Advancing Societal Engagement and Impact at the University of Jyväskylä

A comprehensive development initiative is underway at the University of Jyväskylä to enhance its operating model for societal engagement, continuous learning, and research, development and innovation (RDI) activities. The aim is to strengthen the university’s impact, partnerships, and collaboration with working life through clearer structures and shared practices.

From Strategy to Concrete Collaboration

The development of the operating model builds on the University of Jyväskylä’s strategic priorities. The University’s second development programme emphasises its role as a socially impactful actor, closely integrated with research, innovation activities, and the renewal of working life.

Continuous learning, along with the commercialisation and scaling of research-based innovations, has been identified as a strategic focus area. This enables the university to respond to rapidly changing competence needs with flexible, working-life-oriented solutions, while strengthening its position as a driver of skills development and a partner to industry.

Shared Practices and Structures to Enhance Impact

While the University of Jyväskylä has long been active in societal engagement, the current work aims to establish more coherent structures and more accessible support services. The goal is to create a clear service and collaboration platform that brings together research, education, and innovation—making the university’s expertise more accessible to businesses, organisations, and individuals.

The visibility of collaboration opportunities is being improved through the website: www.jyu.fi/yhteistyo 
and company partnership enquiries are centrally managed via: business-services@jyu.fi

Faculties and units have established societal engagement working groups to support local development and dialogue. In addition, designated faculty-level coordinators for business collaboration strengthen partnerships with industry.

Business Collaboration Visible in Events and Partnerships

The annual Business Day, now held for the sixth year, has become a flagship event for societal engagement at JYU. The next event will take place on 8 October 2026: www.jyu.fi

In addition, faculties and student organisations arrange their own career and working life events, providing pathways to internships, employment opportunities, thesis topics, RDI collaboration, networking, and encounters between research and working life.

Business collaboration has also been deepened through extended company visits, where representatives from companies and faculties discuss collaboration needs and opportunities across sectors. These visits often include tours of laboratories and research environments, helping to demonstrate how JYU’s expertise and infrastructure can support companies’ innovation and development work.

Examples of such collaboration include partnerships with Metsä Group, Valmet and Cefmof.

Societal Engagement in Doctoral Education and the EduJyväskylä Network

Societal engagement is increasingly embedded in doctoral education at the University of Jyväskylä. A national doctoral education pilot project is developing training to better meet the needs of society and the labour market, while supporting research-based innovation.

Researchers’ communication and impact skills are also strengthened through initiatives such as the FORTHEM Alliance’s Researcher Grand Prix, which brings doctoral research closer to everyday life and industry.

Furthermore, within the EduJyväskylä network, the university, JAMK University of Applied Sciences, and Gradia have developed a joint service model for working life. This makes it easier for regional companies to access educational expertise and collaboration opportunities through a single platform.

Services for working life – EduJyväskylä: edujyvaskyla.fi

The image shows part of the University of Jyväskylä’s 80-member JO–TKI development group.