TALK engineering magazine 2022

CDIO is a framework for our activities

For many years, the pedagogical mission of Tur ku University of Applied Sciences has been inno vation pedagogy, which emphasises dialogue be tween the university, students, working life and the surrounding society. Students learn in multi disciplinary learning environments and applied research and development projects, making use of flexible curricula with an entrepreneurial atti tude and awareness of the international operating environment. Alongside innovation pedagogy, the Faculty of Engineering and Business has been utilising the international CDIO network’s (www.cdio. org) educational development framework since 2006. CDIO and innovation pedagogy are mutually supportive and have very similar goals. The objec tives and ideas of CDIO and innovation pedago gy are generally recognised in many reports and recommendations.

The CDIO (Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate) network got its start in the early 2000s as a de velopment project involving four higher education institutions. Since then, it has become a global ed ucation development community. Turku University of Applied Sciences (Turku UAS) was the first Finn ish higher education institution to join the net work, and is now part of a network of nearly 200

universities. The network provides a fertile peer forum for dialogue among education profession als and sharing good practices at the global level.

A key element in the CDIO approach is the 12 standards to describe the target state of education. These standards support long-term educational development. Some of the standards emphasise a change in thinking when organising education, while others focus on implementing education. A key feature involves increasing working life ori entation by utilising active learning methods. On the other hand, it’s also important to develop the product development cycle and solution-orient ed thinking in a functional manner from the very beginning of studies. CDIO provides a qualitative framework, which also means improving interna tional comparability.

The CDIO objectives continue to respond well to today's educational development challenges, and the key elements of the approach are continu ously examined in the network's working groups. Examples of development work include clarifying the definitions of the 12 original standards and introducing four new optional standards (sustain able development, engineering entrepreneurship,

Text | Juha Kontio, Dr., Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Business, Turku University of Applied Sciences Photo | Martti Komulainen

internationalisation and mobility, and simula tion-based mathematics). The competence frame work (CDIO Syllabus) has also been modernised and updated, and the target and purpose of the entire network have been refined.

Here at Turku UAS, the CDIO approach is visible at many levels. The general objectives of our ed ucation have been considered in more detail, and learning objectives have been defined in cooper ation with working life. Our education is based on modules, the learning plan consists of mutually supportive themes and it clearly integrates per sonal, social, product and system design skills. All UAS degree programmes include the Introduction course during the first yea. It builds a practical, working life-oriented framework for students in their respective field of study. The first year also includes a Project Hatchery course, where students become familiar with our pedagogical model, learn about project-style work and are introduced to a multidisciplinary operating environment. Our learning environment has been renewed and en ables practical learning via active teaching and learning methods. The extensive Innovation Pro ject entity for third-year students brings CDIO and innovation pedagogy themes together in genuine, challenging and multidisciplinary development projects.

Support for learning is at the heart of all learning, and competent personnel play a key role in it. As a result of our pedagogical solutions, the teach ing task has become more diverse and challeng ing. From the CDIO perspective, it was important to ensure the development of both pedagogical competence and working life competence and al low people to actively experiment with new work methods. More extensive applied research and development activities contribute to developing working life competence.

Joining the CDIO community has had a significant impact on the educational solutions selected in the Faculty of Engineering and Business at Turku UAS, and it has provided an excellent framework for developing operations. This publication de scribes Faculty of Engineering and Business activ

ities at many levels and presents a picture of how CDIO influences our operations at this time. We will continue to develop the CDIO framework and work with themes highlighted by the community.

In the future, we will also be focusing even more on assessing the impact of development work and solutions.

We hope you enjoy reading our publication!

A key element in the CDIO approach is the 12 standards to describe the target state of education.

A digi-green future

Turku University of Applied Sciences has focused strongly on technology fields by increasing the number of study places and investing in learning and research environments. These efforts respond to the needs for experts and competence in our operating area. What kind of technology competence will Finland need in the future?

Text | Martti Komulainen, Communications Leader, Turku UAS Photos | Martti Komulainen

The coronavirus pandemic has not changed the fact that the Finnish economy is export-driven and technology industry products and services play a significant role in export (accounting for more than 50% of export revenue).

Education and R&D activities ensure that the sec tor will continue to be strong in the future.

What kind of future are new experts being trained for? What type of competence does working life – and the world – expect and require? This is not just a matter of securing economic growth, but of overcoming complex global problems.

What kind of competence is needed?

You don’t need to be a futurist to realise that the agenda in the near future includes momentous is sues for the entire world, such as climate change and the depletion of natural resources. These may require not only a complete reform of economic thinking, but also technological innovations: ener gy-saving solutions, the use of renewable energy sources, circular economy thinking in all sectors.

