UHE Summit in Helsinki

The biannual UHE Summit took place this year at KiraHub, which is part of the Maria 01 community. The focus of the event was a review of the joint activities of the past year and a discussion about future goals. Representatives of the various hubs exchanged views on successful projects, challenges and goals of Urban Hub Europe.

One of the highlights was the presentation by Mark Bryan, Senior Foresight Manager at the Future Today Institute in the US. What role do innovation hubs play? What influence do they have in the respective national ecosystems and at European level? According to Bryan, the concept of Urban Hub Europe - a network of international hubs that deal with solutions to urban challenges - is unique and has no comparable counterpart in the US.


In addition to the strategic discussions, the summit also offered the opportunity to get to know local projects. For example, the UHE delegation visited the Wood District and the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries to gain insights into the Finnish construction industry. At the City Reception in the City Hall, the participants were able to talk to partners of the World Digital Built Environment Conference and make new contacts with representatives of the City of Helsinki.


Urban Hub Europe in Malaga

From Vision to Reality: Building Urban Hub Europe’s Future Together

By Inger Hanne Vikshåland • October 16, 2025
Urban Hub Europe (UHE) has taken a decisive step forward from a shared vision to a shared plan of action. At our biennial Partnership Summit in Málaga, Spain, we focused on communication strategy, future EU projects, and funding opportunities. What began in 2023 as a cooperation between Bloxhub (Denmark), Nordic Edge (Norway), KIRAhub (Finland), Munich Urban Colab (Germany), ConTech (Denmark), Estonian Digital Construction Cluster (Estonia), and Smart City Cluster (Spain) is now moving ahead with a common platform and a clear direction. For cities, urban planners, and organisations working toward sustainable urban development, this growing partnership offers something powerful: access to an interconnected European network where expertise and resources are shared to accelerate the transition towards green cities.