LUT University (established in 1969) is a Finnish national university of technology and economics, financed by the Ministry of Education. LUT is strongly focusing on sustainable solutions of the future in all of the disciplines covered by the university. LUT Mikkeli is the regional unit responsible for undertaking the project activities. The unit is located in South-Mikkeli region and focuses on clean energy solutions such as bioenergy, renewable energy. In addition to that the unit features a branch of LUT School of Business and Management. Beyond high quality academic research, the special mission of the research group is to support positive economic development in the region through collaborative research and development activity.

The group focuses on the various SME and cooperative entrepreneurial ecosystem contexts. The research themes include but are not limited to business growth, strategy, internationalization, opportunities and business models. The group actively collaborates with the other universities, other LUT research groups and with many international partners.