Aalto University partnering with the World Circular Economy Forum WCEF2023

The World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) will take place at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre from 30 May to 2 June 2023, and will be organised by Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund and Nordic Innovation, an organisation under the Nordic Council of Ministers. Aalto University is participating for the first time as a WCEF2023 partner.

Aalto University will coordinate and lead two different content sessions at the event. The textiles and fashion industry session will focus on the sustainable future of the sector, and the programme will be complemented by the exhibition 'Wardrobe of the Future' in the venue’s expo area. The second session will explore whether our current education system is equipped to cope with the magnitude and rapidity of global changes. Should we be ready to say goodbye to old degrees that become obsolete at an accelerated pace? How can we stay curious and radically creative – be capable of learning and unlearning throughout our lives? 

In the expo area, you can also explore Aalto University's Bioinnovation Center and Aalto University's and VTT's joint materials bioeconomy flagship, FinnCERES. New textile and packaging solutions for the bio- and circular economy, multidisciplinary doctoral training and research collaboration opportunities will be presented at the exhibition stands.

A side programme on energy solutions will also be held on the Aalto University campus during WCEF’s ‘Accelerator Day’ on 1 June. 

"We are delighted about the new partnership between Aalto University and Sitra at the World Circular Economy Forum. We share the same values as Sitra and together we are pushing for sustainable change. Science, multidisciplinary research and education that fosters new ways of thinking are urgently needed to find ways to move towards a circular economy. This new collaboration complements our existing partnership with the EU Commission's New European Bauhaus Initiative," says Sirkku Linna, Development Director at Aalto University. 

The forum, an initiative of Sitra and Finland, has quickly become one of the world's leading circular economy events. It was first held in Helsinki in 2017 and has been held outside Finland in Japan, Canada, the Netherlands and Rwanda. The WCEF2023 Helsinki Forum will look for solutions to adapt the current economic system to the limits of nature's carrying capacity.

"Now is the time to kick-start the circular economy for many reasons. Circular economy solutions can increase the resilience of societies to crises and build the foundations for future prosperity. We also need to act, because the climate crisis and nature's cover cannot wait," says Jyrki Katainen, President of Sitra.

The programme of the 2023 Forum is now available. 

Online participation is open and free for all and you are welcome to register here.

For more information:
Enni Äijälä, Senior specialist at Aalto University
+358 50 359 4810
enni.aijala@aalto.fi