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LUT University students Abraham Kipnis and Elaheh Aryapour won the Imatra development competition
In the Imatra challenge, the contestants' task was to create an action plan for how Imatra would reach the Imatra 2030 vision described in the assignment. The jury, consisting of decision-makers and experts, rated it the highest Abraham Kipnis ja Elaheh Aryapour the plan. The winners shared a main prize of 3000 euros.
They make proposals related to infrastructure, tourism, community and industry.
Kipnis and Aryapour propose, among other things, improving connections between Finland's largest woodworking school and the city center, cooperation between the cardboard and packaging industry and a new type of food industry in Imatra, surprise prizes for tourists for touring the sights, illustrating the green energy production of a hydropower plant, and many other small and large development ideas.
- The proposal took into account the existing operators and services and thought about something new, with which Imatra could attract international attention as well as the interest of international students and be an interesting city for students to find employment and build a future, LAB's student agent Kaisa Vainikka evaluate the competition work of the winners.
They shared the second place Kati Makkonen ja Onni Kyrkön competitive work and Pauliina Fussin proposal. Both received a prize of 750 euros.
The management recruiter and researcher who acted as the students' supervisor in the competition Saku Tihveräinen says he is amazed and grateful how deeply the 27 proposals examined Imatra's challenges and proposed solutions.
- In the students' proposals, cooperation with students, the construction and development of a startup hub not only provincially, but also nationally and even internationally into a significant actor were shown repeatedly, Tihveräinen sums up.
The CEO of Santander Finland served on the jury Peter Sjöberg considers the competition works to be thorough.
- Environmental issues related to responsibility also came up in many jobs, he adds.
Member of the jury belonging to the leadership of the UN Finland branch Razi Latif says that the competition was an interesting insight into the challenges of a Finnish city suffering from the loss of emigration. Latif hopes that the one-time Imatra challenge will become a more continuous activity in which all the townspeople can participate after the exceptional conditions have passed.
- It could be some themes such as green building, reducing greenhouse emissions or improving opportunities for entrepreneurs with disabilities, Latif outlines.
Deputy Mayor Kaisa Heino has promised that the awarded competition works will be distributed to the new city councilors and will be available to the citizens.
For more information:
Management recruiter and researcher Saku Tihveräinen, saku
talented.fi (saku[dot]tihverainen[at]talented[dot]fi), tel. 050 50 63 442
Kaisa Heino, deputy head of the kaisa. hayimatra.fi (kaisa[dot]heino[at]imatra[dot]fi), tel. 020 617 2206
Feedback discussion
See the jury, Deputy Mayor Heinon, Chairman of the City Council Anna Helminen and expert Nishan Chelvachandran and the winners' discussion after the competition. The conversation is in English.
Check out the competition's action proposals
Competition entries for the Imatra challenge Some of the works are in English, some in Finnish.
The most promising idea is indoor food production and the combination of cardboard and packaging production from Imatra
The winners of the competition, Abraham Kipnis and Elaheh Aryapour, answered the questions posed by the city of Imatra:
How did it feel to win the Imatra challenge?
Abraham: I have a lot of ideas on how to change the world for the better. It was fun sharing them creatively and collaboratively. I'm glad I got the chance to serve something bigger than myself and was recognized for it.
Elaheh: I am in the master's studies in sustainable development. My passion is a more sustainable relationship between the interaction of nature and human communities. I have good ideas and I find it fascinating to be able to turn my ideas into a practical level. The competition gave me confidence to implement more challenging projects in the future.
What do you consider your most promising idea for Imatra?
Abraham: We are big supporters of low-emission food production chains. That's why we proposed startup facilities for Stora Enso and Tetra Pak as well as offal production. We also proposed that LUT and LAB students join this project.
Elaheh: I agree with Abraham.
What should Imatra do first to achieve this by 2030?
Abraham: The first step is to show that "agritech" can be sustainably profitable. The challenge for students, researchers and industry is to analyze the food and waste infrastructure so that production can be implemented as a circular economy.
Elaheh: In my opinion, making Imatra a smart city while thinking about people's well-being is the first goal. If the locals are happy and healthy and have a good life, they don't want to move. We believe in improving healthcare, increasing job opportunities in industry and creating better leisure conditions.
