The University of Eastern Finland and Ponsse Plc have signed a letter of intent to intensify cooperation in multidisciplinary competence development in research, development and innovation activities and training.
Based in Vieremä in Finland, Ponsse is one of the world’s leading forest machine manufacturers and among the most reputable companies in Finland. It is a significant regional employer, as well as a research and development company in Eastern Finland.
“This partnership with the leading technology company in the forest sector is significant for us considering the impact of research and education. This strategic agreement strengthens industrial cooperation in fields that are the University of Eastern Finland’s strengths and those that still have room for improvement,” says Jukka Mönkkönen, Rector of the University of Eastern Finland.
Themes under sustainable and responsible forest bioeconomy include environmental management, harvesting and logistics, carbon neutrality, the circular economy, materials, as well as sustainable business. Technology covers photonics applications, AI and advanced computing, imaging, software and information systems, as well as the data and platform economy. The science of economics is linked to these themes especially from the perspectives of the circular economy, sustainable, ethical and fair business, as well as the data and platform economy.
Cooperation will be strengthened particularly in forest bioeconomy, technology and economics, fields in which the University of Eastern Finland has strong international expertise. Significant investments have been allocated to the development of activities in these fields.
The partnership will significantly advance cooperation between working life and education, especially regarding the development of the sector’s competence needs, driving forces, learning environments, as well as training content and paths.
For students at the University of Eastern Finland, this partnership stands for training places, thesis work, visiting lecturers, and working life and student events. What is more, this partnership enables the more intensive development of research and innovation activities, joint research and customer projects, as well as the development of teaching, to better respond to the needs of working life. For researchers, key aspects include the development of employee mobility and the shared use of equipment.
“By engaging in closer cooperation, we will gain significant benefits, as we can work more closely together in such fields as research and innovation. As a result, students can learn more about our industry during their studies, and we can maybe even attract them to stay in the region after they have graduated. One of our goals is to have employees in the future through the current master’s degree programme in technology,” says Juha Inberg, Chief Technology and R&D Officer at Ponsse.
“This partnership agreement will systematise cooperation between the University of Eastern Finland and Ponsse, increase awareness of competence and potential industrial applications, and promote the creation of new partnership initiatives and operating models in the interface of cooperation between universities and companies,” says Harri Niska, Account Manager at the University of Eastern Finland.
For more information, please contact:
Harri Niska, Account Manager, University of Eastern Finland, harri.niska@uef.fi
Tiina Kautonen, CHRO, Ponsse Plc, tiina.kautonen@ponsse.com
Juha Inberg, CTO, Ponsse Plc, juha.inberg@ponsse.com
