The Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association (PI) will once again celebrate all scholarship and recognition award recipients at Pörssitalo in Helsinki on 29 September. This year, PI will award a record amount of more than EUR 220,000 in scholarships to over 50 students and young researchers.
The format of the afternoon seminar held in connection with the scholarship gala is being further developed as a stronger meeting place for our domestic university and research community in the forest industry in close collaboration with our universities. In 1996, PI established the Johan Gullichsen Colloquium in honour of its late honorary member, Professor Johan Gullichsen, on the occasion of his 60th birthday. This year, as 90 years have passed since the birth of the esteemed professor, PI is relaunching this technical and scientific forum, one of whose key missions from the very beginning has been to encourage and highlight young engineers and researchers.
The programme for the XII Johan Gullichsen Colloquium and PI Scholarship Gala will be published, and registration will open, in August on PI’s website.
The registration for members of PI will open on August 26 at 12:00 PM here. Note! Invited guests have received their invitation link via email!
Preliminary programme
12.00 Arrival, registration & lunch
13.00 Opening and welcome words
Antti Lindqvist, CEO, Finnish Forest Products Engineers’ Association
13.10 Keynote: The Next Chapter of Fiber-Based Innovation: From Science to Sustainable Growth
Wouter Gabrielse, VP, Group Innovation, Ahlstro
13.35 Session 1: MAN-MADE FIBRES
- BioProTex as an enabling platform for transforming forest-based fibers into high value functional textiles, Esubalew Kasaw Gebeyehu, Aalto University
- Turning renewable forest resources into tomorrow’s textiles, Yidong Zhang, Åbo Akademi
- Ionic liquid-induced fiber liberation of wood, Fjor Morante, Helsinki University
14.15 Research & industry interaction, commentators:
- Monika Kokko, Laboratory Technician, Spinnova
- Heli Kangas, Development Manager, Valmet
14.30 Session 2: SUSTAINABLE BIO-BASED PACKAGING
- Sustainability and technical feasibility of smart tags as data carriers for intelligent packaging and digital product passports, Liisa Hakola, Aalto University (online)
- Nanocellulose-Based Hybrid Aerogels for Thermal Management in Cold-Chain Packaging, Sreenadh Thaikkattu Sankaran, University of Oulu
- Seal Integrity and Durability of Fiber-Based Flexible Packages in VFFS Applications Under Standard, Refrigerated, and Frozen Storage Conditions, Mahdi Merabtene, LUT University
15.10 Research and industry interaction, commentators:
- Sahar Babaeipour, Application Specialist, Boreal Bioproducts
15.25 Coffee break
16.00 Video greeting from PI student scholarship 2026 recipients
16.05 Pitch presentations by the Marcus Wallenberg Prize 2026 Event Young Researchers’ Challenge candidates
16.45 Closing remarks
Juhani Lehtonen, CEO and Founder, Glocell Oy
17.00 Closing the event
Bubbles, snacks and music at Linnanpiha Courtyard
17.30 PI Scholarship Gala at Linnanpiha Courtyard
17.50 Networking
~19.00 Closing