We applied the design science research framework to develop a mobile learning application, MobileEdu, for computing education (ICT and Programming). The application is intended to facilitate the learning of computer science courses on mobile devices, support ubiquitous, collaborative, and social learning for university students.

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The world needs hands on solutions to wicked problems such as climate change, resource scarcity and poverty, and we need to nd the pathways that enable such solutions to emerge. To maintain competitiveness in the future, Finland needs to improve it’s capacity to innovate and collaborate in new ways, to provide holistic and sustainable solutions to global challenges, both in emerging markets as well as disruptive new approaches to service provision in Europe. New global studies frugal and reverse innovations in complex global systems.

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Minna Halme, Teija Lehtonen, Jarkko Levänen, Helena Sandman, Emma Nkonoki, Tatu Lyytinen, Anne Hyvärinen, Sini Numminen, Sini Suomalainen, Marleen Wierenga, Marko Keskinen, Peter Lund, Olli Varis

It focussed on improving vocational and adult education to respond better to concrete needs in society and industry; it engaged and encouraged female teachers and students to have an active role in development of their institutions, their communities and wider society; of entrepreneurship, basic social and health care, environmental education and waste management, updating of adult education provision, improving vocational teacher education; it encouraged universities to collaborate more concretely with adult and vocational institutes for example in graduate and doctoral thesis research.

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Anja Heikkinen, Perpetua Kalimasi Kilasi, Kimani Muturi

The foresight part of NEO-CARBON ENERGY explores possible futures of a new renewables-based energy production and storage system, which is being developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) and University of Turku – Finland Futures Research Centre (FFRC). This joint research project is one of the strategic research openings of Tekes – The Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation. The foresight work is conducted in the Finland Futures Research Centre. A possibly distributed energy production system of neo-/low-carbon technologies and emerging issues such as prosumerism can drive economic, political, cultural and social changes. Radically new innovations, services and practices could emerge as a result of the third industrial revolution.

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Sirkka Heinonen, Juho Ruotsalainen, Joni Karjalainen, Marjukka Parkkinen

INDEHELA-Access aims to continue from INDEHELA-ICI 2011-2013 health informatics curricula development efforts and HI pilot courses in south curricula. Informatics Development for Health in Africa – network consists of Universidade Eduardo Mondlane UEM in Mozambique, Abofemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa and University of Eastern Finland and Savonia University of Applied Sciences. Our joint interest in INDEHELA-Access is in how to make health information accessible also to populations in recourse restricted areas in a format most interesting and user-friendly yet affordable and sustainable.

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Prof Kaija Saranto UEF, Vilma Vainikainen UEF, Dr Pirkko Kouri SUAS, Prof Emilio Mosse UEM, Prof Retha deLaHarpe CPUT, Prof Omoloa Irinoye OAU

Impact assessments used by large-scale development projects are often portrayed as neutral tools providing objective and value-free information to decision-makers. However, scholars widely agree that impact assessments are inherently biased, political, and distorted by power dynamics. Using a forthcoming natural gas project in Mozambique as case study, my ethnographic field research provides important baseline study of the social, relational, and place-bound aspects of wellbeing, often overlooked in impact assessment processes.

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The UEM-Aalto sustainability and clean technologies network aims to update the curricula and the current teaching and research practices as an effort to improve the capability to address existing and emerging sustainability challenges in the forest sector and associated with natural resources, bioproducts industry and process industry in general. The new network will encompass 1) student and teacher exchanges, 2) development and implementation of a joint intensive course on sustainability and clean technologies (“Industrial Environmental Engineering”) and 3) dissemination event and measures.

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Andrade Egas, Natasha Ribeiro, Olli Dahl, Roope Husgafvel, Sakari Toivakainen, Mikko Martikka

The ongoing CAPOLSA Phase II project completes the capacity building in CAPOLSA Phase I and needed for reaching the final goal of the ongoing action to help as many children as possible in Sub-Sahara Africa to learn the basic skills, and be able to have appropriate reading skills to acquire functional literacy by being offered appropriate reading material. Together with the training of coordinators for distribution of literacy support throughout Zambia and its neighbouring countries, the project builds skills and networks to overcome the complete lack of reading material which children who have just learned to read have to have. 1. The Capolsa Centre works as a national help centre in Zambia for the tens of thousands of first grade teachers who will be using small tablet computers that Grapholearn Initiative for optimal learning results as well as the learning-game based reading practicing environments (Graphogame). It also serves as the whole Sub-Saharan resource centre in order to extend the reach of their expertise eventually to all the countries in Sub-Sahara area.

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A clear need for strengthening forestry education in Kenya has been identified by local and international stakeholders due to increasing demands of sustainable management of natural resources and fast developments of learning technologies. The key objectives of the project are to strengthen the educational capacity and societal role of University of Eldoret in Kenya within the area of sustainable natural resource management by enhancing (a) curricula and subject-specific capacity, (b) pedagogical and ICT capacity, (c) community engagement, and (d) administrative and networking capacity.

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Sari Pitkänen, Javier Arevalo, Jarkko Suhonen, Jaakko Helminen, Myriam Munezero

According to our experience, most of the African Universities still focus on education, while research outputs are generally low. We have identified two main reasons for this. First, it is common that faculty members of higher education institutions are master degree holders. This means that faculty members usually lack research experience and they do not have basic knowledge and skill to conduct research. Secondly, those faculty members who have interest and skills to do research are often heavily loaded with teaching and administrative responsibilities. Thus, developing a research culture is an important direction for the future of African universities.

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Prof. Emanuel Mjema, Prof. Edda Tandi Lwoga, Prof. Markku Tukiainen, Prof. Matti Tedre, Dr. Jarkko Suhonen