In addition to adopting a sustainable development mindset, digitalisation skills was a second theme strongly highlighted in a study on the need for skills conducted by Technology Industries of Fin land a couple of years ago. This means utilising

digital platforms, but more specifically it includes artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, auto mation, robotisation and additive manufacturing techniques.

Educational organisations have read the Technol ogy Finland report and listened carefully to other feedback from business life.

Juha Kontio, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Business at Turku UAS, emphasises the need for more generic skills in addition to sector-spe cific competence.

– We strive to educate people who will be able to participate in developing working life on a more long-term basis. Education has to create the readiness to function in an constantly changing and complex environment.

The skill needs survey also highlighted partner ships between higher education institutions and working life. Kontio agrees that this is an impor tant area.

– The link between education and working life should be stronger and more versatile, including both educational cooperation and RDI activities. Even more studies could be completed by alter nating between companies and the school, who

Education and R&D activities ensure that the sector will continue to be strong in the future.

In the Photovoltaic Systems course, research will be conducted to research the operation of solar panels with the help of a miniature solar panel and a LED spotlight, both prepared for educational purposes.

then jointly agree on the objectives. This is what we’ve done in the INTO project at Turku UAS.

INTO is an apprenticeship-type education model in which students complete approximately half of their studies while working in a company. Eight industrial management and engineering students participated in the pilot phase. Use of the model will continue, and new companies are set to join the project.

Digitalisation has made a breakthrough in all sectors

Digitalisation is a megatrend, and its impacts are visible in all sectors – business, design and manufacturing.

Jussi Liikkanen, Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, puts on a set of virtual glasses and gloves at EduCity's virtual design laboratory. The glasses and gloves can be used to view and exam ine an object modelled in a computer 3D design environment, such as a car steering wheel, and make changes to the model. This may sound like science fiction, but it’s rapidly becoming an impor tant tool for product development engineers. And digitalisation doesn’t stop there. Digitalisa tion has revolutionised the entire design process: a prototype of the designed piece can be produced with 3D printing. Items or devices that have al ready been produced can be 3D-scanned very ac curately and then returned to the design stage.

– All of this is based on an effort to improve the design process, enhance product quality and er gonomics, and reduce material waste – therefore promoting ecological sustainability, summarises Jussi Liikkanen.

There

is a critical area. In 2019, Tur ku UAS opened its Cyber Test Lab at the Salo IoT Campus. The lab supports companies with regard to

the cyber security of their products. The Salo Cyber Test Lab offers IoT (Internet Of Things) and technology actors the opportunity to participate in cyber security research and develop ment activities.

In the virtual design laboratory of the Turku University of Applied Sciences, you can use virtual glasses and touch gloves to view 3D models.

Information security is an issue that affects every one, not just the IT services units of organisations. This fact is emphasised by Jarkko Paavola, who teaches information security and leads the Wire less Communications and Cybersecurity research group.

– Information security is a civic skill that we teach as a separate topic or course for business informa tion technology and IT engineering students, even though it actually concerns everyone, explains Paavola.

Living the energy transformation!

The roof of Turku UAS’ new EduCity campus build ing provides a great view of the Kupittaa park. The roof is covered by solar panels. Our future lies in renewable energy sources. Turku UAS is also a leader in this area, as it explores renewable and decentralised energy production methods and ed ucates energy sector experts.

The power plant also serves as a learning environ ment for energy and environmental engineering students.

A “Solar monitoring station” has recently been built in conjunction with the solar power plant. It monitors the movements of the sun and produces information about solar radiation.

The NERC (New Energy Research Center) facilities in EduCity contain an impressive range of solar panel, electricity grid and battery research equip ment. The Mobile Solar Lab studies quality devia tions in solar panels and their ability to produce electricity. As solar energy becomes more wide spread, quality awareness has also increased and led to a greater need for independent testing.

In addition, the introduction of new energy pro duction methods, storage and smart network solu tions requires a good perception and systemic un derstanding of entities.

- Although we also study the technical founda tions of electricity networks, our education focus es more on the systemic side of the energy sector and project competence, says Samuli Ranta, Senior Lecturer and leader of the New Energy research group.

The metaverse is already here!

Turku University of Applied Sciences has developed a multi-user virtual forklift training application

The metaverse, the next iteration of the internet, is all the rage right now. Turku University of Applied Sciences has taken a leap into the metaverse and developed virtual training applications that accommodate multiple users.

Text and photos | Martti Komulainen

It is already possible to get a driving licence for a forklift virtually. Unlike simulator training, taking the test virtually is not tied to a certain place. All you need is a computer, the application, a virtual headset and controllers.

Virtual single-user training applications have long been developed at Turku University of Applied Sciences together with ADE Oy and Kiwa company. Some, such as the forklift application, have already been certified.

