Oulu named a final­ist for the 2027 Euro­pean Ris­ing Inno­v­a­tive City Award

Oulu, Fin­land, has been select­ed as one of three final­ists for the 2027 Euro­pean Ris­ing Inno­v­a­tive City Award, part of the pres­ti­gious Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Inno­va­tion Awards (iCap­i­tal). The recog­ni­tion high­lights Oulu’s dynam­ic inno­va­tion ecosys­tem, tech­no­log­i­cal exper­tise, and com­mit­ment to devel­op­ing sus­tain­able, peo­ple-cen­tred solu­tions.

The Euro­pean Com­mis­sion announced the final­ists on 22 Octo­ber 2026. Oulu is com­pet­ing along­side Regens­burg (Ger­many) and Taran­to (Italy) in the Euro­pean Ris­ing Inno­v­a­tive City cat­e­go­ry.

Sup­port­ed by the Euro­pean Inno­va­tion Coun­cil (EIC) under Hori­zon Europe, the annu­al iCap­i­tal Awards recog­nise cities that suc­cess­ful­ly bring togeth­er busi­ness­es, researchers, pub­lic organ­i­sa­tions and cit­i­zens to address soci­etal chal­lenges, improve qual­i­ty of life and cre­ate new oppor­tu­ni­ties for sus­tain­able growth.

Oulu’s inno­va­tion ecosys­tem gains Euro­pean ATTEN­TION

Oulu’s selec­tion reflects the city’s strong tra­di­tion of tech­no­log­i­cal inno­va­tion, cross-sec­tor col­lab­o­ra­tion and for­ward-look­ing urban devel­op­ment. In its announce­ment, the Euro­pean Com­mis­sion high­light­ed Oulu’s abil­i­ty to turn its unique north­ern envi­ron­ment into inno­va­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties.

Oulu is home to a thriv­ing HealthTech and ICT ecosys­tem, where com­pa­nies, research insti­tu­tions, health­care providers and pub­lic organ­i­sa­tions col­lab­o­rate to devel­op and test new tech­nolo­gies and solu­tions. This col­lab­o­ra­tive approach sup­ports inno­va­tion across sec­tors and strength­ens Oulu’s posi­tion as an inter­na­tion­al­ly con­nect­ed tech­nol­o­gy hub.

Win­ners to be announced in Decem­ber

The win­ners of the 2027 Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Inno­va­tion Awards will be announced on 3 Decem­ber 2026 in Greno­ble, France, dur­ing the From Local to Europe, Inno­va­tion for Good event.

The win­ner of the Euro­pean Ris­ing Inno­v­a­tive City cat­e­go­ry will receive €500,000, while the two run­ners-up will each receive €50,000. Beyond the finan­cial prizes, all final­ists will be invit­ed to join the iCap­i­tal alum­ni net­work, offer­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties to exchange knowl­edge, share best prac­tices and build new part­ner­ships with lead­ing inno­va­tion ecosys­tems across Europe.

Oulu’s place among the final­ists is an impor­tant recog­ni­tion of the city’s con­tin­ued invest­ment in inno­va­tion, col­lab­o­ra­tion and sus­tain­able devel­op­ment. It is a tes­ta­ment to the peo­ple, busi­ness­es and organ­i­sa­tions dri­ving its inno­va­tion ecosys­tem for­ward. Oulu pre­vi­ous­ly reached the final of the Euro­pean Ris­ing Inno­v­a­tive City com­pe­ti­tion in 2024, fin­ish­ing third.

Read more: Euro­pean Inno­va­tion Coun­cil – Six cities com­pet­ing for the 2027 Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Inno­va­tion Awards

Source: Euro­pean Inno­va­tion Coun­cil