Forest information can be used to create a seamless mixed reality
“Meaningful living on this planet Earth requires that we understand the interactions between humans, machines and nature,” says Mikko Vastaranta, the University of Eastern Finland’s newly appointed Professor of Forest-based Bioeconomy.
Vastaranta is pleased with what he and his team have been able to build over the past four years, during his term as an Associate Professor.
“Especially the establishment of my own research community, the Vastaranta Research Syndicate (VRS), at the University of Eastern Finland has been magical, with several top-level researchers already involved. At the moment, around 15 researchers are affiliated with VRS.”
“Our expertise and themes of research are also at the core of the Forest-Human-Machine Interplay Flagship of Science (UNITE), which is funded by the Academy of Finland,” Vastaranta says.
The objective of UNITE is to diversify forest-related livelihoods, promote the health and well-being effects of forests, stop biodiversity loss, and enhance forest planning and operations.
“Now we must take research to the next stage and implement the plans we have made.”
We define what future forest information is
According to Vastaranta, a key phenomenon to be explored in knowledge leadership is knowledge building, i.e., how data, information, knowledge and so on can be used in people’s lives, organisations and societies. One can, for example, try to understand how a single observation eventually becomes a smart decision.
“I like to hustle in the theoretical framework that can be conceptualised as interactions between humans, machines and nature. The new knowledge that we create can help us to tackle global problems, such as overexploitation of natural resources and waste of human creativity.”
“Already, the available technology is starting to be at a state where we can create augmented and virtual realities, and experiences close to reality. Who is going to know what is real and what is not in the future? And thus, also forest information can be used to create immersive digital experiences and blur boundaries between the realities,” says Vastaranta.
“To me, it is liberating to perceive the forest-based bioeconomy as a multidimensional phenomenon. The forest sector is undergoing major changes, and thus it is fruitful to investigate the possibilities that the changes always provide,” Vastaranta says.
“We at the university do not train labour for repetitive tasks; instead, we educate critical thinkers who have the capacity, skills and motivation to learn new things, and therefore their skills will serve constantly evolving needs of societies. None of us know which skills will be needed in 20 years. Of course, we are part of nature and more or less surrounded by forests, so the skills students learn by studying forest sciences will most likely be needed in academia and outside of academia, whatever the role.”
“There is a great demand for experts of forest sciences, and an academic career is also an attractive option after graduation. At the university, one can always play with the latest phenomena. Sometimes I can just wonder why there even is a shortage of scientists,” Vastaranta says.
“The future and future development are always dependent on our values today. The technology we already have, and what we are using to characterise our environment, will enable a deeper understanding of us as part of the ecosystem, free time for us due to increased level of automatization, and immersive experiences for all users of this information.”
For further information, please contact:
Professor Mikko Vastaranta, tel. +358 50 512 7051, mikko.vastaranta (a) uef.fi
https://uefconnect.uef.fi/en/person/mikko.vastaranta/
Print-quality photos:
https://mediabank.uef.fi/A/UEF+Media+Bank/44513?encoding=UTF-8
https://mediabank.uef.fi/A/UEF+Media+Bank/44512?encoding=UTF-8
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Mikko Vastaranta, Professor of Digitalisation and Knowledge Leadership in Forest-based Bioeconomy, 1 October 2021– (invitation procedure)
Born 1982, Tampere
Doctor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry), University of Helsinki, 2012
Master of Science (Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, 2007
Title of Docent (remote sensing of forests), University of Helsinki, 2014–
Associate Professor of Digitalisation and Knowledge Leadership in Forest-based Bioeconomy, University of Eastern Finland, 2018–2021
Mikko Vastaranta’s Scholar profile
