Mikkeli Water Week is organized together with City of Mikkeli, Mikkeli Development Miksei, Blue Economy Mikkeli (BEM), LUT University, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) and Mikkeli University Consortium (MUC).
Photo by: Pihla Liukkonen, Kontrastia
City of Mikkeli
Mikkeli is a city located in eastern Finland, on the shores of the fourth largest lake in Europe, Lake Saimaa. Only 2,5 hours away from Helsinki, Mikkeli is also easily reachable by public transport. In Mikkeli, you will find the perfect mix of nature experiences and local life.
Mikkeli’s strengths and investment in water expertise are recognised nationally and internationally. One example of this is the innovation ecosystem agreement that Mikkeli has signed with the Ministry of Employment and the Economy to develop a centre of excellence between 2021 and 2027.
Mikkeli Development Miksei Ltd
Mikkeli development company Miksei Ltd. (MikseiMikkeli) helps companies in the Mikkeli economic area to develop and grow. Operations are divided into three sectors: business services with impact, future of Mikkeli and travel city Mikkeli. The company employs 40 experts in a variety of fields.
MikseiMikkeli serves companies regardless of age, size or industry in all matters related to business development, for example activating sales and marketing, going through economic and financial issues, planning investments, internationalization and changes of ownership.
MikseiMikkeli is responsible for the marketing of business plots in the city of Mikkeli and the development of tourism.
Blue Economy Mikkeli (BEM)
EcoSairila is spearheaded by the Blue Economy Mikkeli centre of excellence, which focuses on the circular economy and digitalisation of the water supply. It provides companies with RDI and training services, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of a unique testing and piloting environment to develop their business activities. BEM brings together training and educational organizations to offer a wide range of educational programs and products for water management and circular economy of water. BEM attracts new business and activates various sources for funding.
Blue Economy Mikkeli is an international centre of excellence in water research located in the premises of the Mikkeli wastewater treatment plant. BEM is the only plant in Finland to enable industry-scale material flows for water RDI use. Mikkeli’s new wastewater treatment plant will ensure the environmentally safe purification of the city’s wastewater for the next 50 years. On top of that, it also serves as a research and business centre for water treatment at the heart of EcoSairila.
LUT University
Clean energy, water and air are life-giving resources for which LUT University seeks new solutions with its expertise in technology, business, and social sciences. LUT helps society and businesses in their sustainable renewal. LUT’s international community consists of nearly 8 000 members. LUT University has campuses located in two cities, Lappeenranta and Lahti, and two regional units in Mikkeli and Kouvola. LUT is one of the world’s top universities for climate action.
The Department of Separation science operates in all four cities, and its unit in Mikkeli focuses especially on water treatment, through both research and education. The research activities in the Mikkeli unit primarily focus on biological water treatment with the utilization of enzymes and microalgae. The master’s program in Water technology started in Mikkeli in 2023, and it is carried out in close collaboration with local companies.
Mikkeli University Consortium (MUC)
Mikkeli University Consortium (MUC) is a networked academic community based on an agreement between Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, LUT University and the City of Mikkeli. The universities employ roughly 120 full time staff and 80 visiting faculty and researchers. MUC’s strength lies in the expertise from the three universities, which stand out on the national scale and, at the same time, meet regional needs.
Key fields of expertise of the three universities in Mikkeli include entrepreneurship, local development, digitalization, bioenergy, sustainable food systems and water purification methods. LUT university’s expertise in water purification is well recognized worldwide.
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk)
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences is a higher education institution with focus on responsible wellbeing, technology, and creative industries. We train skilled professionals for the needs of the future and promote entrepreneurship, international activities, as well as solutions to develop business life. We employ over 900 professionals, and we have over 11 500 students.
We offer our expertise for companies and communities through cooperation that ranges from RDI activities to practical training, projects, and theses. Our research, development and innovation activities focus on Digital Economy, Sustainable Wellbeing, Logistics and Seafaring, as well as Forest, the Environment and Energy. In addition, our 11 research units produce multidisciplinary expert knowledge as well as services such as product development, measurement, and analysis.
Our work aim to the sustainable use of natural resources, and efforts to improve the eco-friendliness of businesses and ensure a clean living environment. Development work is aimed at finding clean technology solutions for bio, water and circular economy as well as intelligent monitoring practices.
In environmental technology education (Bachelor´s degree), water expertise is one of the top priorities. The training covers water chemistry, water sampling, natural waters, water management, water treatment and the acquisition of clean water.