Neither the phone nor the paper was invented in Finland

Linux, MonoSpace, mobile manual system (ARP), radiosonde, technology "flash smelting", video phone, mobile portal (ZED), Domosedan, Marimekko, paper, xylitol, Benecol machine control system, "nordic walking", "wristop computer"... are given here just a few examples of Finnish innovation! This list is remarkably long and disparate for a small country with only 5 million people. It refers to innovations which are either marginal or radical.

These innovations range from operating system free Linux and new technologies of elevators (MonoSpace) for the production of metal ("flash smelting"), passing through an anti-cancer sweetener (xylitol), a cholesterol reducing substance (Benecol) and even a new sport ("nordic walking"). The list also extends to products whose functions have been expanded (videophone, radiosonde, mobile portal) to new modes of measurement and control of machines (automated control systems) and people ("wristop computers"), as well as innovative creative concepts to the evolution of fashion.

The Finnish economy is currently dominated by a giant company, Nokia. Finnish innovations emerge, however, from several sources. They only stays even not to the information technology and the exploitation of forests, which are the two major areas where the expertise of the Finland is widely recognized. These sectors are, however, a good starting point for understanding the "finlandicité" of the Finnish innovations.

Sectoral specialization

Industry specializations provide a response element when the national features of Finnish innovation. Telecommunications and the forest industries which are the main economic engines of the country, very naturally served as platforms for a number of Finnish innovations. Neither the phone nor the paper was invented in Finland. They still occupy a very special place in the history of innovation. The discovery of the phone goes back to 1876, in the United States. It took only two years for the first telephone line function in Finland. The development of the mobile phone is a phenomenon of the same nature in the 1980s. The Finns have been among the first to test new mobile technologies (ARP and NMT). In 1982, the Nordic countries accounted for 80 of the world market for mobile phones.

In the paper industry, the Finns also acted quickly to evolve and grow the industry. They have imported, from year to year, the most modern and most advanced technologies by is attaching solutions that they themselves had developed to improve them. Finland pulp companies have invested with determination to build new and modern plants, enhance the quality of the range of their products and the testing of new technologies. The coating of paper online is an illustration of the innovations introduced in the Finnish industry sector.

The education system

It is still the specialization and the level of expertise achieved in this area are not sufficient to explain the appearance of the full range of listed Finnish innovations. The existence of a system of equal education and high level also brings an element of explanation in this regard. This system has made possible the use large-scale human capital at the same time that the development of a scientific and technical base powerful. The open character of the education system in a small country like the Finland is also the creation of social networks and the proliferation of informal personal links. They have facilitated cross-flows in society, and the multidisciplinary research, which are often necessary for innovation. These are individuals, with their sights and their different forms of creativity, giving in the final analysis the advantage to some countries in innovation. The education of the Finland system is an excellent basis for starting that people whose inheritance are very various come to know, that is, who knows what and where to look useful knowledge. These strengths explain the vitality of the collaboration between universities, public research organizations and innovative enterprises which is a feature of the Finland.

Innovative companies

Innovations in General, and particularly the Finnish innovations, must rely on innovative companies to hatch and take a specific national color. The distinctive feature of the listed Finnish innovations is that many of them from public companies. Companies such as Telecom Finland (Sonera), Outokumpu and Neste (Fortum) are at the origin of innovations to the global radiation. Therefore, Telecom Finland was considered in the 1990s as the world most innovative telecommunications company. She received several awards in both GSM and communication. The successes gained by Nokia would have been much more problematic without the innovations produced by Telecom Finland and technological competence acquired by developing the ARP, NMT and GSM.

It is clear that the Finnish public enterprises are involved in the track through a portfolio of innovations also diversified. Thus found themselves ready to absorb the latest developments from abroad. They were able to collect and feed these new features to make original developments without undergoing immediate marketing requirements. Innovations need time and money. In a world where change is more rapid, the "finlandicité" of innovations is reflected in terms of patience and tolerance. Innovative Finnish companies were open to the outside, but relatively closed inside.

Of course, some of the innovations in Finland probably also well could be carried out in other countries. If they are perceived at this point as a particular feature of the Finland, they must, however, the degree of expertise in the sectors concerned, to the level of education of the population, in mind innovative companies and the support they received from the State