City Library
- Library accessibility from the perspective of youth
- Creating user-centered service design approaches in order to create / redesign better customer experience in Metso library with special reference to international users.
- Designing a book recommendation chatbot to improve access to
Tampere City Library collections
1 student
Supervisors: Sirkku Kotilainen & Jussi Okkonen
Demola
Sustainability impact of international expert organizations
International expert organizations are still flying under the radar when it comes to sustainability reporting, but the reality is that the status quo will not last for long Once the general public starts demanding the information the organizations are already too late In this challenge you will get to utilize Demola’s extensive database of insights, active Demola teams and Demola Global as use case organization.
- What strategies and tools can be designed to facilitate the collection, analysis, and interpretation of internal sustainability data, ensuring accuracy and relevance?
- What innovative technology solutions (e g software, dashboards) can be created to assist these expert organizations in tracking and measuring their internal sustainability performance efficiently?
- How does the sustainability reporting look like from the outside? How might the organizations go beyond green washing and make meaningful decisions that have an impact?
- What methods can be employed to quantitatively measure the impact of sustainability initiatives on the organization’s bottom line and overall performance?
4 students
Supervisors: Markku Turunen & Thomas Olsson
MuseoX
How will the current digital age be preserved for posterity? Help MuseoX in building solutions for preserving our mediatised world, digital interactions between people and the transformation of the current media climate. MuseoX is a joint project between the Finnish Museum of Games and the Rupriikki Media Museum, which are maintained by the Tampere City Historical Museums and the Finnish Postal Museum. The new museum will operate at the Vapriikki Museum Centre in Tampere and on digital platforms online.
3-4 students
Supervisors: Jussi Okkonen & Markku Turunen
The Tampere Lutheran Parishes
Tampere Cathedral
The Tampere Lutheran Parishes goal is to bring the Tampere Cathedral and its paintings alive. We want to invite people to explore the Cathedral with innovative ways on the spot and virtually from home. The Tampere Cathedral has remarkable historical value of course but on the upcoming years our wishes are that it could enhance its profile even more.
- How could the Cathedral offer people nontraditional experiences? How can we bring church art to present with new ways to explore it? What platform would work best for this kind of project?
- We are hoping the solutions are available on the spot but also virtually remote. Utilizing gamification and maybe VR/AR-technology with the architecture and art. Our goal is to develop immersive storytelling which could attract people and give new perspectives to towards the cathedral. Instead of historical facts the focus would be on the storytelling and visitor experience.
- We wish that the project will give us possibilities to demo these experiences and even implement some of them there.
Subthemes: Socio cultural work, gamification, accessibility, AR/VR, user experience, digital sustainability, immersive storytelling
3 students
Supervisors :Samuli Laato & Markku Turunen
Tampere University
The holistic sustainability of hybrid teaching
The COVID pandemic forced our university to adopt online teaching instead of live lectures but also different kinds of hybrid models. Now, in the aftermath of the pandemic, it would seem hybrid models are in some ways here to stay. However, university is also feeling pressured to organize as much things live as possible. On one hand, it would seem that hybrid would support some students and staff but, on the other hand, there are issues, like losing the sense of community and lacking good hybrid teaching methods.
Here is where we lack data: Would organizing our courses in hybrid be good or bad for sustainability? Or maybe both but in different ways? Or maybe both but for different people?
We ponder (among other) these things:
- Ecological/Social/Financial/Holistic sustainability of hybrid teaching compared to live teaching (or fully online).
- Student/teacher/organization point of view in participating and organizing hybrid teaching.
- Teaching and learning methods in hybrid teaching.
- Digital accessibility and how different kind of learners can be supported.
Help us understand the holistic sustainability of hybrid teaching! We want to understand the positive and negative effects of hybrid teaching in comparison to more traditional models. We hope to receive some new data about the impacts on ecological, social and financial sustainability to make more educated decisions and policies.
2-4 students
Supervisors: Sirkku Kotilainen & Markku Turunen
Sitowise
Understanding the effects of sustainable strategies and digital transformation / innovation
Sitowise core strategy is to be the most sustainable partner on developing the living environment. City- and municipality level digital transformation and innovation are key part the future of sustainable cities.
