This year is an important milestone in our Corporate Member’s, the Finnish Institute’s, history.
“We have now worked in the UK and Ireland for 30 years. To honour our birthday, we have chosen not to reminisce about old achievements, but instead we look ahead with a new strategy, new visual identity and most importantly, a new name, which highlights our operating areas more equally: Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland.”
Read more about the new name, look, and strategy here.
As the year is coming to an end, it is time for me to say goodbye to the chamber. The last five months have gone incredibly fast, and it is time for me to head towards new adventures. Before I leave, I would like to reflect on my time here at the chamber.
My traineeship started in August in London. Despite the restrictions due to Covid-19 I really enjoyed living and working in London. Unfortunately, due to the second lockdown in November, I made the difficult decision to move back to Finland. Even though it was heart breaking to leave London, working fully remotely has taught me a lot, for example, how to adapt to a rapidly changing situation. Additionally, learning how to work in a fully digital environment has been beneficial. It has been great to see how the chamber has been able to adapt to this continuously changing environment.
One of my biggest goals regarding this traineeship was to build my own international network, hence the highlight of my traineeship has been meeting our members in our webinars and video calls. It has been wonderful to learn more about them and how they navigate the UK markets.
Finally, I’d like to express my warmest thanks to our team and everyone at the chamber for this experience. I hope to see you all soon, but in the meanwhile let’s stay connected through LinkedIn!
Wishing you a healthy and happy new year 2021!
Dear Members and Friends of the Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce,
2020 has certainly been a year of exceptional circumstances for the Chamber and its Members. Covid-19 has forced us to rethink, and in many cases change our ways of work and life. The original business plan for 2020 hasn’t been opened since March, interaction with colleagues and clients takes now place on the computer screen, and working from home has become the new norm. Everyone has had to adapt very quickly, including the Chamber.
Despite the Covid-19 restrictions, the Chamber has remained very active in assisting and supporting its members. Understandably there have been very few live events, but all the more so webinars. These webinars have covered topical subjects such as Brexit, Cyber Security, and the Furlough Scheme to name a few. The Chamber has also paid special attention to providing webinars covering various aspects of Wellbeing, Remote Teamwork, and Leadership. Overall, the participation in these seminars has been very active and within the FBCC social media channels, the following has seen a significant increase. The Chamber’s network today extends to more than 1300 business contacts with a very stable membership base.
The cooperation with the Chamber’s Partners, including the Finnish Embassy, has remained strong. As a member of Team Finland, the Chamber has been provided with an excellent platform to contribute towards the common Finnish-British good. In addition, the cooperation with the other Nordic Chambers of Commerce has worked very well and is likely to increase in the future. The Chamber’s financial basis remains solid and working with a capable team headed by General Manager Jade Juvonen, supported by an active Board, we are in good shape to enter 2021.
The year 2020 has been challenging and many of us have had to make difficult decisions. Despite these realities/challenges, there is still some room for cautious optimism. The United Kingdom, particularly the London – Cambridge axel, continues to be one of the world’s fastest growing ICT, Science & Research hubs which offer great opportunities for Finnish companies operating in this sector. Finland is also well known for its skills and expertise in areas including Green Energy, Wellbeing, Sustainability, Digitalisation, and Education which all are included in one way or another in the UK Government’s sizeable Covid-recovery funding plans. At the time of writing, we still don’t know the final outcome of the Brexit negotiations, however, and perhaps most importantly, the UK has just started its Covid-19 vaccinations program which is the eagerly awaited change for the better.
I trust this period of various restrictions and quarantines has made us all realise how important meeting other people actually is. FBCC’s slogan “Intelligent Networking” refers not only to the information and facts the Chamber provides but also to its very important continuous role as a social interaction platform for its Members and Friends.
I look forward to seeing you at FBCC’s events.
Chairman
Juha-Matti Lampola
The year 2020 is soon coming to an end, therefore it is time for the last FBCC newsletter of the year. While getting ready for the holidays, don’t forget to sign up for our upcoming webinars, such as ProjectTransformations Art Workshop organised together with FBCC Corporate Member Tuuli Bell Ltd, and the annual Economic Update 2021 with Nordea.
Team FBCC would like to express our warmest thanks to all of our members and friends for your support in the past year, and we look forward to seeing you again in 2021!
To read the full December 2020 newsletter click here!
If someone asked you to explain what artificial intelligence, AI, stands for, what would you say? What about machine learning and deep learning? As AI continues to grow in popularity, it’s good to know some of the key terms used in the AI space.
FBCC Patron Member Goodwille posted an article on their website where they answer 5 questions about artificial intelligence together with FBCC Corporate Member Marks & Clerk.
To read the full article click here.
This interview is part of the FBCC Member Series, where we introduce our member companies to the network. This time we interviewed Emilie Gardberg, the Director at our Corporate Member, the Finnish Institute in London.
The Finnish Institute is an expert in Finnish culture and society and there are 17 institutes in the institute network around the world. Their mission is to facilitate exchange between Finnish, British and Irish artists and researchers.
