Since launching last May, ICTOulu has grown substantially, both in terms of member companies and activities within the cluster. As we approach the end of a very busy year, we thought we would take this opportunity to pause, take stock, and look back at some of our highlights from 2022.
Getting to know our members
We’ve been highlighting a variety of different ICTOulu member companies through our profile articles. We are very grateful to those who talked to us about what they do, how they operate, what their respective work cultures are like, and what they look for in new recruits. We look forward to presenting more of these in the New Year.
Some of the companies we got to know better
Insights from the sector
The ICTOulu portal is constantly updating with news and developments from within the the local ecosystem. Additionally, it is also a platform for us to present some thought-provoking and insightful comments about a whole range of topics:
- Pasi Vuorio from Woolman took part in a very thoughtful interview about remote working and the future of software development.
- We wrote an in-depth explainer of the metaverse and the Oulu ecosystem’s place in that emerging domain.
- Kibit Solutions gave us an overview of the state of play of recruitment within the sector, and discussed the concept of nearshoring.
ICTOulu on the road
In-person gatherings were well and truly back in 2022. It was a delight to get back on the road and promote the activities of our cluster in many different territories at a wide variety of events, including:
- Several visits to educational organisations to promote job openings within the sector, either through our own roadshow across the neighbouring regions or by taking part in events like OAMK’s Maalisuora last November.
- A trip to the United Kingdom last summer with Business Finland.
- ICTOulu’s cyber security delegation to Tallinn, Estonia in October, exploring collaboration opportunities between Estonian stakeholders and Oulu ICT companies.
Of course, this is just a small selection of our activities this year. You can view more by checking out the full archive of stories published in our News section.
After the Christmas and New Year break, we start 2023 by heading to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) alongside a selection of our member companies. Additionally, we have some exciting events coming up that explore the possibilities of utilising AI in retail and discuss the role of cyber security in the present day. You can see an up-to-date list of what we have planned thus far for next year on our Events page.
We will be posting updates again on the ICTOulu portal in January – do ensure that you are following us on LinkedIn to keep up-to-date with all of our activities. In the meantime, from all of us at ICTOulu, we wish you a peaceful and happy holidays!