Ilmari Lastikka, M.Sc., has been appointed Vice President of International Affairs at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. He starts in his new position on 1 April 2018. The position is new at VTT. The duties of VP, International Affairs include increasing awareness of VTT among European influencers and strengthening VTT's networks.
Lastikka's last position before VTT was at Neste Corporation, where he worked since 2004. He has more than 10 years of experience in the management of international relations as the Head of EU Affairs at Neste. In addition, he participated in expanding Neste Corporation's chemical industry productisation activities to biochemicals.
"VTT's versatile research expertise is very sought after globally and the opportunities for further internationalisation are excellent. I have come across VTT's name in many connections during my years in the international arenas, and the organisation is known for the high quality of its research," says Ilmari Lastikka.
"I am very pleased to welcome Ilmari to VTT. He has solid experience with international networks and how they operate. VTT is a key player in European research cooperation and its international research work has served as a gateway into European innovation and business ecosystems for many Finnish companies. It is of utmost importance that VTT maintains a functional line of communication to decision-making and networks in Europe," states President and CEO of VTT Antti Vasara.
International VTT
VTT's broad international networks and active involvement can provide an important springboard for Finnish innovation. VTT has co-operation agreements with top-flight universities and research institutes.
In spite of fierce competition, VTT has maintained its position as a major player in Europe and Finland's largest recipient of EU research funding. Most of VTT's public international research collaborations are implemented under EU programmes, such as Horizon 2020.
VTT is involved in three innovation clusters of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology: EIT Digital, EIT Raw Materials and EIT Food. As a member of EARTO (European Association of Research and Technology Organisations), VTT contributes to promoting the common views of European research and technology organisations.
