Why blockchain – the innovation behind Bitcoin – might completely transform the way we think about trust (and everything else)

Last week, we invited leading digital experts, designers and social scientists to discuss blockchain technology over a breakfast of coffee, sandwiches and yoghurt. The blockchain and its applications are indeed some of the most exciting recent developments in the digital world, but many questions remain unanswered. In this blog post,…

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Bees and Trees – cooperation between startups and big companies

The Bees and Trees project maps the possibilities for cooperation between small companies (bees) and large companies (trees) in the field of consumer cleantech. The project is part of Tekes’ Cleanweb program. Strategic partnerships are necessary for the co-creation and development of groundbreaking products and services. This need is particularly relevant…

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Smart Talk: Re-thinking cities with Gordon Feller

Rapid urbanisation and aging of our building stock put serious strains on the quality of life in cities, as well as the management of big infrastructure systems. The smart city paradigm promises to combat these challenges, but its often ignoring a fundamental fact: our cities are old. Smart Retro approach is a novel…

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Inside Finland’s Basic Income Hackathon

Finland has plans for a basic income scheme that would dispense with the complexities of the social security system. A group led by Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, and consisting of representatives of various research institutes, is developing a model for a basic income trial in 2017. To…

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The rise of the carbon-neutral Nordic city

Cities now account for 70% of the world’s CO2 emissions. From Oslo to Copenhagen to Växjö, cities both large and small have realised that where states have failed on an international level, cities can still succeed on a local one. Cities have shown the will to take the lead, and in…

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