Training in a situation with several people working on different tasks would make it more challenging and closer to real life. A forklift driver has to know what a crane driver does and take into account other variables in the operating environment.

Metaverse – hype or momentum also devel ops business applications

The metaverse is all the rage right now. It can mean slightly different things for different people and user groups. It is the next level of the virtual world, consisting of virtual spaces with multiple users.

According to Mika Luimula, most of the current de velopment work for the metaverse is targeted at the consumer market. Turku University of Applied Sciences has seen the opportunities offered by the metaverse in education and business, especially in the technology industry, but also to a wider extent.

Luimula’s definition of the metaverse highlights realism: in addition to communication between several users, important elements include handson work and real-life integration created by vari ous kinds of sensor data.

– Is the metaverse hype or momentum? asked Mika Luimula at the Turku Tech Week event held in March. Luimula is the Principal Lecturer of Game Technology and leader of the Futuristic Interactive Technologies (FIT) research group at Turku Univer sity of Applied Sciences.

Virtual training environment for port operations

Turku University of Applied Sciences has devel oped a multi-user virtual application for forklift training as part of the Smart Terminals (SMARTER) project funded by Business Finland. In the train ing environment, teacher avatars with a voice con

Timo Haavisto

nection train their avatar students in a realistic environment. AI enables immediate feedback on performances.

The main architect and developer of the appli cation has been Project Manager Timo Haavisto, who also has a background in the internation al game industry. He envisions that the future of the application includes an entire port operations entity with related training features. The virtual space could be used for preliminary lectures and practical training.

Other metaverse applications can be imagined wherever companies collaborate with several ac tors on many different functions whose coordina tion is being developed or looked into.

In addition to the port environment with different areas of operational training (forklift, rescue op erations, cranes), one training environment could be a shipyard.

The metaverse can also bring new types of collab oration to creative industries. Turku University of Applied Sciences is also developing applications for health care education.

Principal Lecturer Luimula thinks that Turku has an excellent opportunity to profile itself as a spe cialist in the b2b market in the metaverse devel opment work. Shipyard company Meyer is a good example of demand that has been extensively identified in the Turku region. Luimula also prom ises to be ready when Meta (previously Facebook) gets in contact for recruiting experts and launch ing the company’s metaverse development opera tions in Finland.

Capstone innovation project - opportunities for creative students

Text | Kari Haajanen, Senior Lecturer and Degree Programme Leader and Elina Asukas, Administrative Assistant, Turku UAS

Photo | Martti Komulainen

Capstone is a multidisciplinary learning module at Turku University of Applied Sciences that matches students from more than 10 fields who are near ing the end of their studies with a company or re search group. The aim is to combine working life with studies in a more realistic and concrete way. Students bring fresh competence to projects and simultaneously get the opportunity to demon strate their ability to the customer. The Capstone project often provides students with a springboard for further cooperation, for example, in the form of a thesis, practical training or a workplace.

The Capstone innovation project is one of Turku UAS’s largest study modules. Approximately 800

students and staff from the Faculty of Engineering and Business are currently participating each year. The scope of the course is 10 credits. In total, this involves implementing 8,000 credits, which means nearly 150 person-years of work and 100 projects. This is a huge number, and it includes some real success stories.

Students begin the road to Capstone by partici pating in a project workshop during the first au tumn of their studies. The workshop is very similar to Capstone, but the sponsor usually comes from inside Turku UAS. After this, the students work in different projects in their own field, while the third year is the multidisciplinary and more demanding

Capstone period. The working language of the course is English.

Capstone projects are determined by the fields of the students taking part in each semester. The aim is to offer each student the opportunity to work in a project in their own field, but also the chance to learn new things in a project in a different area. At the start of the course, students can influence

which project they want to participate in. This en sures that each student has the best possible mo tivation for the upcoming project.

Capstone offers students the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in projects when potential employers are the project owners. After graduat ing, many students have also utilised this opportu nity to build a career at the company they worked with during Capstone. It’s wonderful for a student to get a foot in the door of working life well before graduation.

The majority of Capstone projects come from companies recruited by group tutors through their contacts. Project acquisition from the business world requires a long-term approach. The own ers of successful projects often want to continue working with new student groups in the next Cap stone implementation.

Quotes from a feedback survey for project owners: “We were happy that students really gathered the information and delivered a clear vision on what is the best option in different cases. We also got ideas about the pain points we have and we will utilize this in the next development project.”

We were happy that students really gathered the information and delivered clear vision what is the best option in different cases.

Health Tech Lab provides support for health technology product development

Digital health connects and empowers people and populations to manage health and wellness. It is complemented by service provider teams that utilise digital tools, technologies and services to transform care activities.

