Norden at IV Estonian Annual Innovation Conference InnoEstonia 2009

The Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Estonia invites you to attend the NORDEN innovation seminar Nordic Creative Solutions, which is being held as part of InnoEstonia 2009, the IV Annual Conference on Estonian Innovation. Speaking at the seminar will be Marit Hoel from Norway and Pekka Heikkilä from Finland.

Venue: Salme Cultural Centre, Tallinn
Date and time: November 13, between 10.00 am and 12.00 pm
Participation fee: you may participate in the programme of the Annual Conference on Innovation as a whole, FREE OF CHARGE if you register to our seminar. The conference is being held on 12 and 13 November. Click here to find out more about the conditions for participation.
Registration: by 11 November at the latest. Register here.
IV Estonian Annual Innovation Conference InnoEstonia 2009 programme can be found here.
Find out more about the speakers here.

More about the Nordic speakers

Marit Hoel, PhD is the CEO and founder of the Norwegian research institution Center for Corporate Diversity. The objective of the Center is to present the case for diversity in business and also to ensure that the Norwegian business community utilises the competence of women in Norway. Since 2003, the Center has been commissioned by the Norwegian Ministry for Trade and Industry to analyse the participation of women in public and listed companies.

There is a law in Norway applied in Norway from 2004 which stipulates that 40 percent of the members of the management board of a listed company must be women. A recent study conducted by the Centre for Corporate Diversity shows that as a result of the law, the proportion of women on management boards has increased from seven percent to 40.2 in just a couple of years.

When the law entered into force five years ago, studies predicted that the competence of companies would deteriorate, companies would lose investments and even move abroad. “On the contrary, the level of education has increased and the biggest number of women have been invited onto the boards of companies that the quota law isn’t actually a concern,” said Hoel about the study. In addition to there being more people with higher education on the boards of Norwegian companies, the average age of board members has also decreased.

Before she established the Centre for Corporate Diversity, Hoel was the Research Director at the Institute for the Studies of Higher Education and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Research in Oslo, Norway. In 2000, Hoel arranged Norway’s first seminar on ‘Leadership-Equality-Diversity’ where she presented her report on the competence of businesswomen in Norway. Hoel is also the author of several articles and books on the topic of women and work. One year ago, Hoel received The World of Difference Award for her work.

Pekka Heikkilä is the founder and CEO of the innovative mobile service provider Mobile Interactive Receptionist Services. Mobile Interactive Receptionist Services also offers such innovative solutions as AXS360 and VoxMox. The company makes its offers on the basis of the client’s product or service and combines it with the options offered by mobile phones. Mobile solutions can be implemented anywhere, from purchasing theatre tickets to booking travels and restaurant tables. For example, people who book concert tickets can see virtual views of different places in the hall and the organiser can monitor the ticket inspection system in real time.

Heikkilä was a well-known rock musician and composer before 1997 when he started working in software development. He built one of the largest music studios in Helsinki and worked as the manager of Finnish rock musician Krika.

Questions related to the IV Estonian Annual Innovation Conference InnoEstonia 2009 can be addressed to: Piret Potisepp, phone 617 7161 or e-mail: piret (at) innoeurope.eu.

Eha Vain, adviser with the Nordic Council of Ministers Office in Estonia assists you if you need more information about the Nordic seminar: phone 627... or e-mail: eha (at) norden.ee.