Our question is, how can we better involve the citizens and other end users better into the concept level discussion about the innovations, strategic change and transformation happening on their living environment?
Topics: strategic transformation, social inclusion, designing for sustainable future, communicating change, co-creation
Case example: understanding effects of unmanned aviation in city space from citizen point of view
2 students
Supervisors: Velvet Spors & Bojan Kerous
Yle
Digital event. What is the experience of participation in a metaverse or other digital environment where people meet?
More and more events are held entirely digitally (for example, Yle’s Pentulive or events organized by Yle in Roblox) or a physical world event includes digital elements (for example, it is possible to influence Yle’s UMK broadcast by voting in a mobile application and you can keep in touch with other viewers via chat).
- What features from the audience’s perspective are part of a successful digital event experience? What features do they want, what seem to be tacked on?
- Does digital participation bring added value to the audience compared to passive content tracking? What is the possible added value?
- Does the human experience of digital participation differ from the experience of participation in the physical world? For example, does giving virtual applause feel the same as giving applause in physical space? Is digital participation considered participation at all?
Possible research subjects are, for example, Pentulive in autumn 2023, the Roblox version of the Linnan juhlat (The Independence Day Reception at the Presidential Palace) in December 2023, or UMK in spring 2023.
4 students
Supervisors: Velvet Spors & Markku Turunen
Second Theatre
The sustainability of a virtual theatre
VR will revolutionize the way we consume theatre. Imagine if you still had to go to the movies to see a film. How many movies or episodes would you watch per year? Now, imagine if there was a way to experience a three-dimensional theatre stage and an audience around you in your own living room. That’s where 2D recording has failed, but an immersive 3D experience delivers. Just like Spotify, Second Theatre can cover everything from blockbusters to local indie plays. Just like Netflix, Second Theatre will have a gallery of content. Just like audiobooks, Second Theatre will change the context of content consumption. Second Theatre aims to make theatre accessible for anyone, anywhere. The mission of Second Theatre is to generate new audiences for theatre and to preserve it for future generations. We have already built an app and recorded content.
We are about to publish our app in the next year or so, and our business is in an interesting phase; we want to understand the field and our possible audiences better and we are looking for answers f.ex. to the following questions:
- What are the sustainability aspects this new platform should take into account?
- How to prioritize the aspects?
- How to set goals and measure success?
- How to communicate about sustainability?
- What does our audience look for in a performing VR experience?
Subthemes: VR, user experience, digital sustainability, performing arts, metaverse
The questions can be discussed and adjusted according to the student’s personal experience and interest.
2-4 Students
Supervisors: Sirkku Kotilainen & Bojan Kerous
Solita
Generative AI
Generative AI with LLM (Large Language Models) is now in top at Gartner hype cycle. There are more than enough wishes that are thought to be solved with this technology and at the same time there a claims that GenAI will affect more than half of the work somehow.
- This topic allows many different kinds of research subtopics (read: graduation thesis & academic articles). Some (mentioned below) are interested for Solita
- A: Future of Work with AI: e.g. how the work changes, what types of work will be vanished; how to handle the change; what are and how to learn new required skills; …
- B: Technological solutions from “narrow AI” (meant to one purpose) to general (human kind) AI and where to use which technology. Closed, proprietary solutions vs. opensource possibilities, US-cloud vs. private machine or EdgeAI devices
- C: Legal framework, possibilities & limitations, in Europe and USA – public AI-based decision making
- D: Sustainable AI
Sustainable AI issues (on top of legal requirements), like ethics, bias, emissions, and how to handle this in software development
A: Future of Work with AI
How the work changes, what types of work will be vanished; how to handle the change; what are and how to learn new required skills.
Description of expectations. The student and company will sharpen the focus during the process. These are just expectations.
-
- Deliverable 1: General idea of the work and time table, what subtopics should be covered
- Deliverable 2: Ideas for ICT industry changes and validation with interview study of those ideas
- Deliverable 3: Recommendations, how should a consultancy company handle the change
B: Technological solutions
Very tech oriented idea. We have seen the very rapid rice of GenAI (because of OpenAI ChatGPT) but it is only the top of the iceberg. Also here the student and company will sharpen the focus during the process. Some areas might be:
- “narrow AI” (meant to one purpose) to general (human kind) AI
- Where to use which technology.
