Kari Mikkelä, 7.12.2020 @ISPIM CONNECTS GLOBAL Urban Mill Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations is a Finnish public-private-people partnership run by a private company, Järvelin Design Ltd, and the City of Espoo as one of the main partners. It is situated at the heart of the Espoo Innovation Garden at Aalto University campus in Helsinki Metropolitan area. Urban Mill community includes change-makers from the public and private sector, researchers, entrepreneurs, students as well as local residents, and other users of urban environments. Activities run in the Urban Mill respect open collaboration, cherishment of serendipity, and open-doors philosophy and thus support a shared co-learning process. The entrepreneurial spirit and participation of all (including citizens, academics, business, and public actors) is a characteristic feature of the Urban Mill. The Urban Mill experience shows the importance of focusing on a common theme to generate a bottom-up/open/participatory innovation process that delivers new capabilities, operational models, and sustainable solutions to urban challenges MSc (Tech) Kari Mikkelä, Executive Producer, Urban Mill Innovation Platform Kari Mikkelä has extensive international experience in initiating, developing, and orchestrating innovation communities, platforms and ecosystems for global excellence. Kari is co-founder of the Urban Mill Innovation Platform Contact: +358-50-5004048 , kari.mikkela@urbanmill.fi

1. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
Urban Mill Innovation Platform @ISPIM CONNECTS GLOBAL 7.12.2020
Ambidextrous place-based Innovation orchestrator colliding
Creatives and Startups
Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Betonimiehenkuja 3E, 02150 Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
Urban Mill Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations is a Finnish public-private-people
partnership run by a private company, Järvelin Design Ltd, and the City of Espoo as one of the main partners. It is
situated at the heart of the Espoo Innovation Garden at Aalto University campus in Helsinki Metropolitan area.
Urban Mill community includes change makers from public and private sector, researchers, entrepreneurs,
students as well as local residents and other users of urban environments.
Activities run in the Urban Mill respect open collaboration, cherishment of serendipity and open-doors
philosophy and thus support a shared co-learning process. Entrepreneurial spirit and participation of all (including
citizens, academics, business and public actors) is a characteristic feature of the Urban Mill. The Urban Mill
experience shows the importance of focusing on a common theme to generate a bottom-
up/open/participatory innovation process that delivers new capabilities, operational models and
sustainable solutions to urban challenges
MSc (Tech) Kari Mikkelä, Executive Producer, Urban Mill Innovation Platform
Kari Mikkelä has extensive international experience in initiating, developing and orchestrating innovation communities,
platforms and ecosystems for global excellence. Kari is co-founder of the Urban Mill Innovation Platform
Contact: +358-50-5004048 , kari.mikkela@urbanmill.fi

2. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
The Helsinki-Uusimaa Region (also called
Helsinki Region or Uusimaa Region), is at the
heart of northern Europe. It is situated on the
south coast of Finland, and it is home to around
1.6 million inhabitants, which is 30 percent of
the country’s total population.
ESPOO INNOVATION GARDEN BEARS
FRUIT FOR THE ENTIRE METROPOLITAN
AREA AND ALL OF FINLAND
Espoo Innovation Garden refers to innovative
ways of working and a culture of collaboration
and co-creation; it's a communal way of thinking
and doing things in the City of Espoo.
The heart of Espoo Innovation Garden is at the
Keilaniemi-Otaniemi-Tapiola area, the biggest
innovation hub in the Northern Europe. It is home
for e.g. Aalto University and VTT Technical
Research Centre of Finland. People of 110
different nationalities working in the area make
it a creative community of strong international
character.
Espoo Innovation Garden in the Heart of Helsinki Region!
Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org

3. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
Urban Mill Innovation Platform supports and facilitates
inclusive co-creation in Espoo Innovation Garden
• Urban Mill community includes change makers from public and private sector, researchers,
entrepreneurs, students as well as local residents and other users of urban environments.
• Activities run in the Urban Mill respect open collaboration, cherishment of serendipity and open-
doors philosophy and thus support a shared co-learning process.
• Entrepreneurial spirit and digitally supported participation of all (including citizens, academics,
business and public actors) is a characteristic feature of Urban Mill.
• The Urban Mill experience shows the importance of focusing on a common theme to generate a
bottom-up, open and participatory innovation process that delivers new capabilities, operational
models and sustainable solutions to urban challenges
• Urban Mill Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations is a public-private-people
partnership operated by a private company, Järvelin Design Ltd, and the City of Espoo and Aalto
University as main partners. It is situated at the heart of the Espoo Innovation Garden at Aalto
University campus in Helsinki Metropolitan area.
3

4. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
Urban Mill enables multi-stakeholder collaboration in international
knowledge-intensive context
4
A community: We open doors for
passionate pioneering developers
and early adopters of innovations to
co-learn, co-design and co-deploy.
A platform: Our physical and digital
spaces and platform network are
ideal for promoting, testing,
developing and exhibiting new
solutions which support urban life.
An ecosystem node: We are
connected to a spectrum of global
networks through our community
members and partners. Thus we are
able to bring our complementary
thematic expertise to several
ecosystems.
A global hub: We engage and bring
together actors from around the
world to co-create solutions to
wicked urban challenges and share
our learnings openly to our partner
and member networks.

5. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
Urban Mill’s operational model: platform, community and ecosystem
service elements
5
ECOSYSTEMS
COMMUNITIES
PLATFORMS

6. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
Facilitated by Urban Wheel ™ Innovation Acceleration Process
6
“Life is lived
forwards,
but understood
backwards.”
”If you want to go
fast, go alone;
if you want to go
far, go with
others.”

7. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org 7
Meet the creatives and startups at Urban Mill: https://www.thinglink.com/video/1377992839434076161

8. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org 8

9. Co-working and Co-creation Platform for Urban Innovations
Espoo, Finland www.urbanmill.org
9
URBAN MILL
Co-working and Co-creation Platform Prototype for Urban Innovations – Entrepreneurial
Thought in Action!
Your access to Espoo Innovation
Garden’s people and services!
Additional information
www.urbanmill.org/stories
Urban Mill on Facebook
www.facebook.com/UrbanMill
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Contact
Ecosystems & RDI Services Community and Space Services
Kari Mikkelä, Executive Producer Lars Miikki, Landing Location Manager
kari.mikkela@urbanmill.fi lars.miikki@urbanmill.fi
+358 50 5004 048 +358 40 5036 630
Urban Mill Innovation Platform
Betonimiehenkuja 3 E, 02150 Espoo FINLAND
www.urbanmill.org
Thank You!