Text | Elina Kontio, Principal Lecturer, Leader of Health Technology Research Group and Health Tech Lab, and Tero Vahanne, Health Tech Lab Project Engineer and member of the Health Technology Research Group, Turku University of Applied Sciences Photos | Martti Komulainen

There is no simple definition for health technol ogy. Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Inc. (HIMSS) has just published a new definition of digital health, which states that digital health connects and empowers people and populations to manage health and wellness using digital devices and methods. Digital health content is augmented by different service provid er teams that leverage digital tools, technologies and services

Health technology is a very broad sector that has traditionally produced solutions for measurement, imaging, treatment and rehabilitation. Today, the sector increasingly uses artificial intelligence and robotics as well as the industrial internet.

Health technology creates new opportunities, strengthening citizens' independent lives and self-determination while simultaneously provid ing professionals with new technology solutions

to improve the efficiency and quality of health care.

Good growth prospects

Health technology is one of the fastest growing high-tech sectors in Finland, and an ageing popu lation makes it even more significant. The value of product exports reached a record level of EUR 2.4 billion in 2019. Total health technology exports increased by 3.6% to EUR 2.52 billion in 2021. Coronavirus represented a real challenge in terms of exporting medical devices, which decreased by 0.6% to EUR 1.52 billion. On the other hand, labo ratory diagnostics (In vitro diagnostics) continued to grow. Exports increased by 10.5% to EUR 0.92 billion, including equipment and reagents. Health technology continues to be one of the fastest growing high-tech export sectors in Finland.

Product development in health technology is very strictly regulated, and most products are within

The venous scanner helps hospital staff to find patients’ available veins using infrared light.

the scope of medical device regulations. In other words, products used in health care are classified as medical devices and they can be devices, equip ment, software, various materials or supplies.

A medical device is always intended for one of the following purposes: 1) diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of disease, 2) diagnosis, monitoring, treatment, alleviation of, or compensation for, an injury or disability, 3) investi gation, replacement or modification of the anatomy or of a physiological process or state, or 4) con trol of conception.

In Finland, Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea over sees the manufacturing, marketing and use of medical devices. Medical devices are classified on the basis of the risk associated with their use. The higher the risk class of the device in question, the stricter the requirements for its manufacture. A health technology device must always be CE marked when placed on the market. By using CE marking, the manufacturer confirms that the de vice meets the essential requirements set for it.

Test bed environment

The Health Technology research group and Health

Tech Lab at Turku UAS provide support for useroriented product development of medical devic es and health care services development. The op erations focus on health technology product de velopment in a regulated operating environment, utilising artificial intelligence and data analytics in knowledge management, and developing digi tal products to support living at home and physi cal activity. Health Tech Lab offers companies and researchers a test bed environment for testing ideas, products and services. The environment uti lises sensor technology, virtual reality, machine learning and robotics.

The Health Tech Lab is equipped with measure ment devices, such as patient monitors and various biosensors. Data collected from laboratory sensors and software can be sent to the laboratory data base for analysis and machine learning exercises. The data is used to create a better understanding of how physiological signals and psychological status are connected to health and medicine. The laboratory's information systems make it possible to simultaneously collect multiple data streams on a single platform and provide researchers with an easy-to-use way of implementing new research methods.

The electrical activity of the brain can be measured as part of functional performance measurements.

The testing services produced by Health Tech Lab include functional usability testing of products, which can be performed in the laboratory envi ronment and also in actual operating conditions. The testing services are not limited to research ing health technology solutions, and the usability tests produced by the lab are also suitable for con sumer research, studying experienced situations, or as part of service design.

A usability study performed by the laboratory can identify unfiltered and subconscious human reac tions, thus reducing the impact of conscious de cisions on the research results. Monitoring facial expressions, pulse, pupils, brain and muscle ac tivity, and skin conductance makes it possible to measure a person's initial reaction to something even before that person becomes aware of it. For example, the data that is collected can be used to identify happiness, pain or anxiety in different situations.

Learning environment

In addition to testing environments, product de velopment in health technology requires good training – something that is very much accessible in this region. At Turku UAS, health technology is part of engineering education in the area of infor mation and communications technology.

People who have been working for a longer period can earn a master's degree in health technology in a normal degree programme or in a health tech nology research group. Health Tech Lab serves as a learning environment for this training, a labo ratory for the health technology research group, and an expert partner and testing environment for product development conducted by companies and researchers.

The Health Tech Lab is equipped with measurement devices, such as patient monitors and various biosensors.

