Aalto University

• VTT is setting up a DIANA accelerator in Otaniemi, Espoo, in collaboration with Aalto University and the University of Helsinki.
• The test centres will be established at the University of Oulu and VTT's Otaniemi site.
• The technology themes of the accelerator and test centres are related to next-generation communication systems, 6G technology, cybersecurity, quantum and space technologies.
• "VTT is honoured to be part of the DIANA network and its accelerator and test centre activities.

• The forest industry, technology companies, research organizations, and universities have joined forces to revolutionize the traditional pulping processes under the joint leadership of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden .
• "Due to the limited nature of forest resources, the growth opportunities for the industry are constrained.
• The key to achieving this lies in fostering innovation and coming together as an industry and as a research ecosystem.
• This transformation is not just about meeting industry standards; it's about setting new benchmarks for environmental responsibility and operational excellence.

• Zapata Computing, Inc. (“Zapata AI” or the “Company”), the Industrial Generative AI software company developing solutions and applications to solve enterprises’ hardest problems, today announced that the company, along with several academic and technology partners, has been selected as an awardee for the second phase of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking program.
• The multi-year, multi-million-dollar award will help the quantum computing community identify the resources required to deliver quantum applications with high utility for industrial problems.
• The Phase II award builds on the Phase I award granted to the same group of collaborators in 2022.
• “This latest DARPA award will help us to better quantify the impact of our quantum hardware across industries and business practices, and assess and improve the timeline to practical commercial advantage.” In addition to the efforts with DARPA, Zapata AI and IonQ also recently announced a new strategic alliance to benchmark Industrial Generative AI techniques on quantum hardware.

• Big corporations such as North Face, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Target and Kohl’s have all recently ran inclusive ad campaigns featuring Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) people.
• This makes sense from a business perspective, with “pink money” weighing 3.5 trillion euros globally and around 874 billion euros in the EU.
• And I can testify that diverse corporate boards are a long shot from becoming reality.
• This comes as a particular surprise given the European Commission’s recent pledges to boost opportunities for the community.

The case for diversity

• And yet, the case for board diversity is stark.
• What’s more, a truly diverse board could boost companies’ ratings in environmental, social and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
• For example, this could mean advocating for queer rights in some of the near 70 countries that continue to criminalize same-sex relationships.

Step forward

• For DEI initiatives to reach a successful outcome, there must first and foremost be reliable demographic data.
• Due to historic discrimination against LGBTQI+ people, there has long been a justifiable reluctance to self-identify.
• The findings showed that when companies are not inclusive, LGBTQI+ employees are willing to leave for those that are.
• The organization encourages out LGBTQI+ corporate directors to self-identify, be counted, and mentor qualified candidates for board seats.

Leveraging gender policies to appoint more LGBTQ+ women at the top

• After the share of CEOs in the Fortune 500 dropped by 25% in 2018, a host of European countries, including Norway, Germany, Finland, France and Spain, introduced gender quotas in 2022.
• As companies look to comply with this law, there is an opportunity to appoint women who identify as LGBTQI+.