Finland - Jyvaskyla Region - Final Self-Evaluation Report.pdf

Box 4.3 Wellness technology as an integral part of regional developmentDevelopment of wellness technology is firmly integrated in the network city model of Jyväskylä and intothe goals of the Regional Centre Programme. It is also included in the joint regional strategy of theUniversity of Jyväskylä and Jyväskylä Polytechnic as a key field of development. One of the milestonesof the development process has been the launch of wellness engineering education in the JyväskyläPolytechnic in 1997. Over the period of the past four years or so the development of this field has beenvery intensive. The education and research activities in the Jyväskylä region are extensive and versatile,comprising expertise in the fields of sport, health and human sciences and ICT. Developing wellnesstechnologies in the Jyväskylä region is focused, in particular, on horizontal and commercial exploitationof the expertise gained.Viveca, developed and managed by JSP Facilities, is a wellness technology centre (established in 2003)designed to gather the experts and companies together and to support the development of the cluster ofexpertise in the field. At the same time the development project called the Wellness Dream Lab (WDL)was launched. The main objective of the project is to foster the creation of new profitable businessactivity in the field of wellness technology and associated services by utilizing the international level ofexpertise. The heart of WDL is a product development clinic. WDL integrates research, education,development organizations and product development of enterprises with international business. Studentsand research staff of both the Jyväskylä Polytechnic and University of Jyväskylä are connected to thedevelopment projects of enterprises through WDL. WDL is located in Viveca and managed by theJyväskylä Polytechnic. The project is funded by regional development organizations and customerenterprises. WDL’s operation has been successful and it has already created operational models forproductization that could be utilized more widely. Further development of the project is planned for theperiod following this first one ending in 2006.Combining the expertise of both HEIs in human sciences with their expertise in the fields of technology,ICT and applied sciences (biologic and nanosciences) is highlighted in the development of know-how inthe field of wellbeing (horizontal innovations). On the other hand, creating new knowledge-orientedbusiness activity and encouraging students and researchers of the HEIs into entrepreneurship areimportant goals directing the operations. The development of the wellness sector also promotes thecreation of public sector innovations. The project supports goals set for sustainable development at bothnational and EU-level and conforms with the policies of the Lisbon strategy on commercializinginnovations.The regional development strategy of the Ministry of Education for Finland stresses the mutuallycomplementary knowledge of the universities and polytechnics, which should be developed with anemphasis on the strengths of the regions. In order to meet the needs of the regions the higher educationinstitutions have to pay special attention to developing their regional responsiveness through intensifiedcooperation with local businesses and industries and by facilitating transfer of expertise to working life.According to this strategy, an emphasis on regional development operations and innovation activities hasbeen strengthened by the University of Jyväskylä and Jyväskylä Polytechnic, and the cooperation anddivision of work has been clarified on the basis of their joint regional strategy, which was updated in autumn2005. The main emphasis of the updated regional strategies defined by the Ministry of Education is todevelop cooperation between HEIs and their interaction with society on the basis of a clear division of work.This requires that both institutions are capable of identifying their strengths, renewing their action culturesand increasing their confidence in each other and in regional actors. More intensive and systematiccooperation between HEIs allows more effective use and allocation of resources and improved opportunitiesfor participating in regional networks as a supplier of skilled workers and R&D know-how.R&D activities and transfer of knowledgeThe research activities of the University of Jyväskylä are one of the main sources of innovations in the hightechnology innovation processes which are largely based on the basic and demanding applied research. Inturn, the Jyväskylä Polytechnic is an important actor in the innovation processes which aim at continuous51