Modelling made it possible to predict the electrical behaviour of the batteries and other issues related to heating and cooling.

e3Power

Turku University of Applied Sciences develops battery technology competence –promising results for the electrification of heavy non-road mobile machinery. Turku UAS has studied the electrification of heavy traffic in a wide-ranging project. For example, positive results regarding the use of lithium-titanate oxide (LTO) battery cells were obtained via practical testing and modelling.

Text | Veera Lundén, Administrative Assistant, Turku UAS Photo | Siiri Welling

Together with LUT University and business part ners, Turku UAS studied the battery systems of non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) and its differ ent use profiles. Such machinery can be, for exam ple, a combine, tractor, mining dumper, or forestry machine. The study makes it possible to accurately model and map the types of properties needed for the battery cells used in NRMMs.

The research found that using battery solutions equipped with LTO battery cells is a sensible op tion in heavy machines. According to Eero Immo nen, leader of the Computational Engineering and Analysis research group at Turku UAS, LTO batterO ies are safe to use and they also have good dura bility in cold and hot conditions.

– The battery in a normal electric passenger car can handle approximately 1,000 charges and dis charges, while the corresponding readings in the LTO batteries we tested can be more than 10 times higher. We’ve studied the performance and limit values of the cells, which means the properties of different batteries in relation to their intended use, says Immonen.

Usage profiles can be accurately determined According to Immonen, the project utilised mod elling, simulation and practical testing. Modelling and design methods made it possible to examine and demonstrate the performance and limit val ues of different batteries and NRMMs in a very ac curate way.

– The needs for NRMM batteries are often very different from, for example, those used in passen ger cars. At the worksite, vehicles are usually ex posed to temporary power needs, load variations and changing conditions that affect, among other things, the battery charge and life cycle.

Modelling made it possible to predict the elec trical behaviour of the batteries and other issues related to heating and cooling. According to Im monen, battery cells should be used at room tem perature for reasons of safety and durability. That’s why either cooling or heating is often required.

One of the test environments was the electric eRallyCross car built at Turku UAS.

– The situations in which a rally cross car is used are comparable to those of an NRMM, because in rally cross the powertrain must also reach isolated operating peaks for short periods of time. This is why the car was also very useful in terms of mod elling and ensuring the results in practice.

Aiming to train students and personnel

Immonen stresses the importance of optimisation and modelling when designing battery technol ogy for NRMMs. This is because the production volumes for these machines are considerably low er than for passenger car batteries. The intended uses of NRMMs can be determined very accurately by modelling, which makes it possible to design a battery and electric powertrain for that specific purpose.

The transition to electrification requires in creased competence related to the field. Immonen is pleased that the e3Power project has enhanced the personnel’s knowledge and competence. The aim is to include content related to battery tech nology in ICT, chemical engineering and mechan ical engineering studies in order to develop com petence in many fields.

– We certainly need experts, and in the future it might be beneficial to add studies related to battery technology, for example, to different pro grammes as a minor subject. Battery technology

could be included in future electrical and automa tion technology education, says Immonen.

There is a lot of discussion about whether heavy machinery should be electrified to a greater ex tent and faster. Immonen encourages companies and organisations to invest in clean energy pro duction and partial electrification of heavy ma chinery rather than full electrification.

– I think that a hybrid model could work for electrification. Not all NRMMs need to be elec trified, and it might be enough if some of them are. I also recommend favouring environmentally friendly fuels, such as utilising synthetically pro duced methane. The combustion engine is very functional, well-known and highly optimised as a technology, and operating it with an environmen tally friendly fuel would be sufficient for the cli mate, explains Immonen.

The research continues

The project succeeded in developing an under standing of the different operating environments batteries are exposed to and mapping the chal lenges and needs of business partners in terms of manufacturing and using batteries. Valmet Auto motive was one of the business partners involved in the project.

Immonen reveals that a continuation of the pro ject is also planned.

– We want to continue the research work in a potential follow-up project. The goal of the fol low-up project is to utilise the battery models and measurement data from the e3Power project to optimise battery use over their entire life cycle. At the moment, there is already considerably more data available in comparison to when the e3Power project started in 2019.

According to Immonen, hybrid methods will also be examined in more detail in the follow-up pro ject.

The first double degree students from Aalen completed their degrees in Turku

Daniel Wieland and Nikolaos Papadopolous from Germany have always been interested in foreign cultures and people. That interest eventually led to a double degree.

Daniel Wieland and Nikolaos Papadopolous com pleted their first degree in Germany at the Hoch schule Aalen and the second at Turku University of Applied Sciences, as the first students from Aalen. These two friends received a degree in Industri al Management and Engineering in Turku, while in Germany their degree is in International Sales Management and Technology.

Wieland explains that he heard about the double degree and exchange opportunity during his first year of study in Aalen in 2017.

