Photo: New-style wellness services are part of the opportunities presented by wellness technology. Ilkka Ovaska and Johanna Hallila study wellness technology at Jyväskylä Polytechnic.
What special expertise is the Jyväskylä Region bringing to development work in wellness technology and what are the future prospects for the branch?
Jouni Juutilainen, Director of Regional Development, City of Jyväskylä: "The Nanoscience Center, the Agora cross-disciplinary research environment and Viveca cenre of expertise in wellness together form a unique concentration of know-how. The opportunities will materialize as long as we stick to following the Jyväskylä development concept, one in which innovations are generated at the interfaces."
"Our dream, Jyväskylä Human Technology City, is founded on applying information technology and nanotechnology to wellness technology. The Jyväskylä Region network city provides a firm footing for experimental projects at the local level, within the scope of which export activity can also be built up. In years to come a cluster of expertise houses will spring up around Viveca that will provide employment for thousands of specialists by the year 2020."
Pasi Sorvisto, Manager, Wellness Technology, Jyväskylä Science Park: "Our core competence lies in multidisciplinary expertise associated with assessing and promoting people's health and ability to function. From the viewpoint of industry our strength is know-how in the processes of turning knowledge into products and tools associated with the same, a good example of which is Jyväskylä Science Park's development programme Wellness Dream Lab."
"Over the last two years we've put a lot of effort into market research and the development of strategic partner networks and obtained some good results. Expertise can be seen at the level of the individual among other things in terms of products for measuring health and functional ability, aids and equipment developed for coping independently and new kinds of wellness services."
"The prospects for the future are good, because from now on people will demand better and better health care, they'll want to maintain their functional ability for as long as possible and will be ready to pay for a feeling of well-being."
Janne Avela, Head of Research, Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyväskylä: "The University of Jyväskylä's special area of expertise is multidisciplinary research into human movement, mechanisms of movement, functional ability and health. In these sectors we can offer strong basic research. Applied research cannot move forward without a systematic connection to basic research."
"It is to be hoped that achievements in wellness technology will show up us solutions at the level of the individual which help people to experience their physical environment in positive terms, as one that is satisfactory and appropriate to their needs. In practice this means the kind of technological and intellectual products that encourage people to increase or improve independent mobility."
Juha Hautanen, Head of Programme, Wellness Technology, Jyväskylä Polytechnic: "The strength of the Jyväskylä Region is the ability of different players to bring down the barriers that normally separate them in order to achieve common goals. All parties are committed to carrying progress forward in an unselfish spirit."
"Jyväskylä Polytechnic has been a pioneer in wellness technology education and we have obtained the right to confer higher degrees, too. The core of the education we offer is user-centred design, which fits in well with the region's focus on human technology. Through Jyväskylä Polytechnic's research, development and service activities we aim to boost companies' competitive ability by making use of user-centred design and expertise in useability."
"As regards the future two megatrends can be made out: ageing of the population and even stronger egocentricity. Both these trends will have a positive impact on the demand for wellness technology."
By Pia Tervoja Photos by Petteri Kivimäki