT solutions, and applications in intelligent cities, environment, ageing society among other. The China-Finland ICT Alliance has now been developed to a potential model for creating an open international R&D&I cooperation platform for all.
Dr. Xing Jijun, Deputy Director General of China Science and Technology Exchange Center (CSTEC) from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and Chairman of the Advisory Board of the ICT Alliance set a new target to develop the Alliance actively towards international cooperation. R&D&I cooperation would benefit from even broader international partnerships. The Alliance platform has been played an important role in strengthening relationships between China and Finland, and this has become a very good showcase of a bilateral, win-win cooperation.
Ms. Marja Aspelund, Consul General of Finland in Shanghai, highlighted that China-Finland ICT Alliance has very well met its objectives in stimulating cooperation between China and Finland. This kind of cooperation is exactly what is needed. Through the launch of phase II projects the initial scope has extended and expectations are even higher. There is still a substantial unleashed potential in this cooperation, and students and university campuses represent a unique environment for creating and testing new solutions. This aspect is included the ICT Alliance’s next phase activities. Together China and Finland are well positioned for co-creating new innovative solutions and global breakthroughs, and Finland can also act as a “gateway” linking the EU and other international partners and markets together.
Mr. Jarmo E. Heinonen, Consul of Science and Technology & Head of TEKES Shanghai, reminded that TEKES has been active in funding China-focused R&D&I projects since the 1980s, and China will continue to be one of the key focus areas for TEKES. Through R&D&I cooperation it is possible to open up new business opportunities for both partners. TEKES played an important role in setting up the China-Finland ICT Alliance in 2009, and now in 2013 TEKES funded new joint ICT Alliance projects with more than M2€. Expectations on the industrial and academic impact of the Phase II projects are high.
Dr. Fusheng Zhu, Chief Engineer of ZTE Corporation, pointed out in his industrial keynote speech that 5G is one of the key topics when discussing R&D in future networks. China has taken a very active position towards developing and testing 5G. Development of 5G is such a potential area that it should be also put on the China-Finland-EU agenda.
Prof. Sasu Tarkoma, Academic Coordinator of DIGILE’s Internet of Things programme & University of Helsinki, presented DIGILE’s IoT programme and how it promotes the creation and growth of ecosystems that involve companies, universities, and individual contributors. It develops IoT platform technology, an IoT hub, for the concrete and rapid realisation of IoT deployments and ecosystems. An IoT hub is a backend system developed for certain type of IoT devices. The hub controls the devices and stores the data that they produce solving the problem of device and data ownership. Anyone can setup an IoT hub and thus their size can vary from small to very large deployments. The programme also develops an open API for IoT hubs so that data and access to sensors can be provided to third-party applications and other hub instances.
ICT Alliance New Initiatives and Partner Meetings Day was arranged to provide an opportunity to openly discuss, present and plan new initiatives in areas of joint interests and to meet with interested researchers and teams as well as companies.The day also provided an opportunity to become familiar with the Sino-Finnish Centre (SFC) in Shanghai, established for joint research, design, innovation, education and industry – university collaboration. It can also act as one local “platform” and forum for ICT Alliance activities in China.Many new initiatives were identified to be taken forward under the China-Finland ICT Alliance:
- 5G and new opportunities in Future Networks
- IoT Hubs connecting IoT deployments across space and time for opportunities in experimental research, innovation and business
- New open mobile and embedded platforms – open sw, open hw and open design
- Intelligent spaces (e.g. smart home, smart living, assisted living and solutions for elderly)
- Intelligent traffic and mobility of people in urban environments
- Geoservices and navigation
- Big Data and Cloud Services in China-Finland/EU cooperation
- Green Campus – monitoring of energy use, environment (e.g. air quality) and user behaviour.
As a result of the New Initiatives meeting in Shanghai, followed by meetings in Beijing at the end of the ICT Alliance Workshop Week, active thematic groups of Chinese and Finnish partners were formed to work on the development of joint R&D&I activities in the above topics.
