Future Expert Launch­pad kicked off in Oulu – new appli­ca­tion round now open

The Future Expert Launch­pad (FELP), launched in Oulu, brings togeth­er pro­fes­sion­als from dif­fer­ent fields, com­pa­nies, and best prac­tices in inno­va­tion work. Over the course of eight weeks, par­tic­i­pants devel­op solu­tions to real busi­ness chal­lenges, receive guid­ance from experts, and dis­cov­er new direc­tions for their careers. FELP offers an oppor­tu­ni­ty to step into a cre­ative and ener­getic envi­ron­ment where ideas grow into con­cepts.

Mar­ket dri­ven needs at the core

The Future Expert Launch­pad (FELP) kicked off in March in Oulu as a col­lab­o­ra­tion between Business­Oulu and Demo­la. This inten­sive eight‑week pro­gram offers cur­rent and future inno­va­tion pro­fes­sion­als from var­i­ous fields the oppor­tu­ni­ty to devel­op new prod­uct and ser­vice con­cepts and demos in teams. The goal is to sup­port the employ­ment and skills devel­op­ment of high­ly edu­cat­ed pro­fes­sion­als, inter­na­tion­al tal­ents, and job­seek­ers look­ing for a new direc­tion in their careers.

In FELP, par­tic­i­pants work on Demola’s devel­op­ment projects dri­ven by real needs iden­ti­fied by com­pa­nies. Par­tic­i­pants receive sup­port and coach­ing from Demo­la experts, and dur­ing the pro­gram, local com­pa­nies and star­tups are invit­ed to explore the teams’ solu­tions.

In Oulu, the first teams were formed in mid‑March, and work has start­ed at a brisk pace. Dur­ing the first weeks, teams have brain­stormed in vir­tu­al col­lab­o­ra­tion spaces and pro­gressed their projects inten­sive­ly through remote tools. Week­ly meet­ings bring the entire group togeth­er and offer face‑to‑face spar­ring with Demola’s experts.

Ener­gy from Team­work

Maria, Hiruni, Ojo, Puja, and Kir­si are devel­op­ing a solu­tion for intel­li­gent spaces that adapt to dif­fer­ent sit­u­a­tions. Their team is explor­ing four dif­fer­ent angles — from emotion‑sensing solu­tions to auto­mat­i­cal­ly adjustable work­place fur­ni­ture. They approach the chal­lenge from mul­ti­ple per­spec­tives and draw strength and sup­port from each oth­er.

– The ideas we pre­sent­ed dur­ing the first week were com­plete­ly dif­fer­ent from where we are now. You real­ly need to think and refine your thoughts. On my own, I might have giv­en up already,” Ojo says, describ­ing the pow­er of work­ing togeth­er.

– The team def­i­nite­ly gives ener­gy! You can brain­storm by your­self, but you need oth­ers to move ideas forward—doing it alone sim­ply doesn’t work,” Kir­si adds.

Soon the group will need to choose one clear direc­tion, as in just a few weeks the teams will present their first demo.

Mov­ing toward con­crete solu­tions

Arto Ter­vola’s team is explor­ing the pos­si­bil­i­ties of dig­i­tal mine clear­ance. The project has had a fast-paced start, and the team has already begun work­ing on con­crete solu­tions in a short time. Ter­vola is wait­ing for the rest of the team to arrive at the week­ly meet­ing; already dur­ing the first week they have arranged a meet­ing with a tech­nol­o­gy com­pa­ny whose solu­tions could sup­port their project.

– We’ve been able to devel­op our ideas quite far with the team in such a short time. The project is so inspir­ing that I found myself think­ing about it even over the week­end, Ter­vola says.

Ter­vola, who has a long career in indus­try and automa­tion and expe­ri­ence from the start­up world, is a sea­soned pro­fes­sion­al. He hopes the project will accel­er­ate his path to employ­ment, but already finds the col­lab­o­ra­tive work reward­ing in itself.

– This is def­i­nite­ly bet­ter than try­ing to devel­op ideas alone. If you want to cre­ate some­thing new and chal­lenge your own think­ing, you should absolute­ly apply. In this way of work­ing, you need to bring your thoughts for­ward boldly—you can’t remain just a lis­ten­er; you need to grab the ball and run with it,” Ter­vola reflects.

