A breeze of change has arrived in the Turku Science Park as the majority ownership of SHIFT Business Festival has transferred to Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt. The goal is to make SHIFT Business Festival an even more impactful event that brings together business innovations from Turku and beyond.
The general meeting of SHIFT Events Oy, the organizer of SHIFT Business Festival, made a significant decision in October when Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt Oy became the majority owner of SHIFT Events.
With this change, Carita Varjonen, Community Manager in charge of Joki partners, takes the reins in organizing SHIFT Business Festival and becomes the CEO of SHIFT Events Oy.
– The goal is to make SHIFT Business Festival an even larger event, and Joki is strongly involved in this growth story, recognizing the importance and potential of SHIFT. The common goal is to increase the attractiveness of the Turku Science Park and all of Turku, says Carita Varjonen, CEO of SHIFT and Community Manager of Joki.
Carita Varjonen has worked with SHIFT for several years, and Joki has been an active partner of the event. Varjonen sees a lot of potential in SHIFT, but also a need for change.
– I believe that by anchoring the event in the Science Park area, SHIFT strengthens its role as a developer of the area and a builder of community.
The missing piece brings the Science Park together
SHIFT acts as a concrete connector between the companies already operating in the area, higher education institutions, and the development of the city. Joki partners have a unique opportunity to integrate into the SHIFT program and showcase their own activities. The goal is to bring more activity to the area and increase community, while complementing the area's event portfolio.
– We see SHIFT as the missing piece of the area, which brings the actors of the Science Park area together even more. SHIFT serves as a meeting place for all companies and higher education institutions, where people from different fields get to know each other.
The event brings the area together in a unique way, with the aim of also expanding the event's visitor base and creating a common meeting place for the entire area.
Even more versatile service for partners
Carita Varjonen is still responsible for Joki's development, events, and partnerships. Additional reinforcements for managing Joki's partnerships will be received from the Teknologiakiinteistöt customer team.
– The new contact persons for partners are Teknologiakiinteistöt's Account Managers Annika Pakula, Tinet Santalahti and Saija Kivikankare, who have become familiar with Joki's operating network while working in the daily lives of Teknologiakiinteistöt's customers. It is therefore natural that they include Joki as part of the negotiations and map out the customers' needs for premises and events, Carita says.
Joki's meeting room sales are still handled by Joki's sales service, and a Joki meeting coordinator helps customers with events.