These range from linking the now funded Phase II projects to new pilots in China and Finland (e.g. in traffic and services for mobility in urban areas, monitoring on energy and environment), to extend current and new Business Ecosystem programmes to involve Chinese pilots and R&D partners, and to prepare for large scale Finland/Nordic/EU – China proposals in cooperation with MOST and in cooperation with NSFC as well as working with MIIT in large scale new digital services area.
The Business Ecosystem programmes being currently prepared in the China-Finland ICT Alliance context include Elderly Care and Active Life (ECAL) and Open Mobile and Embedded Ecosystem (OMECO) coordinated by DIGILE in Finland. The large scale initiatives are planned to involve key EU partners and Finland as “a hub” and some to be established with China-Nordic cooperation as a starting point.
In the discussion it was also noted that for example Sweden and Germany and others have China-focused funding instruments set up and they have been successful in boosting cooperation. It was proposed that also Finland should have a foundation, “Finland-China Foundation”, that would focus especially on supporting and further developing Finland-China R&D cooperation.New initiatives and ecosystem programs DIGILE as the China-Finland ICT Alliance coordinator from the Finnish side, together with industrial and academic partners in China and in Finland, has jointly identified a number of areas as a basis for development of new initiatives, new research projects as well as the launch of business oriented ecosystem programmes to drive the creation of new breakthrough areas together.As an example, services for ageing society, including elderly care wellbeing and health, has been set as one of the priority areas for coming years. Population aging hits many Western and international societies and new health and aging related initiatives are currently being planned. DIGILE’s “Elderly Care and Active Life Ecosystem” (ECAL) will be the first Finnish international cross-SHOK ecosystem. It focuses on boosting business development between Finnish and Chinese companies, and it involves about ten actors at the initial stage – more to follow later. The fundamental objective is to take social innovations to market through co-creation and co-development.In the field of elderly care and wellbeing, it was recognised that following topics would require more actions. These same elements will also be highly relevant in other key areas of cooperation, such as urbanisation and environmental solutions:
- understanding Chinese culture, traditions, and expectations;
- involving training, regulation development and new business approaches and models leveraging the vast business opportunities;
- linking public, private and consumer perspectives, linking bottom-up and top-down activities;
- cities as key actors and decision-makers;
- stronger business cooperation; and
- bilateral funding instruments, aiming at developing solutions to jointly addressing the global markets
Other new initiatives include preparation of Open Mobile and Embedded Ecosystem in Finland-China cooperation. A workshop was organised at BUPT in Beijing on Open SW, Open HW and Open Innovation Platforms. Closely related to this “open innovation platforms” work is the development of new educational approaches involving university-industry cooperation in innovation and entrepreneurship and the development of scalable “Challenge” based approaches for that. A Letter on Collaboration was signed between China-Finland ICT Alliance / DIGILE and BUPT to promote cooperation in open SW and open SW and open design and to initiate discussions for inviting university and industry partners to join the OMECO Ecosystem as a key research and piloting partners in China.
A number of other areas are also actively developed as new joint initiatives and business-oriented R&D&I and business pilots. The Company Meeting involved discussions on cloud and big data service cooperation development in China and in Finland with companies such as Cloud Valley, Shanghai Guofuguangqi Cloud Computing as well as on geoservices with Wuhan based Geostar (WudaGeo).
More Information on China-Finland ICT Alliance and DIGILE
For more information, please visit the China-Finland ICT Alliance official website www.ictalliance.org, DIGILE website www.digile.fi or contact Dr. Matti Hämäläinen and Dr. Jani Kaarlejärvi (firstname.lastname@digile.fi).
Keynote address from Ms. Marja Aspelund
Sep 28 2013
Ms. Marja Aspelund, Consul General of Finland in Shanghai
Keynote address
China-Finland ICT Alliance Official Phase II Kick-off Forum, Shanghai, 24 September 2013
Dear experts and friends of the China-Finland ICT Alliance,
On my behalf, I would like to welcome all partners and other invited experts to this China-Finland ICT Alliance Phase II kick-off event.