Imag­i­na­tion Fuels Ideas and Inspi­ra­tion

Anne Pudas has also found the first weeks inspir­ing. Her team is devel­op­ing solu­tions to make cities more vibrant, and the work has pro­gressed quick­ly from the start.

– We were all new to each oth­er and came from very dif­fer­ent life sit­u­a­tions. Still, we bond­ed quick­ly and found a theme every­one is excit­ed about. We’ve met remote­ly sev­er­al times, and already dur­ing the first week we had a spar­ring ses­sion with Demola’s Joonas, Pudas explains.

With a back­ground in voca­tion­al edu­ca­tion, Pudas has dis­cov­ered new ways of think­ing and prac­ti­cal tools through the pro­gram.

– I’ve come across new tools and ways of work­ing, but it has felt good. The sched­ule is tight and there’s sur­pris­ing­ly much to do, but the small inter­im tasks help move the think­ing for­ward quite effort­less­ly, she says.

At first, Pudas wasn’t entire­ly sure what kind of pro­gram she was apply­ing to , but her doubts dis­ap­peared quick­ly. She empha­sizes that what you need most for the jour­ney is curios­i­ty and the courage to step into sit­u­a­tions where you don’t yet know every­thing.

– I was ner­vous about join­ing, but I’m glad I did. I would encour­age oth­ers to seize the oppor­tu­ni­ty bold­ly.

For Pudas, who has stud­ied futures research, the pro­gram has offered a rare chance to let her imag­i­na­tion run free.

– We should dare to use our imag­i­na­tion more. We already know what’s pos­si­ble, but on your own you don’t always have the courage to pur­sue it. Here, you have the free­dom to think big and gen­er­ate ideas! she sums up.

Demo­la x Business­Oulu – Apply Now!

If you are a job­seek­er, you can par­tic­i­pate in the FELP pro­gram with­out los­ing your earn­ings-relat­ed or oth­er unem­ploy­ment ben­e­fits. Job search­ing and oth­er process­es con­tin­ue nor­mal­ly dur­ing par­tic­i­pa­tion.

The appli­ca­tion peri­od for the Future Expert Launch­pad pro­gram ends on 14 April 2026.

Sched­ule

• Kick-off: 21–22 April 2026
• Mid-event: 11 May 2026
• Finals: 3 June 2026
• Addi­tion­al: Week­ly meet­ings with the Oulu group and ongo­ing work with your project team

Infor­ma­tion Ses­sions

Demo­la will host two info events where you can learn more about the projects, ways of work­ing, and how to apply. The ses­sions cov­er top­ics such as:

• What does Demo­la actu­al­ly do in prac­tice?
• Who is the pro­gram for and what kind of skills are need­ed?
• How to apply and what does the selec­tion process look like?
• Why is it worth apply­ing?

Demo­la Info Webi­nar (online, in Eng­lish)

Wednes­day 8 April 2026, 13:00–14:00
Join via Teams: Demola.net

Pop-up Event (in Oulu)

Mon­day 13 April 2026, 13:00–17:00
Oulu City Library Saari, Event Space Lai­turi

A short info ses­sion will be held from 14:00–15:00; the rest of the time is reserved for meet­ing inter­est­ed par­tic­i­pants and infor­mal dis­cus­sion. You can drop in at any time to ask ques­tions and dis­cuss the pro­gram and projects.

More Infor­ma­tion

Jere Wess­man
Head of Tal­ent Devel­op­ment, Demo­la
jere@demola.net | +358 40 631 4029

Joonas Kemp­painen
COO, Demo­la
joonas@demola.net | +358 50 529 1845

Learn More About the Future Expert Launch­pad

• More infon on Future Expert Launch­pad: Demola.net
• Explore the projects and apply:  Demo­la Por­tal (demola.net)
• Watch the video intro­duc­tion:: Future Expert Launch­pad (youtube.com)
• Demo­la and Business­Oulu Con­nect Tal­ent and Com­pa­nies Through Inno­va­tion Projects – Future Expert Launch­pad is now in Oulu! (tyomarkkinatori.fi)