Team Finland USA is organizing a research, innovation and business delegation visit to the State of Colorado on December 11-12, 2024. The visit is led by Ms. Leena-Kaisa Mikkola, Ambassador of Finland to the United States.
This is an invitation for interested Finnish companies and researchers from the fields of aerospace, climate and atmospheric technologies, and advanced computation to join the delegation. Colorado is home to many national labs that are sensitive to national security. These include, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Colorado’s leading research universities include the University of Colorado (campuses at Boulder, Colorado Springs, and Denver), Colorado School of Mines, University of Denver, and Colorado State University.
Colorado is taking ambitious steps in climate leadership, ranking among the top ten states in the U.S. for both wind and solar energy. Colorado is developing solutions for cleaner transportation such as EV batteries and hydrogen. The state is also interested in developing carbon capture technologies and is emphasizing climate resiliency efforts such as wildfire, drought mitigation and management.
The program is co-organized with the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine, a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Regional Innovation Engine that is one of the key players bringing together both academia and the businesses to find ways to tackle and mitigate climate change. The Engine’s focus is to develop innovative solutions for environmental monitoring, measurement, verification, and prediction, and its partners include NOAA, NCAR, major aerospace companies, and the leading universities in Colorado and Wyoming.
Finland and Colorado signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2022 to create collaborative opportunities in research, development, direct investment, and company exchanges and expansion. Now Finland and Colorado are building a stronger partnership in sustainable and advanced R&D sectors such as green economy, aerospace, climate and atmospheric technologies, high-performance computing, and quantum. Colorado leads the growth in advanced, strategic industries such as space, aerospace, defense, quantum, energy, advanced manufacturing, bioscience, and health & wellness. Colorado is one of the most attractive U.S. states for high-tech and research workforce, projected to grow also in the coming years.
The delegation visit will enhance long-term collaboration between Finland and Colorado, fostering partnerships between companies, federal research institutions, and Colorado's top tier universities.
Who should attend?
This visit is tailored for Finnish companies and representatives of Finnish research entities, who are interested in pursuing R&D and innovation collaboration within the broad thematic areas of aerospace, climate technologies, and advanced computation. We welcome Finnish representatives from companies and other entities who have already established their presence in the U.S., as well as those who are traveling from Finland to pursue new business opportunities.
The delegation program in Colorado will consist of visits to research entities and individual US businesses, meetings with representatives of Colorado’s key industries and government, and networking with various stakeholders in Colorado’s vibrant R&D ecosystem.
Practicalities
To cover the costs of arranging the visit to the USA, Business Finland will charge a participation fee.
- Micro businesses and SMEs: EUR 1230 + 25,5 % VAT per person
- Major companies: EUR 1450 + 25,5% VAT per person
Business Finland will invoice the participation fee after the visit based on the actual costs. The invoiced fee will not exceed the amounts mentioned above. Kindly note that the participation fee does not include flights or accommodation of the participant nor meals outside the business delegation program.
