Aalto DFPRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PATH MAKERS 2024
Tuotekehityksen tiennäyttäjät 2024
Product development strategies, resources, capabilities and experts are vital for every nation’s future success and corporate’s competitiveness – as well as for tackling global challenges. Aalto Design Factory, Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), the City of Espoo, and Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation have teamed up to direct attention to how product development opens new pathways through a new award, Product Development Path Makers. The winners of the 2024 were announced 12.11.2024.
Based on nominations made in August-September 2024, a jury consisting of representatives from Aalto University, Espoo, Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation, TEK and industry selected four winners and three honorary mentions. The main award was determined based on a public vote on the four jury-selected winners. The awards and the honorable mentions were handed out by the Product Development Path Makers jury, Minister of Science and Culture Sari Multala, President of Aalto University Ilkka Niemelä, and Chairman of the Board of the Technology Industries Centennial Foundation Aaro Cantell.
The main award based on the public vote has been coined as the “Ekman Award”, in honor of Professor Emeritus Kalevi “Eetu” Ekman’s career, passion and commitment to develop education and research in product development and founding the Design Factory concept. This year, the Ekman Award went to the KONE Veturi project, leveraging scenario-based planning to develop a joint vision in a large development consortia.
2024 AWARD WINNERS
EKMAN AWARD WINNER: KONE Veturi
KONE’s Veturi Project Collaborative Innovation for revolutionizing urban living
The Flow of urban life the ‘Veturi’ Program (2020-2024), co-funded by Business Finland, has achieved market success through innovative partnerships with approximately two hundred partners.
Vaisala
Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage Device through Agile Development
In only 12 months from idea to product launch, Vaisala, a global leader in measurement instruments and intelligence for climate action, revolutionized the way carbon capture measurements are made – helping to speed up and strengthen the adoption of technologies for curbing CO2 exhausts and combating climate change. Bringing agile development, autonomy and minimum viable product thinking to a hardware solution, they have been able to learn their way forward.
Surgify
Halo Surgical Drill through Effective Collaboration
Surgify, established in 2017, collaborated with surgeons and universities to develop a surgical drill that selectively cuts hard tissue while protecting soft tissue. Gaining access to insights, feedback, and machinery through collaboration and user-centered design, Surgify has developed a completely new type of burr in a tightly regulated industry, opening up new opportunities for safer surgeries.
Sulapac
Sustainable Packaging Materials through Comprehensive Knowledge and Strong Vision
Sulapac, a company founded in 2016 by two female biochemists with PhDs in biomaterials, has thought big and boldly from the start. Sulapac’s first product, a 100% bio-based and biodegradable wood-composite cosmetic packaging, won international awards and the interest of global luxury brands, but the founders were after an even greater impact. With the vision to make Sulapac the new standard for sustainable materials replacing plastic, the company portfolio now consists of 13 materials used in various types of packaging and products across industries. The development of such a comprehensive portfolio and rapid expansion into new product categories was enabled by in-house expertise covering everything from polymer science to final packaging solutions.
HONORARY MENTIONS
Nobody Engineering
Breathing New Life into Legacy Building Automation Systems with Zero Renovations or Investments
With a ‘software punk rock’ approach redefining building automation, Nobody Engineering has developed a hardware-enabled SaaS platform that seamlessly connects old building systems to the cloud. Just as Chromecast revolutionized how we use old televisions, Nobody’s plug-and-play device acts as a digital bridge, modernizing outdated systems to unlock the potential for remote monitoring, energy optimization and other digital services — all without the need for expensive renovations.
Metso’s
Outotec® direct Reduced Iron Smelting Furnace through Modular Development Processes
Realising a gap in the market with huge business potential, Metso redesigned a fast-tracked development process to develop a more sustainable smelting furnace which took only a third of the original time.
Steerprop
Propulsion System Collaboration through Customer-Centricity
Recognizing a major player in the market with demanding needs, Steerprop seized the opportunity to leverage its agility and customer-focused approach, positioning itself ahead of competitors. This strategy enabled them to build a meaningful and enduring collaboration.
ABOUT THE AWARD
What is the Product Development Path Makers award?
The Product Development Path Makers award seeks to recognize inspiring experiments, projects, initiatives or activities that have opened up new types of opportunities and/or impact in product development. Nominees are evaluated in terms of
- pioneering new product development practices,
- bold and successful experimentation challenging established norms, and
- potential to generate novel user/customer value beyond the experiment or activity itself.
For example, a winning experiment or activity could have piloted a new way of co-creating with users, reflect a new type of development collaboration across a network of organizations, or created new methods to support identifying circular innovation opportunities. The award can be granted to a project team or community of people that has enacted the experiment or activity.
How do you make a nomination?
Nominations for the 2024 awards were open 15.8.-26.9.2024. Anyone can nominate an experiment, activity or project you have found inspiring as a candidate for the award – the nomination can also be something you have been a part of yourself. The application period for 2025 will be announced later on, with online form asking nominations to provide:
- A public summary of the experiment or activity and 1-3 images
- A short description of
- what was done, with whom and in what context
- what was novel and ground breaking in the experiment or activity,
- what type of user or customer value or potential for it was created, and
- what kind of new opportunities or novel impact the experiment or activity could open up in product development
- Possible links to further information and contact information
We understand product development broadly, as an interdisciplinary effort that can target physical or digital products or services.
Based on the nominations, a jury consisting of Aalto professors, City of Espoo, TEK, Technology Industries of Finland and OP will select the finalists, and everyone gets to weigh in which finalist receives the public’s favorite award through an open voting, open 28.10.-11.11.2024.
Who can be nominated?
You can nominate something you have been a part of yourself or some project, intiative, experiment or activity you’ve heard about that you think opens up new opportunities in product development.
To qualify, the core activity or core team needs to have resided or taken place in Finland. The experiment or activity also needs to fulfill the EU criteria of “do no significant harm” (DNSH) – in other words, they should create new opportunities without compromising sustainability. As the award is given out by Aalto, TEK, City of Espoo and Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation, experiments or activities led by employees of these organizations are not eligible for the award, however, suggested initiatives can contain collaboration with these organizations and their employees. Aalto employees cannot receive the financial award, but may be recognized as a part of an activity.
AWARD PRESENTERS
Minister of Science and Culture
Sari Multala
President of Aalto University
Ilkka Niemelä
Chairman of the Board of the Technology Industries 100 Years Foundation
Aaro Cantell
JURY
Erkki Ahola
Director, Technologies, Data and Innovations
Technology Industries of Finland
Kalevi Ekman
Professor of Product Development
Aalto University School of Engineering
Juhani Nokela
Director of Academic Affairs
Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK)
Mervi Heinaro
Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Sports and Culture
City of Espoo
Pekka Pokela
Professor of Practice in Product Development
Aalto University School of Engineering
Pia Hannukainen
Professor of Practice, Aalto ARTS
Head of CX, Digital Channels & CRM, OP Financial Group
Tua Björklund
Director, Aalto Design Factory
Assissitant Professor in Product Development, Aalto ENG
MAKING IT HAPPEN
QUESTIONS?
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Kalevi “Eetu” Ekman DF Janitor, DF founding father
kalevi.ekman@aalto.fi +358 50 555 3566
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Tua Björklund DF Director, Assistant Professor
tua.bjorklund@aalto.fi
+358 50 511 3182 -
Pekka Pokela Professor of Practice
pekka.pokela@aalto.fi
+358 40 544 1582