- Closed, proprietary solutions vs. opensource possibilities,
- US-cloud vs. private machine or EdgeAI devices
- Description of expectations.
- Deliverable 1: General idea of the work and time table, what subtopics should be covered
- Deliverable 2: MVP – how to have an on-site GenAI with own teaching data & language (e.g. Fi)
- Hopefully with other partners as well
- Deliverable 3: Cost vs benefit analysis in different kinds of solutions
C: Legal framework
Inside EU there is a lot of regulation in area of Data & AI. Part of the regulation is still (always?) in change/modification stage. This task is mainly planned for student who has (at least some) legal studies.
Description of expectations. The student and company will sharpen the focus during the process. These are just expectations.
- Deliverable 1: List and short description what (EU) regulatory frameworks and what issues are covered in those (not complete, just very shortly, no need to read through all acts)
- Deliverable 2: Selected (max 2) acts and how to take those into account in ICT consultancy company
- Deliverable 3: Situation of Public Decision Making with Generative AI (if selected)
D: Sustainable AI
Although AI has a lot of regulation/legislation there is still possibility to be better in these areas. Sustainable AI is very holistic area, where student can select her/his viewpoint. There should be anyway some of the following areas covered: ethics, bias, emissions =power consumption, and how to handle this in software development
- Description of expectations. The student and company will sharpen the focus during the process. These are just expectations.
- Deliverable 1: General idea of the work and time table, what subtopics should be covered
- Deliverable 2: What are most interested in areas for companies that use AI and why (questionnaire / interviews)
- Deliverable 3: How to measure areas, how to verify if the company has been successful, …
2 students
Supervisors: Bojan Kerous & Markku Turunen
Gofore
Designing future-proof digital services
Digitalisation can be seen as an accelerator for sustainable transformation. However, digitalisation itself needs to become more aware of its direct and indirect impacts.
Today, the internet is a crucial part of people’s lives. Everything is being digitalised. 5G, IoT, electric cars, robots and AI has led to the IP traffic to peak. Since 2010, the number of internet users worldwide has more than doubled, while global internet traffic has expanded 20-fold. Luckily, there has been rapid energy efficiency improvements that have helped to moderate growth of energy demand. Despite this, data centers and data transmission networks account for 1 – 1.5 % of global electricity use, from which nearly 80 % comes from fossil based sources.
It goes without saying that technology is not a neutral tool. In many ways, digital systems have actually made it even easier to extract, consume and waste resources as the material world becomes masked behind a digital interface. This leads to the realisation, that digital
services have an impact, not only to unsustainable energy consumption leading to climate change, but also to other planetary boundaries – biosphere integrity, land-system change and freshwater use to name a few.
We, goforeans, strive to develop our understanding and ways of working on how digital technologies are build and used socially ethical and environmentally sustainable way. We want to build an ethical digital world. We are developing our expertise in sustainable
From these projects, we are hoping external and science-oriented approach and critical review. Here are our themes and questions to students.
Subthemes: sustainable architecture, sustainable design, life-centric design, green ICT,
green coding, energy efficiency, carbon footprint
Theme 1. Planetary boundaries
1A. How to consider planetary boundaries in service and concept design projects?
1B. How to consider planetary boundaries in digital product design and / or development?
Theme 2. Footprint and handprint
2A. How to measure and manage the energy efficiency (footprint) of a digital service over it’s lifecycle?
2B. How to create practices to consider positive effects (handprint) of digital products?
Theme 3. Methodologies and tools
3A. Evaluation of sustainable digital product design methodologies / tools within our projects
3B. Evaluation of sustainable software development methodologies / tools within our projects
Theme 4. Knowledge and awareness
4A. How to increase the awareness of environmental sustainability aspects of digital products and services to users / consumers?
4B. How to increase the knowledge of of environmental sustainability aspects among designers and developers?
2 students
Supervisors: Markku Turunen & Bojan Kerous