Sami Taponen

Sami Taponen has been in the field of automated medicine dispensing since 2021, when they began working as the Verification and Validation Manager for the Evondos Group. In this role, they are the leader and direct supervisor of the V&V team and is responsible for the Verification and Validation processes, compliant with ISO 13485, IEC 62304, IEC 60601-1 and MDR.

Prior to this, Sami was an Entrepreneur (part-time) at Panssarikolonna from 2016. In 2020, they worked as a Sr R&D Engineer / Project Manager at Photono Oy, where they were the project manager of a medical device project in the field of opthalmology and helped set up a Quality Management System for the company based on ISO 13485 and taking MDR requirements into account.

From 2012-2020, Sami was employed at Thermo Fisher Scientific, where they held the roles of R&D Engineer, V&V System Developer and Testing Engineer. In the role of V&V System Developer, they were responsible for leading development projects focusing on requirement lifecycle management processes and tools, as well as the administration duties of licenses, users and database of an existing software tool. Sami also held leadership roles in feasibility testing of mechanics and instrument qualification subprojects.

Sami also worked at Mendor from 2010-2012, first as a Trainee in 2010 and 2011, where they planned and performed product stability studies and developed accelerated testing protocols. In 2011, they were a Design Engineer / Research Assistant, where they designed and implemented new equipment for stability research purposes and wrote a Master's thesis on temperature stability of Blood Glucose Meter test strips. Sami also tested hardware and embedded software. During their time as a Trainee in 2010, they wrote a Bachelor's thesis on the effects of humidity on Blood Glucose Meter test strip performance.

Sami Taponen completed a BSc in Measurement Technology and Biomedical Engineering from Tampere University of Technology 1965-2018 between 2007 and 2011. Sami then went on to obtain an MSc in Biosensing, Sensor Technology, and Industrial Management from the same university between 2011 and 2014. Sami is currently enrolled in a Lähiesimiestyön ammattitutkinto in Organizational Leadership from SASKY koulutuskuntayhtymä, which is expected to be completed in 2022.