Savilahti is the result of a shared vision and an economic engine powered by synergy
24.09.2026 •
Business cooperation
Ecosystem work
The Savilahti district in Kuopio is a learning, innovation and working hub for 35,000 people, where the city works with educational institutions and businesses to launch new kinds of cooperation.
Located on the shores of Lake Kallavesi, Savilahti is the fastest-growing competence cluster in Eastern Finland, offering a place for 20,000 students to study on a campus with three levels of education and jobs for more than 16,000 people. The area is already home to nearly 300 businesses.
In addition, resource-wise and low-carbon homes for 7,000–8,000 people will be built near the shore in Savilahti and in the area of a former Defence Forces depot.
From the very beginning, the city and businesses saw the potential to expand the Savilahti campus area into a city district that combines work, studies and residential use. The original idea grew from a science park into a campus, business and residential area.
“The area already had a university, one of the best hospitals in Europe, research and a cluster of premises used by the authorities. The Finnish Defence Forces sold the decommissioned arms depot area to the city, which opened up opportunities for complementary construction,” says Project Director Antti Niskanen.
The Kuopio way: Shared use creates vitality
In Savilahti, different activities complement each other by making use of each other’s competence. Encounters happen organically in multipurpose spaces.
“The urban structure in Savilahti is genuinely and synergistically mixed. For example, educational facilities have been placed among business facilities, and student housing has been built in the immediate vicinity of the university.”
“Encounters build partnerships and networks in which new competence can grow. Although the process is only just beginning, we have already noticed new development trends and connections between different actors,” says Project Director Antti Niskanen.
The rock cave spaces vacated by the Finnish Defence Forces inspired the idea of a sports and events centre that would provide a versatile sports facility for the area’s educational institutions and residents and a unique venue for events. In the event of a crisis, the Sports and Events Centre Luola can serve as a civil defence shelter for nearly 7,000 people.
“Luola can also be used for various testing and research activities in civil defence exercises and in health and well-being themes.”
The idea of shared use and the smooth linking of different modes of transport are reflected as dramatic increases in the use of public transport, walking and cycling. New initiatives in the area include trialling an autonomous bus, streamlining traffic with a new ramp and bus lanes, and the creation of shared parking facilities and a city bike system.
The City of Kuopio and its stakeholders have been working together to develop Savilahti for 10 years.
From the very beginning, the parties have been committed to common goals that laid the foundation for co-development by all. According to Niskanen, each party plays an important role.
The project is worth billions, with the city paying for 10% of it. Kuopio provides the basics in Savilahti in terms of land use and infrastructure and promotes cooperation between the various actors in the area.
“The increase in the number of students, jobs, businesses and residents shows that Savilahti is attractive. Over the past 10 years, this has brought in more than EUR 1 billion in investments from various actors.”
Competence in Savilahti is wide-ranging – from the circular economy to medicine and comprehensive security
Savilahti is home to competence particularly in the circular economy and life cycle thinking, healthcare services, the water sector and security, which contribute to the development of society’s infrastructure and security of supply and, consequently, comprehensive security.
The University of Eastern Finland is located in Savilahti. It is the largest provider of university education in Finland in the field of medicine as well as other fields related to health and well-being.
“The research conducted at the university and the synergy benefits of the area led to construction of the international FinVector pharmaceutical factory. Future employees for the factory are trained at the Savilahti campus. The future Centre of Excellence for Toxicology will address the shortage of experts in that field,” Niskanen says.
Savo Vocational College, the Kuopio campus of the Savonia University of Applied Sciences and the home base of the Kuopio Health ecosystem are all located in Savilahti.
“New educational programmes are continuously being created, such as Master of Science in Engineering programmes in technology, physics and data engineering. Master’s degree studies in rescue services management will begin soon. Humak University of Applied Sciences will move to Savilahti in 2026. In addition to the businesses, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and Finnish Meteorological Institute also provide jobs and expertise here in Savilahti.”
The Kuopio Water Cluster is an example of cooperation between a university of applied sciences, a university, GTK, THL and Natural Resources Institute Finland. The water cluster supports water technology companies in product development and testing. Measurement and data collection will be built as part of the area’s water management infrastructure.
“The businesses operating in Savilahti that were set up based on research conducted at the university produce commercial solutions for analysing highly polluted and metal-containing wastewater and for environmentally friendly treatment,” says Chief Innovation Officer Arto Holopainen from the City of Kuopio.
The ecosystem agreement provides leverage for Savilahti’s development
Savilahti is part of the City of Kuopio’s ecosystem agreement, in which the city and the state have agreed on the allocation of research, development and innovation funding.
For example, Kuopio has used funding from the ecosystem agreement to develop the Centre of Excellence for Comprehensive Security, which will share security information and accelerate the creation of new innovations in the future.
“The ecosystem agreement has given the Savilahti ecosystem good leverage, the impact of which is already reflected in a portfolio of EU projects that is worth more than EUR 26 million. The Savilahti area serves as a living test platform that generates better services and internationally competitive innovations,” says Arto Holopainen.
Kuopio Innovation Ecosystem Agreement – Business Kuopio
Urban development sites are important places for developing innovation ecosystems. They provide an opportunity to experiment with new solutions, develop business and build a sustainable city. Urban development sites are mentioned in every ecosystem agreement.
In this article series, we have previously presented the following urban development projects: Hiedanranta and Hippos.