I am delighted to notice that so many Finnish and Chinese partners have gathered this week to work on topics of joint interest and also to develop cooperation models and mechanisms even further.
This kind of cooperation is exactly what we need.
As we all are aware, China is a key partner for Finland in many areas.
Especially in the field of research, development and innovation (R&D&I), the importance of China has grown very rapidly during the last few years. China is number one in many fields.
China has its strengths, and Finland has its own. By actively linking these strengths and capabilities together, we can create a successful innovation environment for our business, industrial and academic cooperation.
This innovation-friendly environment is needed to develop new ideas, to test and to commercialise them and to create new jobs thus benefitting society as a whole.
To strengthen Finland-China R&D&I cooperation, many key decision-makers have visited China this year. Our President Mr. Sauli Niinistö visited China in the Spring and now very recently our Prime Minister Mr. Jyrki Katainen headed a business delegation.
Likewise, many Chinese leaders have been in Finland. For example, Mr. Yang Xiong, Mayor of the City of Shanghai visited the Helsinki Metropolitan area and Shanghai’s sister city, Espoo, in August.
One of the guiding themes of all these important visits has been innovation and the utilisation of new digital solutions in various areas of industry and society, including aging care, urbanisation, traffic, environment, education, and other areas.
In all these so called grand societal challenges ICT and digital services can produce very concrete solutions.
To enable so called systemic transformations, it is important to combine both top-down and bottom-up approaches and involve key stakeholders. In many areas the active role of cities is essential. City of Shanghai is a very good example of the development of future cities and we appreciate longstanding cooperation that City of Shanghai has had with Finland, and with City of Espoo in particular.
Also the education sector can take much bigger role in boosting innovation. In addition to facilitating research on specific areas of technology and application, the ICT Alliance has demonstrated its potential for becoming actively involved in ongoing developments in China’s education and innovation systems.
There is still a substantial unleashed potential, and students and university campuses represent a unique environment for creating and testing new solutions. This aspect is also included the ICT Alliance’s next phase activities.
When launching the ICT Alliance Phase II today, we are very happy to recognise that projects and activities focus on jointly identified key industrial and academic areas. For example:
Green communication: Energy efficient networking and future networks help address many needs in very rapidly growing wireless communication.
Intelligent city: Development of technologies for intelligent cities enable new solutions for traffic and various demand-driven services that again enable better use of resources.
Ageing: Finding solutions for ageing society, elderly care and wellbeing, are a common challenge. The scale in China makes it also a major opportunity for jointly creating globally unique and competitive solutions.
Environmental solutions: Environmental monitoring and sensing as well monitoring and control of energy use are topics that have gained a lot of attention and are included in Phase II projects.
Education: In the education area, ways of learning and supporting technologies are in transition. Finland together with China can create totally new solutions to learning by combining expertise in teacher training, in learning and brain research, in mobile and low energy technologies and in game areas.
China-Finland ICT Alliance has been active since 2009, and it has very well met its objectives in stimulating cooperation between China and Finland.
Now, at the launch of phase II projects the initial scope has extended and expectations are even higher.
Together China and Finland are well positioned for co-creating new innovative solutions and global breakthroughs.
China has extensive resources for research and development – and a large single market for highly scalable solutions. Finland has complementary expertise in key areas and can also act as a “gateway” linking the European Union and other international partners and markets together.
I wish you an interesting forum, and I am confident that the topics discussed here, including digital solutions for future networks, energy efficiency, navigation, sensing, and applications in traffic, wellbeing, environment, education and, others are exactly those that will create new business opportunities for both Finland and China.
By working together we can reach our global objectives in R&D&I.
Thank you for your attention.
6th ICT Alliance workshop in Shanghai
Sep 03 2013Venues:
24-25 September 2013 – Workshop Day1 & Day 2: Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology (SIMIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 865 Changning Road, 200050 Shanghai (http://english.sim.cas.cn/au/).
