ABS Finland Overseas Seminar - Pre-Visit Report (Tampere)

Aoyama Business School (ABS) conducted a pre-visit to Tampere following our visit to Helsinki, in preparation for the upcoming overseas seminar scheduled for February 2027. This report covers the Tampere portion of the visit.

This visit to Tampere was made possible thanks to the tremendous support and dedicated efforts of Pauli Mesiä, Program Manager of the General Executive MBA at Tampere University. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for his invaluable assistance.

In addition, Tiina Ropo, CEO of Business Japan, has also played a significant role as a bridge between Finland and Japan, and we greatly appreciate her continued support, including her planned visit to ABS in October.

Tampere is one of Finland’s leading industrial cities, where universities, the municipality, and the business community work in strong collaboration to drive innovation across the entire region. Through this visit, we gained firsthand insights into the "Tampere Model," in which Tampere University, the City of Tampere, and the local business sector jointly create value and foster regional development.

Delegation:
Professor Takamichi Hosoda, Dean
Professor Hidetoshi Seki, Specially Appointed Professor

1. Tampere University
Antti Lönnqvist - Vice President, Tampere University
Hannu Saarijärvi - Head of Business Studies Unit
At Tampere University, we began with a session titled "Universities in Dialogue," where we exchanged views on the educational and research directions of ABS and Tampere University. This was followed by an overview of the Business Studies Unit’s education, research, and societal impact. We were particularly impressed by how the university engages closely with regional industries and advances highly practical, collaborative research.

2. City of Tampere
Satu Vuorinen - Head of International Affairs
The City of Tampere presented "Tampere - The City of Action," outlining the city’s strategic initiatives, internationalization efforts, and industrial support programs. We were especially struck by the structural strength of collaboration among the university, municipality, and business community, which plays a central role in driving the city’s growth.

3. Business Tampere
Heini Wallander - Head of Industrial Sector
At Business Tampere, discussions focused on industrial collaboration, corporate support, and mechanisms for promoting innovation. As the title "Connecting Companies, Creating Value" suggests, we learned how companies, universities, and the municipality work together systematically to generate new value and strengthen regional competitiveness.

4. Gofore
Musa Jallow - People Lead, Industrial Security & Functional Safety, Gofore
Petri Nykänen - Director, Tampere Region Safety and Security Cluster, Business Tampere

At Gofore, we learned how the company collaborates with Business Tampere’s Safety and Security Cluster. Through discussions on industrial security and functional safety, we gained clear insights into why Tampere serves as an important hub for digital security in the region.

Through this visit to Tampere, we gained a clear understanding of the city’s strengths - particularly the strong collaboration among universities, the municipality, and the business sector, which collectively drives innovation across the region.

Tampere’s dynamism as an industrial city offered perspectives distinct from Helsinki, and we are confident that these insights will be highly valuable for ABS students.

We will continue preparing to ensure that the February program provides a meaningful and enriching international learning experience for all participants.