– A teacher told me about the upcoming agree ment. Niko and I applied in November 2019. I sub mitted my application from Vietnam, because I was doing my internship there at Mercedes Benz. Niko, on the other hand, was in South Korea. Even though we were on the other side of the world, we were still thinking about Turku, says Wieland with a smile.

students. During his year of studies, Wieland says that he travelled to Lapland, among other places.

– I’ve met all kinds of people, attended good lectures and improved my own skills. To be honest, come to Turku if you want to have the best time of your life, praises Wieland.

The double degree agreement with Aalen Univer sity of Applied Sciences began in late 2019. The responsible persons at Aalen and Turku UAS have been cooperating for years in the Academic Asa sociation of Sales Engineering (AASE) , and that led to the idea of a double degree agreement be tween the universities. Exchange students have also moved between the universities in the past.

During the academic year 2020–2021, ten double degree students studied in the Industrial Manage ment and Engineering degree programme – two from Aalen, five from Aschaffenburg, Germany and three from ESTA in France.

Wieland describes studying in Turku as challeng ing, but also pleasant. Double degree students also had to complete a full 60 credits in an aca demic year. As the first students from Aalen, they had a lot of practical matters to figure out, and the coronavirus also impacted their studies. How ever, Wieland says he always received help when he needed it.

The most memorable things in Turku have been getting to know Finland and the other exchange

Wieland is already planning a master’s degree, but first he wants to gain more work experience. He did his thesis for Robert Bosch GmbH, and got a job as a key account manager in the technical sales department of an international automotive company after graduation.

– My dream is to continue studying for a master's degree here, says Wieland

Text and photo | Siiri Welling, Communications Specialist, Turku UAS

The higher education institutions participatingin the exchange are selected partners, so the students know that they’re going to a good place. The local higher education institution has an expert support group to assist incoming students.

Degree certificates from two higher education institutions

Text and photo | Siiri Welling

The double degree programme at Turku UAS refers to a degree programme developed jointly by two higher education institutions, in which both insti tutions have their own curricula. The student com pletes an agreed amount of studies and receives a degree certificate from both higher education institutions.

Turku UAS has double degree agreements at the bachelor's level. The aim is for Turku UAS students to complete at least 120 credits at their own in stitution and at least 60 credits at the partner in stitution of higher education during the exchange period.

The application period for double degree pro grammes is at the same time as the application period for regular exchanges. This means that stu

dents interested in an exchange starting in the au tumn apply in January-February.

– The higher education institutions participat ing in the exchange are selected partners, so the students know that they’re going to a good place. The local higher education institution has an ex pert support group to assist incoming students. Leisure time programmes are also often organised for students, says Leena Saarinen, International Relations Leader.

Practical arrangements begin once the double de gree position has been confirmed. Info events are available for departing students. Students who are completing a double degree are also entitled to a grant, just like any students taking part in Erasmus or other exchanges.

Practical learning and development work in modern laboratories

The laboratories at Kupittaa campus are learning and innovation environments. Research topics include for example solar energy, the acoustics and weather resist ance of building materials, water quality monitoring, engine emissions, materials used by medicine, and the circular economy.

In recent years, the laboratory infrastructure has been systematically developed, for example, through an in vestment programme worth over EUR 10 million. High er education institutions and companies in the Turku region collaborate on development projects in modern laboratory environments.

Text and photos | Martti Komulainen

The Engine and Powertrain laboratory measures emissions from non-road mobile machinery and develops engines with lower emissions and improved energy efficiency. The most important variables measured for engines are those that are regulated. These include nitrogen oxides, NOx (NO and NO2), carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons.

The Mobile SOLAR Lab studies quality deviations in solar panels and their ability to produce electricity. It contains an LED light source that imitates sunlight and “bakes” the solar panels being tested at an intensity equivalent to the mid-day sun. An air conditioning system maintains the analysis conditions at a constant temperature of 25 °C. Analysis equipment measures the electricity produced by the panels and takes electroluminescence images that reveal cell damage.

An FDM filament printer can print a variety of materials, such as plastic and metal compounds and wood fibre.

Biometric devices bring Sales and Marketing Lab into the modern era

The Sales and Marketing Lab at Turku University of Applied Sciences has acquired equipment that measures eye movements, facial expressions and skin conductance. These devices make it possible to improve the quality of sales and marketing research.

Text and photos | Siiri Welling

The small room contains a couple of computers and a few unusual accessories. Sanni KoskimiesChiba, who is Marketing and Administrative Coor dinator of the Entrepreneurship and Sales com petence area at Turku UAS, asks me to sit down at a computer and look at the screen. Then she attaches small sensors to my fingers.

An advertisement for a clothing brand appears on the screen. It’s followed by another ad. James McAvoy is advertising Prada.