26 September 2013 – New Initiatives and Partner Meetings Day: Sino-Finnish Centre, Tongji University, 100 Zhangwu Rd , 200092 Yangpu District, Shanghai (http://sinofinnishcentre.org).
Organized by the China-Finland ICT Alliance Coordinators:
WiCO – Shanghai Research Center for Wireless Communications (host), and
DIGILE – The Finnish Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation in Digital Business
(note: TIVIT has expanded and been renamed to DIGILE in August 2013, see, www.digile.fi)
Accommodation:
Pentahotel Shanghai.
Address: 1525 dingxi road changning district of Shanghai.
Telephone: 021-3126, 6838
Website: http://www.lovegowu.com/skin_index_10201104_1_en
Map: maps_ICT_Alliance_Workshop_sites_092013
Contact info:
In case you need to reach us, for example when coming directly from the airport to the meeting, you may call/txt:
Matti: +358 40 758 0150
Jani: +358 40 540 7896
Tina Junying Zhong: +86 189 80000 119
Program of the Workshop
24 September 2013: Kick-Off Day
Location: SIMIT
9:00 Opening of the Workshop by ICT Alliance coordinators
Chairmen: Prof. Honglin Hu, WiCO, and Prof. Matti Hämäläinen, DIGILE
9:05 – 9:40 Role of China–Finland ICT Alliance as a concrete platform for international cooperation
Mr. Xing Jijun, Deputy Director General of CSTEC, MoST
Mr. Jarmo E. Heinonen, Consul (Science and Technology), Head of Tekes Shanghai
Mr. Honglin Hu, Vice Director of Shanghai Research Center for Wireless Communications
Ms. Marja Aspelund, Consul General of Finland in Shanghai
9:40 – 10:00 Review of ICT Alliance: achievements, new projects and new Initiatives in planning
Prof. Honglin Hu, WiCO and Prof. Matti Hämäläinen, DIGILE
Summary of Results of Phase I projects
Moving Forward: Overview of Phase II new projects and activities for developing new initiatives
10:00 – 10:20 Phase II projects Kick-off and Photo
10:20 – 10:35 Tea & coffee break
10:35 – 12:00 Keynote speeches
5G Activities in China, Dr. Fusheng Zhu, Chief Engineer of ZTE Corporation
Internet Of Things and Future Networks, Prof. Sasu Tarkoma, University of Helsinki
12:00 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 Phase I projects Wrap-up: Key achievements by project representative of Chinese and Finnish side
Future Wireless (15 min+ 15 min)
Jing Xu, WiCO
Chen Tao, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland & Olav Tirkkonen, Aalto University
Future Networking (15 min+ 15 min)
Qimei Cui, BUPT
Mikko Valkama, Tampere University of Technology and Riku Jäntti, Aalto University
Future Services (15 min+ 15 min)
Honglin Hu, WiCO
Matti Hämäläinen, Aalto University
15:30 Closing of Plenary session
15:30 – 15:45 Tea & coffee break
15:45 – 18:30 Team meetings of Phase II projects
25 September 2013: Phase II New Projects Day
Location: SIMIT
9:00 – 9:15 Introduction to Phase II Finnish projects funded by Tekes “Finland-China Research Call”, Mr. Teemu Varonen, Senior Adviser, Finland-China collaboration in ICT, Tekes
9:15 Presentation of the 6 projects from Finland (presented by project lead, 20 min + 10 min Q&A each)
– Everyday Sensing (cloud, IoT, data analysis, and social media), Jukka Riekki, University of Oulu
– Sensing City Traffic, Timo Nyberg, Aalto University
– Energy-Efficient Wireless Networks and Connectivity of Devices – Densification, Antti Tölli, University of Oulu
– Energy-Efficient Wireless Networks and Connectivity of Devices – Systems, Riku Jäntti,
11:15 – 11:30 Tea/Coffee break
11:30 – 12:30
– Finland’s Enhanced Navigation using COMPASS/Beidou Signals, Laura Ruotsalainen, Finnish Geodetic Institute
– Finnish-Chinese Green ICT R&D&I Living Lab for Energy Efficient, Clean and Safe Environments, Heikki Pentikäinen, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch
13:30 – 13:45 Introduction to Phase II Chinese projects funded by MOST
13:45 – 15:15
Presentation of the 3 projects from China (presented by project lead, 20 min + 10 min Q&A each)
