National Food RDI Forum 2026
We are pleased to invite you to the National Food RDI Forum that will take place on October 28th, 2026 at the Visitor and Innovation Centre Joki in Turku!
This event will bring together food professionals, researchers, and stakeholders from all over Finland to discuss the development, research, and innovation within the food sector. The forum aims to strengthen collaboration between actors in the food sector and to promote the development of a sustainable and innovative food system in Finland. Talks and presentations will be in English.
National Food RDI Forum 2026 Program
9:30-10:00 Welcome and coffee
10.00-11.00 Opening and introduction to regional RDI clusters and programs: From Regional Strength to National Strategy
10:00-10:10 Opening of the Forum
10:10-10:20 Multidisciplinary food research at the University of Turku and Southwestern Finland
10:20-10:30 Vision for Southwest Finland Food Chain 2035
10:30-11:00 Greetings from the regional food sectors actors
11:00-12:00 Future-Ready Food System: Towards becoming a leading developer and reformer of sustainable food systems by 2040
11:00-11:20 Future food systems and changes in consumer behavior
11:20-11:40 Resilience of the Finnish food system
11:40-11:50 Diversity of food recourses: focus on pulses
11:50-12:00 Technology driven solutions: focus on indoor farming
12:00-13:00 Lunch
13.00-15.00 The National Food Strategy and the Future of Food Culture – Students Ask, the Research Community Responds
13:00-13:30 Keynote: The National Food Strategy
13:30-13:45 Introduction to Reverse Pitching and Co-creation
13:45-14:00 Students ask: Reverse pitch
13:00-14:45 Small-group table discussions
14.45-15:00 Senior experts respond