“We need innovative solutions to the world’s wicked problems and the damage they do. The required technological leap is so great that the mere optimization of old processes won’t be enough. Engineering sciences play a key role in finding new technological solutions,” says Taija Hämäläinen, the newly appointed research director, future forest industry, at LUT.
Technological leaps are typically the outcome of cross-disciplinary efforts. According to Hämäläinen, solving wicked problems requires cross-disciplinary research teams with experts in different fields of technology and natural sciences. In addition to technical know-how, the work requires an understanding of the business environment and societal questions, because research or technology alone resolve nothing. The outcomes of the work must become a sustainable, profitable part of the future business environment and society.
Research supports customer goals
Taija Hämäläinen has previously worked in the corporate world in positions involving the entire development path and life cycle of products.
“I’ve assessed the commercial potential and technical feasibility of inventions and helped decide which ideas proceed to the product development and production stages. In my new job, however, I think my customer interface experience is especially significant. It’s highly important to understand the customer’s goal in order to apply our expertise to helping them achieve it,” Hämäläinen emphasizes.
Hämäläinen has been tasked with identifying expertise within LUT schools that supports the forest industry transformation and with establishing a platform or ecosystem where researchers’ multidisciplinary expertise and ideas come together to yield new solutions.
Valuable raw materials must be refined into high-quality products in Finland
Hämäläinen assesses that Finland has a strong foundation for new forest industry technologies, but the transition to a bioeconomy requires significant renewal and new business models.
“We’ve already seen that the operating environment of traditional forest sector actors is becoming similar to that of fuel and chemical industry companies, as business increasingly revolves around the availability and efficient use of raw materials. In my view, the most important future success factor is the domestic utilization of raw materials such as pulp, lignin, and carbon dioxide.”
Finland needs to create a functional national forest industry and bioeconomy ecosystem to be able to produce upcycled products with added value instead of exporting raw materials for utilization elsewhere. All this demands seamless collaboration between the public and private sectors.
“Increasing the funding for research, development, and innovation in Finland is a good start, but the ideas that come from RDI must be put into practice. Therefore, also investments will play a significant role,” says Hämäläinen.
Active approach to burning issues in the forest industry and bioeconomy
The university will benefit from Hämäläinen’s experience in international business and technical innovations in customer-oriented, global operating environments that transcend the boundaries of organizational divisions. At LUT, her home base is the Lahti campus, but meetings frequently take her to Lappeenranta. She also aims to visit LUT’s regional units in Mikkeli and Kouvola. What is Hämäläinen’s take on her new work community at LUT University?
“The amount of expertise and the can-do attitude are amazing. I’m looking forward to the interesting, cross-disciplinary ideas of my LUT colleagues and developing them further collaboratively. I want to get to know the people and what they are doing. That will help in establishing an active cross-disciplinary ecosystem that can solve the burning issues of the forest industry and bioeconomy sectors.”
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