The organisational structure of the Finnish Institute is flat and the goal is to operate the Institute the same way it would be operated in Finland. Compared to Finland, the UK work culture is slightly more hierarchical with a greater emphasis on titles and formality. “We have a very flat hierarchy and a very open working culture starting from how we structure ourselves in the office. Our office is an open office, and we have easy access to everyone. We also highlight things such as diversity and inclusiveness. We try to make our work and our mission accessible to everyone.”
Despite the current pandemic, the Institute is quite busy at the moment. “The Institute is turning 30 next year and we have lots of different programmes and tours planned. Right now, we are trying to figure out if future events can be actual physical events or not.”During the autumn the Finnish Institute has organised a biweekly discussion series called “Present” where they bring professionals together from different fields. “One week we might target festivals, and the next week the emphasis might be on theatres or orchestra work. This is a way of keeping our relationships warm during a time where we really cannot see each other.”
Daily life at the Institute has changed since everyone is working from home. “It is a lot of remote working and sometimes it is difficult to have access to everyday things when we are not physically at the office. The good thing is that everyone, all around the world, is in the same situation so it feels like everyone’s closer to some people in a way because of the technology. It is easy to get access to people and have online conversations. Besides, you do not lose time traveling, which is sometimes positive.” Ms Gardberg says it is also nice to see people walking and cycling around. She hopes this is something that will also continue after the pandemic. “I am still longing for the time when it’s possible to be in the office, work together, have shows and exhibitions, and be around other people.”
Gardberg’s number one tip for working from home is to have casual connections with other colleagues, as you would in the office. “I feel like an informal connection is important. In addition to normal meetings, we try to set informal meetings on our agenda. This means having coffee breaks together and talking about other things than work. Because our interns rotate a lot, it is important to maintain a casual atmosphere. Otherwise, it would be very hard to adapt to the working environment.”
For the Finnish Institute, it is very important to engage with companies that are either Finnish or have an interest in Finland. “We work quite a lot with companies that want to support culture or research and have some things that fit together with our work. Being part of the FBCC is all about the network and connections. In addition, I find it nice to have Finnish colleagues here in London.”
At FBCC we’d like to express our warmest congratulations to our Corporate Member Light Cognitive, who has won the Dezeen Award for 2020, in the category of Lighting Design.
Light Cognitive has created a lighting technology that recreates natural light in indoor spaces, using artificial windows and light panels. The studio has designed horizon and sky luminaires that recreate a sense of openness and connection to nature, which are adaptable to any space.
Despite the current situation Light Cognitive has continued to grow and has gained new international clients.
“We are very honoured to get this recognition. Our goal is to bring beautiful light and clear skies within everyone’s reach.” – Marketing Director Anne Salomaa
Read more here.
This interview is part of the FBCC Member Series, where we introduce our member companies to the network. This time we interviewed Olli Oksman, the Managing Director at our Corporate Member Kalliolaw.
Kalliolaw, a firm named after its founding partner Jukka Kallio, is a modern business law firm that helps its clients in changing the business environment. With offices in London, Helsinki, and Turku, the company is well placed to help international businesses with their Finnish business operations and investments in Finland.
“For a law firm, we are pretty down-to-earth and have a flat hierarchy. Lawyers may seem a bit dry but our get-togethers can actually be quite good fun”, says Mr Oksman. “We do weekend getaways together every year. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go abroad this year, so we had to arrange our get-together in Finland. It was a fun trip.”
Kalliolaw just had its 20th anniversary. “We hope to celebrate this with our clients and friends once the situation allows.”
Because of the pandemic, all of the lawyers at Kalliolaw were home-based during the spring and summer. “At the moment it is more hybrid: most our lawyers continue to work from home significant part of their time but as many prefer to work from the office part of the time, we have accommodated this.” Practically all of the meetings and negotiations now take place online as do all of the conferences and industry events. The pandemic has obviously had an impact on clients’ businesses and the kind of things the firm has been doing. “Over the spring and summer, there was not much activity on the M&A front. Since the summer, things have picked up a bit, starting with bridge financing. This has been compensated by increased activity in other fronts, especially HR lawyers have been busy. While obviously some business sectors have been suffering, there are those sectors that have been rather benefiting from the situation, such as gaming companies.”
Mr Oksman’s number one tip for working from home is to stretch regularly.
For Kalliolaw, the biggest benefit of being part of the FBCC network is the great connections made.
We are proud to introduce our new Corporate Member Artic Brands Group!
Arctic Brands Group Ltd (est. 2017) is a small company from Finland. The land of uncountable forests and lakes that make our nature uniquely clean and pure. That’s where we strive for to make the world’s best gin. Our gin – Arctic Blue Gin – is not just any gin. It’s a capture of arctic nature in a bottle. It’s a spirit of the year 2018 and double gold rated in 2018 and 2019.
For more information about our new member visit their website.
The Finnish-British Chamber of Commerce in London is recruiting a Marketing and Content Coordinator Trainee. The position is due to start in January or February 2021 and will last circa 5-6 months, until May or June 2021. If you are looking for a chance to gain valuable experience working in a dynamic environment as part of an energetic team, you may be just the person we are looking for. This position is with flexible working hours and can be done remotely.
For more details on the job description and skills needed please see our job advertisement.
If you have any questions or queries regarding the position, please email us at info@fbcc.co.uk.
