The Research and Innovation Council (TIN) operating under the Finnish Government has outlined the policies of research, development and innovation. Universities of applied sciences are known for their agility and are already implementing the RDI policies. 

The aim of the national choices is to promote sustainable growth, the renewal of the economy and society, and comprehensive security.   According to the Prime Minister’s Office, similar choices that steer RDI activities have been made in leading innovator countries and in reference countries important for Finland. 

Finland’s strategic choices are: 

  1. data and data-based value creation  
  2. disruptive technologies  
  3. health and wellbeing  
  4. climate, environment and the Arctic dimension   
  5. security, resilience and defence.  

According to Anne-Mari Järvelin, Research Manager at Lapland University of Applied Sciences, the policies play an important role in steering the operations of development organisations.

– Different actors in the RDI field, higher education institutions, companies and funders, are committed to promoting the strategic choices in practice. This means that national RDI funding and measures will increasingly be allocated to these themes.

The Research and Innovation Council not only comments the direction but also the operating culture: the aim is to increase risk-taking capacity in RDI and to attract international RDI investments to Finland.  

In Lapland, RDI choices are linked to expertise in northern conditions

The choices published this January confirm that Lapland University of Applied Sciences has made proactive choices. The national strategy also strengthens and redirects development in Lapland. Companies operating in the region will eventually benefit from the allocation of resources at the national level.

The university of applied sciences leads several development projects that implement the five areas of the national strategy. The example projects listed below involve dozens of companies and other organisations operating in Lapland. 

1. Data and data-based value creation

The importance of data and data sharing for RDI and the competitiveness, exports and growth of companies has increased. Society and the economy are approaching a data-driven, real-time and heavily AI-automated era. Finland has extensive public and private data resources and great opportunities to promote their use. Growth potential and opportunities for increasing productivity are significant. Examples of ongoing projects in Lapland University of Applied Sciences:

  • The data space for tourism is built with European partners (Deploytour).
  • The digital health data competence of current and future health care professionals is developed in cooperation with eleven other European higher education institutions (Susa – Sustainable Healthcare with Digital Health Data Competence).
  • Companies are provided with clear guidelines and practical tools for developing information system capabilities and using data-based business in strategic decision-making (Lapin DataTie, in Finnish).
  • Lapin tekoälykiihdyttämö (Lapland AI accelerator, in Finnish) introduces the potential of artificial intelligence to small and medium-sized companies in Lapland as part of everyday work, digital marketing and improving the customer experience and processes.

2. Disruptive technologies

Disruptive technologies are emerging or completely new technologies that spark radical changes in society and the economy. Finland’s strengths – such as cybersecurity, space technologies, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, semiconductors (including chips), biotechnologies and gene technologies – lay the foundation for international growth.

Examples of ongoing projects in Lapland University of Applied Sciences:

  • Sustainable business models are developed together with European partners (Business Model Innovation with Artificial Intelligence for Urgent Green Agenda – Educate to Innovate).
  • The competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in creative technologies is enhanced through AI expertise development and introducing AI solutions into practice. (Createch North: AI Leap)
  • Robocoast EDIH helps companies make use of new digital solutions by providing access to the excellence and RDI environments of 15 Finnish higher education institutions.
  • ROADVIEW develops solutions for automation in extreme weather using sensor technologies, simulations and machine learning models.
  • An international joint undertaking of 52 companies promotes the technological growth of agriculture in artificial intelligence, automation, data transfer and analytical tasks (Agrarsense).

3. Health and wellbeing

RDI activities can promote health and wellbeing, support the business and growth opportunities of companies in the sector and curb the increase in public service costs. The health and wellbeing sector is growing rapidly, creating global export and growth opportunities for companies. Finland can become a global pioneer in, for example, the social and commercial exploitation of AI-based solutions and solutions related to disease prevention, genomic data, combined health data, environmental health and health technology.

Examples of ongoing projects in Lapland University of Applied Sciences:

  • The Ennakoi project (in Finnish) has produced technological solutions for collecting foresight and for supporting older people living at home.
  • Training materials are created to support the digital skills of social and healthcare professionals in remote areas in Europe (RemoTED).
  • The testbed testing environment for health and wellbeing technology for actors in Northern Finland (Lapland Testbed).
  • Digital twins of MRI imaging environments based on virtual reality are developed in a joint European project (DTRIP4H).

4. Climate, environment and the Arctic dimension

Climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution drive Finland to reinvent itself, but at the same time, they offer a competitive and growth opportunity stemming from RDI activities. The opportunities for renewal and growth are linked to the dismantling of the fossil economy, the energy transition, the clean and digital transition, climate and nature solutions, the circular economy, the development of new material solutions as well as sustainable bioeconomy, food production and food system. The rapid changes in Arctic conditions and the geopolitical situation emphasise the importance of the topic.

Examples of ongoing projects in Lapland University of Applied Sciences:

  • The Lappivisio – Lapin matkailun kestävä tulevaisuus (The sustainable future of tourism in Lapland, in Finnish) project examines tourism in the operating environment of Lapland also in the long term, seeks new operating models and solutions to ensure a sustainable future and to support companies.
  • The Arctic, industrial circular economy in Lapland is developed by investing especially in steel construction and the usability of materials (ARTEKI, in Finnish).
  • Developing process solutions for products of higher added value that increase the utilisation potential of the byproducts of wood-based biorefining, such as bark, sawdust, branches and needles (MEBIP, in Finnish).
  • Security, resilience and defence 

5. Security, resilience and defence 

The quicker and quicker changes in the global operating and security environment and the accumulation of risks require improving the resilience of society and business by means of RDI. At the same time, defence expenditure is growing globally, the sector invests more and more in product development, and the RDI cycles are shorter.

Examples of ongoing projects in Lapland University of Applied Sciences:

Other Finnish universities of applied sciences also carry out RDI implementing the national strategy, create new ideas and provide higher education based on RDI. The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences (Arene) has published many examples of research projects in Finland’s strategic spearhead sectors carried out by universities of applied sciences on its TKI.fi website (link in Finnish).

Related information:

Finnish Covernment: National strategic choices for research, development and innovation policy and activities.