FINLAND OPEN TO ACADEMIC AND INDUSTRIAL COLABORATION IN NANOTECHNOLOGY

The Director-General of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), José Rivas, was pleased with the interest shown by the Finish academic and industrial institutions visited during the stay organized by the President of the Republic of Portugal, Aníbal Cavaco Silva, to Helsinki, last week. Erkki Ormala, Vice-President for Business Environment at Nokia, one of the world leaders in communication technologies, showed interest in visiting the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, with its headquarters in Braga. The future visit of Nokia representatives will allow establishing collaborations in strategic areas like electronic devices and sensors.

INL also visited Micronova, the Centre for Micro and Nanotechnology Nanofabrication, on the Otaniemi Campus of Aalto University, where the delegation was hosted by Ilkka Niemela, Dean of the School of Science. The Research, Technology and Development activities of the finish nanotechnology cluster were made known through several presentations. From these presentations, Prof. Rivas concluded that there are groups of excellence working on nanomedicine and materials research. «The academic quality is remarkable and the way research and industry are connected in an example to be considered», said José Rivas. One of the strategic goals of INL is to stand out as a scientific organization of excellence, with an important role in the fields of applied research.

The presentation delivered by José Rivas on INL, explaining its activities, world-class infrastructure and state-of-the-art equipment, opened new avenues for future academic and industrial collaboration in the area of nanotechnology.

This stay also included a visit to Picosun, a company specialized in nanotechnology equipment, especially ALD, Atomic Layer Deposition and thin films. The company is strongly oriented towards integrating research in product development «so it can be an interesting partner for INL, especially in the development of thin films for various applications, said José Rivas. Kustaa Poutiainem, CEO da Picosun pointed out the strong investment in research made by the company.