Public event at the University of Turku on Wednesday, 23 October explored the future of universities from the perspective of strategic foresight. Organised both onsite and online, the event brought together a range of experts and audiences interested in the topic.
The newly published Future Directions and Possibilities for the University report from the University of Turku provides a rare and comprehensive overview of the factors affecting the future of universities and possible development paths. The report is part of the University's ongoing strategic foresight initiative launched in 2022 by the Strategic Planning Unit, in collaboration with the Finland Futures Research Centre.
Business Finland recently granted funding to a 11.7M€ project led by the University of Turku, which seeks to enhance advanced pharmaceutical and life science manufacturing in Finland. The LifeFactFuture project combines world class-excellence of Finnish life science companies, technology companies and academic researchers, and the funding decision demonstrates how public funding for research and development can enable important university–industry research cooperation. The funding decision is among the largest received at the University of Turku in the history of Business Finland.
The ECOCRIN project produces and combines new perspectives, knowledge and models aimed at revitalising innovation and cultural policies that unleash the potential of creative sectors in Finland.
TransFarm (Transborder cooperation for circular soilless farming systems) project aims to foster the spread and adoption of closed circular soilless farming methods, such as Aquaponics. It is a farming method where fish and vegetables are grown in closed circle symbiosis to reduce the usage of fresh water and the wasting of valuable nutrients.
The Pentti Malaska Futures Award is given to a research-based and groundbreaking visionary innovation that can help with building a more sustainable global future. The University of Turku has granted the €30,000 Pentti Malaska Futures Award to TM System Finland Oy for their industrial scale re-circulation Zero-Ex® emission capture technology.
Finland Futures Research Centre at Turku School of Economics is a partner in the new Erasmus+-project Strategic Foresight for Sustainability (SF4S). The consortium consists of 18 partners across six European countries and includes institutions for higher education and vocational training, as well as industry partners. FFRC hosted the international consortium at TSE March 9th-10th 2023.
The University of Turku opens the call for applications to the Pentti Malaska Futures Award on 1 February 2023. We are looking for bold, research-based, visionary, and boundary-crossing solutions supporting the building of a more sustainable global future.
The Finland Futures Research Centre of the University of Turku works with a transdisciplinary approach to research the challenges and possibilities of sustainable future. According to project researcher Nicolas Balcom Raleigh, to be able to fight against climate change, we need the ability to see new scenarios in the future and innovate new ideas.
Professor Emerita Sirkka Heinonen had an interview with Dr. Karlheinz Steinmüller on Risks and Surprises in the VUCA world, including reflections on corona virus.