Lotta Partanen appointed as manager of VTT LaunchPad – a business incubator aimed at creating business across sectors

VTT’s researchers have unique, interdisciplinary expertise and excellent ideas that can be used to create new business,” says Lotta Partanen. “I am happy to start supporting researchers in the commercialisation of their best ideas with VTT LaunchPad.”

VTT LaunchPad is a deep-tech incubator combining research, technology, mentors and investors. The goal is to create businesses across the traditional sectoral boundaries, thus enabling the use of VTT’s expertise in a way that has an even greater impact on the economy and competitiveness of Finland.

Lotta Partanen is a graduate of the former University of Art and Design Helsinki (now part of Aalto University). She also has a Professional Certificate in Foresight from the University of Houston. “Professionally, I would describe myself as an innovation designer,” says Lotta. Her previous employers include Philips and Nokia. Before VTT, she worked at Fortum for three years in their internal innovation accelerator. “I am excited to share the message of customer-centricity and the related methods at VTT, because I have been waiting to engage in applied research. VTT LaunchPad is needed to accelerate the introduction of VTT’s inventions to the world!”

VTT LaunchPad provides proper support to researchers for their business incubation processes by offering the assistance of external mentors, for example. It promotes the goals of VTT to create sustainable growth and well-being through research and technology. “I would like to warmly welcome Lotta to VTT, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what kind of ideas our researchers come up with,” says Vice President, Strategy and Business Intelligence, Katri Kallio, the executive in charge of VTT LaunchPad. “It is great that we now have a clear operating model for the creation of new business.”