Nuclear Gang Programme culminated in pitching competition – this was the winning idea

Now organised for the third time, the Nuclear Gang Programme focuses on the development of the properties of individuals, offering support for both professional and personal development, at both individual and company level. This time, 29 nuclear professionals took part in the Programme.

The Programme includes a pitching competition in which each team identified a challenge in the operations of the Group and proposed a solution for it. The teams clearly had no shortage of innovativeness as their ideas ranged from optimisation of the timing of reactor core calibration to setting up a data centre. The teams presented and pitched their propositions to the jury in the finale.

In addition to TVO’s own representatives, jury members included also Ilkka Tykkyläinen, the CEO of Pohjolan Voima which is one of TVO’s biggest owners, as well as Kaj Hagros, a venture capital investor who has recently made a name for himself as an advisor of start-ups, in particular.

Feasibility of winning idea to be tested

The winning idea proposed a reform of the Group’s bonus model, or performance reward system which covers the whole personnel.

The jury praised the idea for the fact that it concerns every employee in the Group, enhances the spirit of ownership and strengthens the link between strategy and daily working.

- Clear and meaningful objectives improve work motivation and support the spirit of doing together, the jury said in their justification and confirmed that the winning idea would be analysed more carefully, including looking into possible options to put it into practice.

The members of the winning team, Reija Helenius, Satu Välimäki, Essi Vuori, Saku Näyrä, Joel Niemi, and Mikko Salminen received not only praise for their innovation, but also a monetary reward. According to them, the idea came up in discussions within the team and was then refined through sparring and interviews.

Reija Helenius summarised feelings for the whole team after the winner was declared.

- The level of the competition was high, but out great team spirit and believing in our idea helped us to victory. This is extraordinarily wonderful!

A Mention of Honour was also given in the competition to a proposition for setting up a data centre in Olkiluoto.

The pitching competition was part of the Nuclear Gang Development Programme which was now organised for the third, but certainly not for the last time. You can read more about the Programme under this link.

Text and photos: Ville Kulmala