PoDoCo Program Offers a Bridge from Research to Products
LUMENE’s PoDoCo project investigates whether berry waxes can replace oil-based waxes in cosmetics
In the Fall 2022 application round of the Post Docs in Companies program (PoDoCo), 11 cooperation projects of postdocs and companies receive funding.
“The purpose of the PoDoCo program is to develop new business. The contents of the applications show that companies are now developing sustainable and digital solutions, and this requires the high-level expertise of PoDoCo doctors,” says Seppo Tikkanen, leader of the PoDoCo program from DIMECC Ltd.
The PoDoCo program, launched in 2015, has already provided 223 PhDs to companies. As a result of fully implemented PoDoCo projects, 90 percent of grant recipients have been employed by a partner company.
Natural raw material
Dr. Priyanka Trivedi from the University of Oulu and LUMENE cooperate in developing the usage of berry wax as a natural ingredient in cosmetics. Wax is an important ingredient in cosmetics, but currently only 3% of the industrial wax demand comes from natural sources (plant wax and bee wax), while the remaining 97% is derived from fossil-based sources. There is a need to explore natural sources of wax, especially from the clean and pure Nordic forests.
“During my doctoral study in University of Oulu, the potential of wild berry waxes was realized in cosmetics. When I thought about cosmetic industry in Finland, LUMENE was the first name which came to my mind. I contacted LUMENE R&D, and they were very enthusiastic about this project and collaboration with us. I look forward to the establishment of berry waxes in cosmetics with LUMENE. I would like to thank PoDoCo and KAUTE Foundation for providing me an opportunity to collaborate with LUMENE and further work on berry waxes from an industrial perspective,” says Dr. Priyanka Trivedi.
“We are thrilled that the Priyanka PoDoCo grant was accepted. The University of Oulu and LUMENE have a long history of cooperation. With this project, we are engaging in a new and deeper R&D collaboration, where the focus will be on berry waxes as a possible cosmetic ingredient. Waxes are widely used especially in make-up products. In addition to learning and sharing expertise, the collaboration could possibly enable us to replace traditional waxes with a berry wax, a recycled ingredient obtained from Finland. The innovation adds value and allows us to create formulas with waxes that have a much higher natural and sustainable profile. This dramatically reduces the negative impact on our planet, while continuing to provide our customers with high-quality and high-performance products,” says the VP R&D and Sustainability, Dr. Alain Mavon, from LUMENE.
Funded by foundations
The PoDoCo program is funded by the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry, Svenska Kulturfonden, The Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (SLS), Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion, KAUTE Foundation, Foundation for Economic Education, Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation, and The Paulo Foundation, investing a total of approximately 800,000 euros every year, which enables over 20 full-year grants each year.
Regardless of the industry, any company and any person who has recently completed a doctoral thesis or is about to defend it can participate in the program: www.podoco.fi.
PoDoCo spring round is open 1.3.-15.4.2023.
More information:
PoDoCo program leader Seppo Tikkanen, DIMECC Oy, seppo.tikkanen(at)dimecc.com
PoDoCo Grants Fall 2022
| Applicant | Company | Project | Foundation |
| Baddam Vikram | Kiilto Oy | Debonding-on-demand Bio-based adhesives | Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion |
| Islam Md. Khirul | Kaivogen Oy–part of Uniogen | Development and clinical validation of novel non-invasive rapid tests for diagnosis & surveillance of bladder cancer | The Paulo Foundation |
| Sohrab Fahad | Haltian | Brain neural-like analysis of multimodal data via groundbreaking Machine Learning and AI solutions | Foundation for Economic Education |
| Howaili Fadak | BioNavis Ltd | Real-time label-free sensing platforms for characterizing nanoparticle-based gene/drug delivery systems | Svenska kulturfonden |
| Trivedi Priyanka | Lumene Oy | Berry wax as a natural ingredient in cosmetics | KAUTE Foundation |
| Moisala Terhi | Polar Night Energy Oy | Optimizing storage medium and operation logic of a thermal energy storage | Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation |
| Haapala Juho | FCG ltd. | Corporate Water and Environmental Responsibility in resource intensive businesses in Finland – status and ways forward | Maa- ja Vesitekniikan tuki ry |
| Yousefnezhad Narges | Binare Oy | Accurate and scalable firmware analysis platform for industrial IoT cybersecurity | Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation |
| Previtali Federica | Inlisol Oy | Developing an AAL (ambient assisted living) solution to prevent and reduce loneliness and social isolation among older adults. The innovative power of transdisciplinarity and co-creation in a living lab | Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation |
| Aghaei Pour Pouya | Wärtsilä | Data-driven Sustainability in Itinerary Planning for Marine Vessels (DESTINY) | Foundation for Economic Education |
| Mohammadparast Tabas Abdollah | XR Presence Oy | The Experiences in Virtuality and Reality: Mapping Customer Journey Through Lived Experiences of Millennials and Gen Z Customers | Foundation for Economic Education |
