2026 Finland–Sweden Smart cities forum: solutions contributing to climate neutrality

Mari Hukkalainen, D.Sc. (Tech), Principal scientist and certified project manager with 15 years of experience at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. She is passionate about energy transition in smart and sustainable cities and districts. She has broad experience on international research and innovation projects in the field of district energy systems and urban energy planning. She has coordinated SPARCS project, a large EU funded Smart cities and communities project on Positive Energy District solutions. She is VTT’s project manager in NetZeroCities programme and a member of the Finnish Cities Mission network.  

Dr. Miimu Airaksinen works as Vice President RDI in Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. She is responsible for Metropolia's research, development, and innovation and is a member of Metropolia's executive team. Before she joined Metropolia, Airaksinen was Senior Vice President of development at SRV and CEO at RIL Finnish Association of Civil Engineers, as well as Research Professor at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Currently, Airaksinen is active in U!REKA European University Alliance and the European Innovation Platform for Smart Cities and Communities.

Enni Airaksinen, MSc (Tech), works as a 3D specialist for the City of Helsinki and is passionate about using 3D city models, open data, and smart city platforms to support better urban planning and climate-smart decision-making. She enjoys collaborating across disciplines and contributing to digital innovations that help create more sustainable and resilient cities.

Jouni Tuomisto is a founder and Chief Science Officer at Kausal, a SaaS company helping cities turn climate goals into actions. He is an environmental health researcer and has expertise in health impact modeling, toxicology, and risk assessment. He is an advocade of open science and a developer of a method called open policy practice.

Eero Puurunen is a specialist in sustainable urban development with over twenty years of experience at the intersection of urban planning, architecture, and digital solutions. He is a Director at Sitowise, a leading Nordic AEC company, where he leads the development of sustainable land-use services and digital solutions for cities. He heads the development of Planect, an innovative SaaS platform for early-stage lifecycle and nature impact assessments for urban plans, currently used by more than twenty Finnish cities. Eero brings a holistic perspective to smart city development that combines quantitative analysis, digital innovation, and design quality.

Maarit Kahila PhD, holds degrees in planning geography from the University of Helsinki and urban planning from Aalto University, Finland. Her research has focused on developing new methods to enable and encourage broader public participation in urban planning. In her PhD dissertation, she explored how urban planners can use map-based PPGIS tools, such as Maptionnaire, to gather valuable ideas and insights from residents. She is currently the CEO and co-founder of Mapita, the company behind Maptionnaire. Maarit continues to advance the field of community engagement by helping urban planners and city developers create effective, map-based participation processes. Maptionnaire is a global citizen engagement SaaS platform used in over 40 countries, empowering communities to contribute meaningfully to shaping their environments. 

Tomer Shalit, Founder of ClimateView, a platform for cities managing their transitions toward a zero-carbon future. Tomer’s a mathematician and agile leader with over 20 years of technology experience has included helping large corporations tackle complex problems and execute transformational projects through agile methodologies. 

Sofie Sandin Lompar is an analyst for Viable Cities, focusing on policy, multi-level governance, and development of the Climate City Contract as levers for accelerating local transitions. She holds a PhD in industrial environmental economics from Lund University, focusing on policy evaluation approaches to generate insights for a transition. 

Olga Kordas has been the Viable Cities Program Manager since 2017 and is also a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Urban Development at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Olga has always been fascinated by science and the beauty of mathematics, while being passionate about issues related to sustainable development, climate and democracy. 

Jonas Birgersson is a Swedish Entrepreneur who has founded a number of companies and organisations. He is known for creating two billion dollar companies before reaching the age of 30, and for playing a major part in the Swedish IT revolution. With EnergyNet, he and ViaEuropa are now focused on transforming local energy distribution to facilitate renewable energy integration and increase energy security.