Erik Raita has joined the Photonics Finland team to replace our Head of Projects, Caroline Amiot-Wurzinger, during her maternity leave. He will manage our current projects and work on new proposals to expand our project portfolio.
With a Ph.D. in Photonics from the University of Joensuu and 25 years of business and entrepreneurial experience in various tech domains such as lasers, ICT, energy, robotics, and health tech, Raita brings strong knowledge of the Finnish photonics ecosystem and its stakeholders to this task. Raita has a strong background in project management, in both national and EU-funded R&D projects.
Since 2018, Raita has worked as an Innovation Expert for the European Commission, contributing to monitoring of the EU-funded research projects (FET Open, Pathfinder, Transition, etc.) and evaluating EIC Accelerator and Pre-Accelerator funding proposals by the leading European deep tech start-ups. He has worked alongside early-stage technology founders across Europe as an executive operator, helping companies navigate fundraising, strategic partnerships, commercialization, and growth.
“My overall motivation to join Photonics Finland is to contribute to further development of the Finnish photonics cluster as part of the global ecosystem. I also see my mission in developing Photonics Finland’s organization and facilitate its growth. Finally, I’d like to develop new tools and practices to support Photonics Finland member companies and universities in their EU fundraising efforts”, says Raita.
A warm welcome to the Photonics Finland team!