We are delighted to announce our speakers line-up for the Innovation Forum 2016 conference. Follow us to keep up to date as we introduce our eminent speakers.

Drawing from his wealth of knowledge as President of the European Committee of Regions (CoR) and Vice-Chairman of the Open Innovation Strategy and Policy Group (OISPG), Markku Markkula will be presenting a keynote address entitled “Bridging the Innovation Gap in accelerating Economic and Social Development in Europe“. The talk will aim to inform and deliberate over the plans and aims of CoR. What are the driving forces and limiting factors involved in economic and social development? Which policies will strengthen innovation and which will smother it? 

For a complete schedule and to secure your tickets please visit our Innovation Forum 2016 – Leaders Conference page (www.inno-forum.org/conference/)

Markku Markkula was elected President of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) in February 2015 for a two and a half year term of office. 

Since joining the CoR in 2010 he has held several influential positions such as the first Vice-Chair of the CoR’s EPP Group and Chair of the CoR’s EPP Task Force on Europe 2020. He was the CoR’s rapporteur in the field of innovation for subjects including: “The digital agenda for Europe”, “The role of local and regional authorities in achieving the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy”, “Enhancing and focusing EU international cooperation in research and innovation”, “Horizon 2020”, “Better governance for the single market”, “Closing the innovation divide”, “Creation of high-tech start-up ecosystems”, and “The industrial policy package”. He has also been a member of several High Level Expert Groups, such as the EU Smart Specialisation Mirror Group. 

He is a member of the National Coalition Party in Finland having held numerous political chairmanships throughout his career starting with the local and national Student Unions in Espoo City and the Uusimaa region and is a long standing member of the Board of the Party. A member of Espoo City Council since 1980, he held its presidency in 1990-92 and 2010. He is currently a member of the Board of Helsinki Regional Council and Chairman of Espoo City Planning Board. 

President Markkula is a former member of the Finnish Parliament (1995-2003). During this time he served as a member of two permanent parliamentary committees: the Committee for Science, Education and Culture, and the Committee for the Future. As an MP his international role included the Presidency of EPTA Council, European Parliamentary Technology Assessment Network. 

Markku Markkula works at Aalto University as the Advisor to Aalto Presidents, where his focus is on European Union research, innovation and education policy affairs. He has previously worked as the Director of the Lifelong Learning Institute Dipoli and the Secretary-General of the International Association for Continuing Engineering Education (IACEE). He has acted as the Chairman of the Board of Laurea University of Applied Sciences and the Chairman of the Society for Organizational Learning (SOL-Finland) and has been the Chairman of the Continuing Education Working Group of SEFI, European Society for Engineering Education. He is one of the Ambassadors of the Leonardo European Corporate Learning Award.

President Markkula has held several important roles related to innovation ecosystems development in Finland, especially in the Helsinki region. For example he is the initiator and orchestrator of the EUR 20m research programme “Energising Urban Ecosystems” and has been involved in several open innovation initiatives related to the Espoo Innovation Garden and Aalto University. 

In Finland his roles have included memberships of the boards of several companies and organisations such as Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation and Technology. He has served as the chairman of the Board of the Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers TEK (1993-2005) and of the Finnish Information Society Development Centre TIEKE (2000-2011). 

As a tribute to his achievements he was elected to the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2008.

Markku Markkula was born in Kolari (Finland) north of the Arctic Circle on 15 July 1950. He is married with one son and two daughters.