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The transition of cities and regions towards climate neutrality requires broad cooperation and commitment from all stakeholders. The Helsinki EU Office, the Association of Finnish Cities and Municipalities (fin. Kuntaliitto), and the U!REKA European University alliance organised a joint networking event during the European Week of Regions and Cities. The event took place at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the EU in Brussels on 9 October, under the theme “The Road to Climate Neutrality: Building Smart Cities and Innovation Ecosystems”.

The event underscored the significance of collaboration between R&I stakeholders in tackling the shared climate challenge. The public sector, higher education institutions, private sector, research institutions, and local communities form an ecosystem where cooperation is essential to achieve ambitious climate goals. A clean transition is also one of Finland’s top priorities in EU advocacy, and Lauri Hirvonen, Deputy Permanent Representative of Finland to the EU, emphasised in his speech that it is crucial for regions, cities, municipalities, and higher education institutions to collaborate in this shared mission.

Higher education institutions play a vital role, not only in driving research and innovation but also in training the skilled workforce necessary to achieve climate neutrality. They provide platforms for collaboration and offer solutions that help regions and cities reach their climate targets, while also ensuring that the required skills and expertise are available in the labour market.

The U!REKA European University alliance is an excellent example of ecosystem collaboration. The alliance includes 30 partners from across Europe, including cities involved in the EU’s Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, such as Helsinki, Espoo, Amsterdam, and Lisbon. U!REKA focuses on educating future professionals who, already during their studies, engage in local and regional projects and are prepared to work in the green and digital transition in Europe. The alliance also offers sustainability-focused courses open to all, promoting continuous learning and skills development.

Riitta Konkola, Chair of the U!REKA Executive Committee and President and CEO of Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, highlighted in her speech the critical role that higher education institutions play in educating professionals and fostering innovations that accelerate the green and digital transitions.

“In the U!REKA university alliance, there is a strong commitment to collaboration at every level. We are a close-knit European higher education community, focused on the climate neutrality challenges faced by cities and regions, and we work together with our partners to develop new solutions to tackle the issues”, Konkola explained.

Achieving climate neutrality is a challenge shared in all of Europe, and addressing it requires cooperation on multiple levels – local, regional, and international. This need for collaboration was also emphasised in the opening remarks by Janne Leino, Director of the Helsinki EU Office, and Ilari Havukainen, Director of the Brussels office of the Association of Finnish Cities and Municipalities.

The networking event provided an excellent platform for bringing together stakeholders from different regions and higher education institutions. Such gatherings are crucial for fostering the multi-level cooperation needed to develop solutions that will bring cities and regions closer to achieving their climate neutrality goals.