DEFINE is a defence and security network and operating model developed by the City of Riihimäki, bringing together the sector’s experts, companies and testing environments in Finland. The network has now expanded nationwide to five cities and two universities of applied sciences with funding from Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund. Oulu is also on board.

DEFINE is important for Oulu because it elevates the city’s 6G and radio technology expertise into part of the national development of defence technology. Oulu’s role strengthens Finland’s position as a leading country in wireless communications. The expansion strengthens innovation in the Finnish defence sector and enables the creation of new products, services and business. The network also supports international connections, especially NATO cooperation, in which the University of Oulu’s 6G Test Centre plays a key role.

For Finland, DEFINE means a new growth platform for the defence and security sector, whose importance is growing rapidly due to the global security situation. The project brings opportunities for investment, exports and jobs to different parts of Finland. The network thus contributes to strengthening the development of critical technologies and economic growth. As a whole, DEFINE is building a new, internationally significant defence innovation ecosystem for Finland.

Each city and organisation now in the network has its own areas of strength. Oulu is set to strengthen radio technology and 6G development. In concrete terms, this is advanced in the DEFINE network by the NATO DIANA network’s 6G Test Centre led by the University of Oulu. Together with the ecosystem, the City of Oulu is also vigorously developing the defence and security sector through other projects, cluster development, and cooperation at both the national and international administrative levels. The main goal is to connect Oulu’s high-technology companies to the defence sector market and to increase end users’ defensive capability through their innovative power.

”Our 6G Test Centre and the DEFINE network build a bridge between top-level research and the real needs of the defence sector. Our goal is that solutions developed in Oulu serve the security of both Finland and our allies, while at the same time generating new business and international growth. We operate our own 5G and 6G test network, which, through our partner network, enables challenging and realistic field testing and demonstration environments for future communications technologies”, says Research Director Hannu Nikurautio from the University of Oulu.

The University of Oulu’s 6G Test Centre is part of the test centre network of NATO’s DIANA (Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic) programme. The DIANA programme aims to identify future challenges in the defence sector and to develop innovative technology solutions to them together with companies, research institutes and other actors. At the 6G Test Centre, customers have access to radio frequency measurement equipment that is rare on a world-class scale. The test centre operates its own 5G and 6G test network, which enables versatile and realistic experimentation and demonstration environments for future communications technologies.

”The profile of the Oulu region is nationally unique and highly exceptional even internationally, and now our high-technology expertise has been recognised and discovered admirably from the perspective of dual-use technology. We have developed a good dialogue between integrators and prime companies, and we are now advancing the building of a productised demo path in cooperation. In the end, the outcome, growing revenue, determines the impact of our work”, says Jussi Leponiemi, Account Manager for ICT and defence at BusinessOulu.

The City of Riihimäki is the main implementer of the network’s national expansion. They also coordinate the network’s international activities and cooperation with NATO.

“Through cooperation covering all of Finland, we are building Define into a unique actor from Finland that responds to the needs of the Finnish Defence Forces, NATO and the EU,” comments Jouni Eho, Mayor of Riihimäki.

”In Riihimäki, a testing and validation environment focused on data and artificial intelligence is being developed for growth companies, to which Oulu’s expertise brings an important addition, and cooperation has already taken place”, says Teemu Seppälä, Technology and Innovation Director of the City of Riihimäki, who leads the DEFINE network.