INNOFINLAND prizes of the President of the Republic 2010

The national Innofinland Prizes of the President of the Republic were awarded at the seventeenth annual ceremony at the National Board of Patents and Registration (NBPR) in Helsinki on National Innovation Day – 14 December 2010.

The theme for Innofinland 2010 was “Users – a source for innovation”. This theme leads us to emphasise the following: to be successful in marketing your products and services, you must meet users' needs, and involve users in innovation from the very beginning.

The theme for the year appealed to many: a total of 202 entries took part in the contest. Most entries came from the provinces Uusimaa (in southern Finland), the Tampere Region, Central Finland, Northern Ostrobothnia, and Southern Ostrobothnia.

Three national Innofinland Prizes of equal merit and two honourable mentions were presented. The prize winners received an Innofinland statuette and an honorary diploma.

President Tarja Halonen together with the Chair of the Innofinland Jury, Director General of the NBPR Rauni Hagman, and Emeritus President Martti Enäjärvi presented the national Innofinland Prizes 2010 to the following businesses:

Matti Järvinen Sport Oy, Lappeenranta: A patented, nanotechnology-based ski base coating which makes your skis glide but keeps them from sliding backwards

Telespro Finland Ltd, Kuopio: The T-Balance outfit made from a special material, to prevent the patient's loss of heat during a surgical procedure

WOT Services Ltd., Helsinki: Web of Trust – a community-powered surfing tool that boosts trust on the Internet, and is based on user evaluations

The honourable mentions went to:

HappyOrNot Ltd, Tampere: An approachable real-time method for monitoring customer and employee satisfaction

Valkee Oy, Oulu: A portable bright light headset to prevent and treat depression


Regional Innofinland Prizes were presented earlier this autumn.


Innoint and Innoschool

In addition to the Innofinland Prizes, the annual prizes in the Innoint Invention Contest for Conscripts and in the Innoschool Innovation Event for school pupils were awarded for the eleventh time at the National Innovation Day ceremony.

A total of 86 entries were submitted to the Innoint Contest; four of them were awarded an Innofinland Prize, and two received an honourable mention.

This year, the Rovaniemi Region took part in Innoschool. In the vocational college category, final projects of students in the Lapland Vocational College were judged. One project won an award.

Twelve schools and over 400 first- and second-grade pupils from comprehensive schools submitted entries, seven of which won an award.


Purpose and background organisations of Innofinland

The purpose of the Innofinland Project is to promote creativity, skill and entrepreneurial spirit in Finland in a new and practical way in order to develop opportunities to increase welfare and wellbeing nationally. The Innofinland Contest awards both technology and service innovations, either alone or in combination, made by skilled and creative Finnish businesses.

Innofinland was established in 1994, and the President of Finland acts as its patron. The Innofinland Prizes – both national and regional – are awarded each year to acknowledge and encourage innovative entrepreneurship. The prize can be awarded to a business, organisation or private person whose ideas, inventions or innovations have significantly promoted creativity, entrepreneurship, co-operation and employment in Finland.

The organisers of Innofinland 2010 are: the Association for Finnish Work, the Central Chamber of Commerce of Finland, the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres), the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), the Federation of Finnish Enterprises, the Finnish Enterprise Agencies, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), Finnish Regional Councils, the Foundation for Finnish Inventions, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Ministry of the Environment, the National Board of Patents and Registration, Åland Technology Center (ÅTC), and educational establishments and other organisations that support innovative activities.


Further information from:

Project Manager, Innofinland, Mr Timo Suokas, tel. +358 9 6939 5308, mob. +358 40 772 1733, email: timo.suokas (at) prh.fi
Project Secretary, Innofinland, Ms Leena Puolimatka, tel. +358 9 6939 5239, mob. +358 40 546 0125, email: leena.puolimatka (at) prh.fi
Director of Communications, Mr Juha Klemola, National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland, tel. +358 9 6939 5800, email: juha.klemola (at) prh.fi