10:00–17:00 Expo Area open

Expo area tables include: Oulu ES, Itä-Lapin kuntayhtymä, SUB - biking project, 4H - Youth entrepreneurship project, Save Salla project, etc.

11:00–12:00 Arrival, Registration & Lunch

Soup lunch at own expense (11,50€) at the venue Salla Wilderness Park

13:00–14:45 Hehku 2026 Opening Session

Opening Ceremony — Welcome from Municipality of Salla & OuluES

Keynote speeches:

Juhani Honkala, IkonAI, Founder & CEO

Ida-Maria Tyyskä & Timo Vanhapiha, Knitgrammer (Salla)

Satu Laiho, Tourism Manager, Salla Municipality

Aki Kangasharju, ETLA - Elinkeinoelämän tutkimuslaitos, CEO

Zachary Burda, Entrepreneur & Salla High School alumni

Emmi Keskisarja, Founder & Architect, Emmi Ventures

14:45–15:15 Coffee Break & Visiting Expo Area

Complimentary coffee offered by Hehku 2026

15:15–16:15 Separate Workshop Sessions

1. Pitching fundamentals, Design thinking & Startup idea development at the auditorium

2. SUB project: Bicycle business 2.0 - AI as a tool at meeting room

3. 4H - Youth entrepreneurship project at lunch room

16:20–17:20 Panel Discussions

1. Future Entrepreneurship in the Arctic (30 min)

   Peter Vesterbacka, Emmi Keskisarja, Aki Kangasharju ja Dinara Uralboeva

2. Entrepreneurship in Salla (30 min)
   Ida-Maria Tyyskä, Timo Vanhapiha, Timo Tuuha, Leena Lundell and Satu Laiho

17:45–18:45 Welcome Dinner & Evening Networking

Dinner at own expense at the venue Salla Wilderness Park

19:15–late Hackathon Kickoff

Challenge reveal, team formation, rules briefing

Hackathon Work Begins

Teams start developing solutions

(For participants not on-site on Thursday remote connection is organized)

20:30 Venue Closes (Hackathon work continues in accommodations)

08:00–09:00 HACKATHON — Final sprint

Teams polish solutions & prepare presentations

8:30–16:00 Expo Area open

Expo area tables include: Oulu ES, Itä-Lapin kuntayhtymä, SUB - biking project, 4H - Youth entrepreneurship project, Save Salla project, etc.

8:30-9:00 Welcome Coffee & Visiting Expo Area

Complimentary coffee offered by Hehku 2026

09:00–09:30 Start-up entrepreneurship keynote speeches:

Peter Vesterbacka, Entrepreneur and Start-up guru

Juhani Honkala, IkonAI, Founder & CEO

9:30–11:30 PITCHING COMPETITION

Opening & welcome

Introduction of judges

Pitches (3–5 min pitch + 3 min Q&A each)

11:30–12:00 Wellbeing and activity program

Glow and Success Come from Well-being – Three Pillars of Performance by Virkisteri.fi

12:00-13:00 Lunch & Visiting Expo Area

Soup lunch at own expense (11,50€) at the venue Salla Wilderness Park

13:00–13:15 Startup winner announcement

13:15–16:00 HACKATHON COMPETITION FINALE

Teams present solutions to jury (5–7 min each) 

Hackathon winner announcement

Coffee

Amani Habib Alam, +358 45 3216778, amani@oulues.com

Ferenc Molnár, +358 40 1890684, ferenc@oulues.com

ID card / passport

Warm winter clothing (Lapland conditions)

Indoor clothes for event sessions

Laptop

Swimwear (sauna/spa)

Personal items (charger, toiletries, etc.)

As Salla is quite difficult to reach, we provide the following aid for traveling:

Bus:

The bus has been fully booked! Please make sure that you have registered for the bus travel.

For possible canceled reopened tickets, please contact us at amani@oulues.com

Bus schedule:

‍ ‍ Arrival:
Thursday 9th of April
‍ ‍04:30 University of Oulu, Main doors (2T)‍
‍ ‍05:00‍ ‍ Oulu bus station

‍ Return:
‍ Friday 10th of April
‍ ‍ Arrival in Oulu at around 21:30

Train:

If arriving by train, take the train to Kemijärvi. Please contact us at amani@oulues.com (Wed 8th April at latest) and we will organise a car ride for you.

Emergency number: 112

The address of the venue:

Salla Wilderness Park, Poropuistontie 4A, Hautajärventie 111, 98900 Salla

If you need first aid or any other kind of medical assistance, please contact Ferenc Molnár, +358 40 1890684