2010 - ERCIS

University of Turku –
Turku School of Economics –
Department Information Systems Science
58
About the Institution
Turku School of Economics (TSE) is one
of the largest institutes in Finland for
education in economic science. TSE is
part of the University of Turku. The Turku
School of Economics is one of the largest
institutes in Finland for education in economic
science. From 1.1.2010 it has been
an independent unit within the University
of Turku. The Institute for Information
Systems Science was established in
the late 1970s. Now it has grown to have
budgeted-for positions for 3 professors
and a total staff of about 15. Some 25
people are on the payroll. Around 20 active
doctoral level students are on the
books. Yearly, some 25 Finnish students
select Information Systems as their main
topic from the intake to the whole Turku
School of Economics, 250 in total, and
University of Turku. In addition there are
yearly some 20 master level students in
the three international master programs
of the Institute: Global Information Systems
Management, International Master
in Management of Information Technology,
and Work Informatics Information
systems is a popular minor topic for students
in many areas of economics and
computer science.
The Institute carries a main responsibility
within Turku Center for Computer Science
(TUCS) for studies within IS. TUCS
is a joint unit between the University of
Turku, the Turku-based Swedish-speaking
Åbo Akademi University, and Turku
Polytechnics. All advance level courses
within TUCS are taught in English.
Research Topics
Information systems science is a field
of science that studies
utilization of information
and communication
technology (ICT) in
enterprises and other
organizations. We have
the following gravity
points in research: Strategic
planning of information
management,
Network economics,
Health care information
systems, Decision and learning support
systems, Management of IT and Work Informatics.
The most usual research method is
action research, in which the researchers
participate in the development of
information systems of one or more enterprise
or organization. The Institute is
especially strong in research with public
sector organizations.
Current Research
The research focusing on e-government,
especially health care and wellbeing
information systems began in
1997 with a project in cooperation with
the University of Turku and Turku University
Central Hospital. Since the beginning
of the 2000s, many projects about
health care and well-being information
systems have been conducted in the
institute. Recent developments put an
emphasis on the management and organizational
aspects of data security
and privacy, as well as IT governance
issues.
Growing areas of research within the
Institution include for example different
computer gaming applications, business
models in the area of open source,
and work informatics.
Publications
Heikkinen, Katja – Suomi, Reima –
Jääskeläinen, Miika - Koljonen, Anne
- Leino-Kilpi, Helena and Salanterä,
Sanna (2010). Creation and evaluation
of an ambulatory orthopaedic surgical