– IoT (applied to traffic information)
– Green wireless access technologies,
– Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communication,
15:15 Closing of the Plenary session
15:30 – 19:00 Reserved for partner and company meetings and presentations (3 rooms available at SIMIT)
26 September 2013: China-Finland ICT Alliance New Initiatives and Partner Meetings Day
Location: Sino-Finnish Centre, Aalto-Tongji Design Factory, 100 Zhangwu Rd , 200092, Shanghai
ICT Alliance New Initiatives and Partner Meetings Day is arranged to provide an opportunity to present and plan new initiatives in areas of joint interests and to meet with interested researchers/teams as well as companies. We welcome both those who are involved in the current projects as well as those interested in joining the future activities. The day also provides an opportunity to become familiar with the Sino-Finnish Centre (SFC) in Shanghai, established for joint research, design, innovation, education and industry – university collaboration. It can act as one “platform” and forum for ICT Alliance activities.
10:00 – 10:30 Welcome. Sino-Finnish Centre: an Environment for Collaboration in research, development, design, innovation & education, Matti M. Hämäläinen, Operative Director, Sino-Finnish Centre
10:30 – 12:00 Towards the future: extending current work and preparing new joint initiatives Chaired by Matti Hämäläinen, DIGILE & Aalto
Suggested topics for working groups are listed below. In addition to joint research activities the initiatives are suggested to include the following when fit for the topic:
– joint pilots in Finland and in China
– related joint education and innovation activities
– plan for scaling to international activities in EU and other international cooperation.
Introduction to suggested topics (5 min pitch each to introduce the topic before moving to working groups):
– New opportunities in Future Networks (5G, IoT networking, low energy, and other)
– IoT Hubs – connecting IoT deployments across space and time for opportunities in experimental research, innovation and business
– New open mobile and embedded platforms – open sw, open hw and open design
– Intelligent spaces: smart home, smart living, assisted living (e.g. solutions for elderly)
– Intelligent traffic and mobility of people in urban environments
– Geoservices and navigation
– Big Data and Cloud Services in Sino-Finnish/EU cooperation
– Green Campus – monitoring of energy use, environment (e.g. air quality) and user behavior
You are welcome to bring a poster to help introduce your position and for discussion in working groups. You may also choose to propose new potential theme for collaboration.
12:00 – 12:30 Pitches of the participating companies: introduction and interests in collaboration
12:30 – 13:30 Buffet Lunch
13:30 – 16:00 Parallel working sessions and company meetings
16:00 Closing of the day
Updated program can be downloaded from here:
ICT_Alliance_workshop_24-26092013_Shanghai_program_v_23092013-2
Radical Design Week 2012 Workshop
Oct 28 2012Workshop for discussing the potential of advanced technologies in improving the quality of life of the ageing population. China – Finland joint opportunities and platforms, including Active Aging initiative, to be discussed. The workshop brings together experts from universities, research institutions, companies, public sector entities, and NGOs to share their experiences and ideas on joint research and development.
Event Date:
Thu, 2012-11-01 (All day)
Venue:
Sino-Finnish Centre (Aalto-Tongji Design Factory), Shanghai
Participation:
Due to limited space and interactive nature of the sessions, the participation is by invitation only. If interested, please send email to:
matti.hamalainen (at) tivit.fi and junying.zhong (at) aalto.fi with your contact details and description of your interest in a few lines.
Co-organized by TIVIT / China – Finland ICT Alliance and Aalto University.