Esko Aho, former prime Minister of Finland and President of the Finnish national fund for research and development (Sitra), will be the keynote speaker at a major event this month.
The summit is designed to stimulate an innovative discussion on the economic future of Aberdeen city region, which is taking place at Robert Gordon University (RGU) on Wednesday, November 25, 2015.
Mr Aho, who will speak at the pre-summit dinner on November 24, will outline his views that today’s public problems and opportunities increasingly require collaboration between business and government.
Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, Principal of RGU said: “The aim of this summit is to create an opportunity for stakeholders to provide direction for Aberdeen’s economic future. Mr Aho brings a unique perspective on how different institutions can work together more effectively to create both social and economic opportunities. We believe his involvement will provide important insight and direction into the steps we need to take to ensure the future prosperity of Aberdeen city and region”.
The event, “Aberdeen, Scotland - the Next Chapter”, sponsored by RSM, RBS and ACSEF, is part of RGU’s commitment to the city-region and aims to support the Aberdeen City Region Deal by engaging local, national and international leaders to come together to help shape a new economic direction for the Aberdeen city region.
Supported by strategic partner RSM, the university has been engaging with stakeholders from around the region and beyond. In addition to Mr Aho the programme will include interactive discussion and presentations from a specially selected team of local, national and international experts and contributors who can provide valuable perspectives to these important discussions. These include Bob Geolas, President and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, and Sir Ian Wood, Chairman of JW Holdings Ltd.