• The awardee, Dr. Kimmo Koski, Managing Director of CSC – IT Center for Science played a key personal role to pursue the LUMI supercomputer and building a European consortium of 11 countries behind, securing national funding, and obtaining European Commission funding through EuroHPC for this groundbreaking computing project. Hosted at CSC´s data center in Finland, LUMI is currently among the most powerful supercomputers globally and serves as a significant infrastructure for European scientific research, development, and innovation.
• One of the key factors for the success of the LUMI initiative is the sustainability of its design. This is exemplified by utilizing the center’s excess heat for the city of Kajaani.
• Inaugurated in 2022, the LUMI supercomputer has drawn a growing number of ICT and other companies to establish their operations in the Renforsin Ranta, a former paper mill site. As a result, the number of people employed in this environment exceeds the workforce levels from the area’s industrial days.
• Nokia Foundation promotes and supports Finnish scientific research and education in the fields of information and communications technology, as well as related fields of science.

Nokia Foundation has granted its 2024 recognition award to Dr. Kimmo Koski, Managing Director of CSC for his pivotal role in enabling the creation of LUMI supercomputer and Kajaani data center ecosystems. Scientific research is becoming increasingly data-driven, and almost all scientific disciplines use computational methods to analyze large datasets. This shift is also evident in private companies’ research, development, and innovation activities. For example, artificial intelligence relies fundamentally on computational power. In this context, high performance computing and data ecosystems play a crucial role. LUMI supercomputer enhances the international reach of Finnish and European science, accelerating both innovation and competitiveness.

Hannu Kauppinen, Chairman of the Board of Nokia Foundation, said: “Dr. Kimmo Koski has over the years worked systematically and made foundational contributions to fostering the Finnish supercomputing environment and expanding its international connections and importance across Europe and beyond. Lately, this has culminated driving a European consortium for LUMI supercomputer in Finland. This has boosted the Finnish data center ecosystem and brought remarkable positive visibility to Finland both in industrial and in academic circles. This has been made evident in the significant increase in foreign investments in the Finnish data center facilities and companies engaged in High Performance Computing. The current boom of AI has further increased the demand for supercomputing, where LUMI already offers a powerful, ready-made solution.“

Dr. Kimmo Koski said: “I am truly honored by this recognition and see it as an acknowledgement of our long-standing work and commitment. Today, we host one the greenest and most advanced data center ecosystems in the world, and we are a preferred partner on a global scale. I am proud of this because of the significant societal impact it generates. Advanced data center ecosystems such as LUMI will be increasingly important when creating tomorrow´s success – not only to make scientific breakthroughs, but also to accelerate innovation. Up to one-fifth of Finland’s quota of LUMI resources has been reserved for businesses.”

Nokia Foundation has awarded over 2000 grants during its 29-year existence. In 2024, the Foundation will grant scholarships and awards totaling approximately 400,000 euros.