Looking towards the digital transformation

Heikki Haaparanta has been working at SAMK for about a year now, focusing on digital services.

Businesses have always operated in changing environments, but the new technology brings even more changes for them at the global level and creates new opportunities. We talk about digitization, digitalization and digital transformation. Just digitization forced us to think in new ways, but digitalization or digital transformation will probably influence us even more.

– The further the technology develops, the more business activities must change, comments Heikki Haaparanta.

– In our everyday life we can see signs of this development all the time, especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic. All our consumer habits are constantly changing. We order cloths and food online, we watch streamed tv programs and listen to the music online. New technology offers new possibilities for every business sector.

Specialization on digital skills

The Faculty of Service Business has developed teaching and RDI with digital and business interfaces.

– We have created a specialization on digital skills within the degree program on Management and Service business, tells Heikki Haaparanta.

This new specialization is an answer to challenges linked to the digital transformation companies face so often. The skills gained during the specialization could be used at graduates’ workplaces to ease digital changes.

– During the special training we concentrate on change management, on understanding different processes and on self-management. We also learn how to manage the digital environment. The aim is that graduates from this course would serve as agents guiding the necessary changes in digitalization.

During the studies we learn about technical aspects, gain general digitalization and knowledge management skills. An important part of the studies is to get to know software robotic tools in practice.

RDI for the Region

We are aiming to increase the RDI activities in Business Services. We are preparing a Business Intelligence Center for this, a center where different faculties could work together.

It is our dream to create the Intelligence Center. We hope to attract different types of research activities in the region. We are applying for first research projects now, and we will integrate them in our teaching. One essential theme in teaching will be knowledge management, tells Heikki Haaparanta.

First projects are already going on. These projects aim at building a digimaturity model for companies and developing implementation processes of software robotics.

– We want to find out what is the digital maturity level in companies and how to help them in digital transformation. We focus especially on small and medium enterprises. SAMK has already joined hands with Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences in this project.

We also want to see how software robotics could benefit different companies. The problem is often that companies do not even realize where they could use programming robotics. Looks like it is not very well known in which processes to use it nor to come up with any ideas where to try it. We will create a model for finding the relevant projects and how to advance them. We will also draft a calculation model on how useful they could be for the companies, clarifies Heikki. Haaparanta.