At the same time, the cameras in front of the computer study eye movements and facial expres sions. These biometric devices are the latest addi tion to the Sales and Marketing Lab at Turku UAS.

– For example, these curves show that the adver tisements for the clothing label didn't cause very strong reactions, but the tester’s pulse increased slightly while viewing James McAvoy's image, says Pinja Palm with a laugh. She’s a lecturer at Turku UAS and analysed the author's test results.

Getting away from the “seems like” mode

Using iMotions and Tobii software to identify eye movements and facial expressions and measure skin conductance provides objective and accurate research results in various sales and marketing test settings. Sales and marketing research has traditionally been based on things like observa tions, surveys or interviews, but data like this is more susceptible to the influence of opinion or memory.

Palm can also see where the ad viewer's atten tion is truly focused on her own analysis screen. This kind of information makes it possible to draw conclusions about the effectiveness or functional ity of an ad. Biometrics also tends to analyse web site functionality, different interaction and negoti ation situations, the efficiency of offers, contracts and terms, or the impacts of other internal and external factors.

– In simple terms, biometric equipment will bring sales and marketing research, teaching and business into the modern era. Biometrics allows us

to get away from the “seems like” mode and make the transition to measured data, says Timo Holopainen, Principal Lecturer in Sales at Turku UAS.

– At this time, research can only be carried out in the Sales and Marketing Lab facilities. The Tobii glasses acquired for the laboratory can be used in, for example, a shop to track eye movements and determine how different products on the shelves attract human attention, says Palm.

Demand for UAS competence

The biometric equipment was purchased for Turku UAS last year. The laboratory has been operating in Turku UAS facilities since 2015. The new equipment represents clear development

and expansion of the Sales and Marketing Lab: it now has space for teaching, self-measurement and data analysis.

– We already have one project that utilises the equipment, and more are in the works. In terms of teaching, we’ll be looking for suitable applications in sales and marketing. Of course, we also want to develop business collaboration, says Holopainen.

Similar biometric devices are used at some higher education institutions in Finland and by a few companies that focus on marketing research. However, Holopainen is certain that demand ex ists for the expanded competence and research offered by Turku UAS.

– The competence and new equipment at Turku UAS enable very close cooperation between labo ratory work and field work. We selected the iMo tions software because of its versatility, and Tobii is a leading expert in eye movement research, ex plains Holopainen.

Read more about Sales Lab at saleslab.turkuamk.fi!

This kind of information makes it possible to draw conclusions about the effectiveness or functionality of an ad.

The many possibilities of honey –product development course for food technology, materials engineering and business students creates real products

The product development course supports small entrepreneurs and gives students an opportunity to develop while working on real assignments.

Text | Eija Kulju, Senior Lecturer, Chemical Industry, Turku UAS and Jarmo Ahonen, Principal Lecturer, Entrepreneurship and Sales, Turku UAS

Would you like to try a refreshing honey-flavoured Kuplamesi drink? Or a honey-ginger shot to give your day an immunoboost? How about a Honeytaffee candy to satisfy your sweet tooth?

A product development course jointly organised by Turku University of Applied Sciences and the University of Turku aims to support product devel opment among small entrepreneurs operating in the local food chain.

During the course, students conduct a market survey, brainstorm a novelty product for a compa ny, prepare a product for consumer research, de

velop an innovative package for the product, and carry out a consumer survey. The products devel oped in consumer research are tasted and sniffed as part of the sensory evaluation.

Innovating future food items in a product development course

Students taking joint studies in food product de velopment get the chance to work with partner companies to innovate product solutions suitable for the needs of real companies. Product develop ment is carried out in accordance with the prin ciples of the CDIO Initiative, taking the circular economy perspective into account and drawing on

the multidisciplinary perspective provided by dif ferent fields. Course participants work in groups and learn to collaborate with students from dif ferent fields, which can involve significant cultural challenges – at least at the start.

Real-life product development

The first product development course was organ ised as a joint implementation in 2020, when the participants included Turku UAS students in the fields of food technology, materials engineering and business. The joint implementation created a situation similar to working life, in which a compa ny's sales and marketing functions, product devel opment and production representatives all partic ipate in the process of developing a product.

In autumn 2021, food chemistry students from the University of Turku also took part in the im plementation. It was impossible to avoid collisions between the cultures and operating methods in different fields.

In autumn 2021, the product development course partner was Hunaja-Aitta, a local producer from Iittala. The partner’s aim was to expand its family of honey-based products, including prod ucts suitable for export in the future.

During the course, students from different fields (75 students in total) were divided into sev en multidisciplinary project groups. Each project group included students of food chemistry and food development research from the University of Turku and students of food technology, materials engineering and business from Turku UAS.

