Janica Ylikarjula has been appointed Vice President of International Affairs and Policy at VTT

Janica Ylikarjula changes over to VTT from the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), where she has most recently worked as Chief Policy Adviser in EU Affairs. Between 2012 and 2016, she was the Head of EK Brussels office. Before that, at the Academy of Finland, Ylikarjula was responsible for collaboration between science and business life.

‘Janica's strong experience of collaboration between research and business, and EU influencing is an excellent foundation for her role as Vice President of International Affairs and Policy,’ says Laura Juvonen, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Intelligence. ‘VTT's task is to solve global challenges by means of science and technology, and so create sustainable growth for companies and society. We invest strongly in international activities, and the EU, in particular, is an important provider of funding and influencer in research and innovation activities,’ she says.

VTT has customers and partners around the world. Its employees represent more than 50 nationalities. Science and research are significantly international, and VTTers are active in various networks in their fields. Putting the results of top research into practice requires multi-party collaboration, and this is the only way to create workable, widely applicable science-based solutions. 

‘I am truly excited to be able to promote two things vital to Finland at VTT: Internationality and renewal through science and technology. There is a lot to develop – and win – in collaboration between research and companies. VTT is a valued partner in European research networks. From the perspective of Finland's competitiveness, it is wise to make extensive use of the cooperation opportunities offered by the EU. Good contacts with decision-making and international networks that are wider than the EU are increasingly important during major transformations,’ Ylikarjula says.