The work done by these project groups covered all stages of the product development project. The sub-stages included theoretical surveys for product development, brainstorming for a new honey-based product using the Lean Canvas tool, market research as a basis for product brainstorm ing, developing and testing recipes, conducting sensory evaluations, modifying the manufacturing process, calculating product costs, designing and developing product packaging, and designing and implementing a consumer test.

The course culminated in a mini-fair organised in December 2021, with members of Turun elintar viketutkijain seura (the Turku branch of the Finn ish Society of Food Science and Technology) and representatives of the partner company invited to taste and evaluate the products.

The strength of a multidisciplinary course of this kind, which is based on a real business assign ment, was reflected in the products presented at the mini-fair. The groups approached product de velopment in very different ways, and the products were quite distinct from each other. Each group succeeded in developing a potential food prod uct, some in more and some in less competitive market segments. All of the products had features that demonstrated innovativeness and the strong effort that went into achieving a good end result.

It will be interesting to see which product ide a(s) will eventually go into production and end up on the shelves of a store in the future. In some cas es, it was already clear that the product was ready or nearly ready for production, and these were considered to have realistic market potential.

The products developed in consumer research are tasted and sniffed as part of the sensory evaluation.

Introducing primary school children to technology and promoting it might increase their interest in the field.

“There's no such thing as female and male fields”

As a young person, Merja Peltokoski, Senior Lecturer and Degree Programme Leader at Turku University of Applied Sciences, wanted to be an artisan but an interest in technology eventually won out.

Text and photo | Veera Laaksonen

In her childhood, Peltokoski remembers how boys were told about opportunities in technology while girls were mainly introduced to nursing. Howev er, societal norms didn’t determine her education choices.

Peltokoski learned about technology as a child when she and her father repaired machinery on their farm. The final decision about her own fur ther education was made when her brother began studying mechanical engineering in Tampere.

– I was visiting my brother when I saw a book by Aimo Pere, a respected teacher and writer in me chanical engineering, and started to look through it. After this, I decided to apply and was accepted to study mechanical engineering at LUT Univer sity, says Peltokoski as she describes her path to technology.

After graduating with a master’s degree in me chanical engineering in 2006, Peltokoski spent the next few years working as a designer for the tech

nology service company Etteplan Group before moving on to teach at LUT University. A maternity leave position at LUT lasted for nearly 10 years, during which she qualified as a vocational teacher and completed a doctoral degree. Now Peltokoski has been working at Turku UAS for about four years.

A demanding teacher who also stands up for students

Among other things, Peltokoski teaches product documentation, sheet metal and joining technol ogy, and machining. The best thing about teach ing is seeing the students develop and experience success.

– This development is most obvious in first-year students who know next to nothing about the field. The students are nervous during the first lec tures and don’t understand what they’re doing yet. As the course progresses, the students also notice their own development. Times like that make me remember why I want to do this work, says Pel tokoski.

case. Of course, automation means that robots start performing some tasks, but people are al ways needed in the background. We need brains to solve problems, and that’s where the engineer comes into the picture.

Peltokoski doesn't deny that automation might replace some tasks in the field, but she has never witnessed a situation in which automating opera tions has led to job losses.

During spring 2022, Peltokoski has one female student in the specialisation stage, and ten of them in core studies. Some classes have no female students at all.

According to Peltokoski, female students are spread very evenly among different mechanical engineering specialisations, although more tend to be interested in automation technology and service design.

Based on course feedback, some students con sider Peltokoski and her teaching style demanding and perhaps even a bit scary at first. Strict dead lines with no flexibility are one sign of that, but the students have often changed their tone by the end of the course.

– In the long run, I always want to take the stu dents into consideration in my teaching. My prin ciple when teaching is to remember my own stu dent days: how would I have wanted my teacher to describe things?

Breaking down assumptions and stereotypes

Peltokoski believes in the future of automation technology. Students are interested in the field, which is also apparent in specialisation choices. However, she also wants to point out that manu facturing technology will never disappear.

– The idea that people would no longer be needed as automation becomes more prevalent is a common assumption. However, this is not the

– Many choose machine automation technology because manufacturing technology still has a rep utation as being dirty, oily work that takes place in a workshop. That’s not the case, even though it’s a common assumption.

How could the attractiveness of technology fields be increased, especially among women?

– I'd be a genius if I knew the answer to that question, says Peltokoski with a laugh.

– No one can be forced into a particular field, but introducing primary school children to tech nology and promoting it might increase their in terest in the field. High school could already be too late, she continues.

She believes that guidance counsellors who en courage all students to consider all different fields play an important role in the attractiveness of dif ferent sectors.

– There's no such thing as female and male fields.

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