Programme

Chair: Tuomas Ahola (TAU)

Chair: Miia Martinsuo (UTU)

Chair: Arild Aspelund (NTNU)

Mats Engwall (KTH), Niklas Arvidsson (KTH), and Ann-Maria Nyquist (KTH)

AI is changing the rules of the game in academia. We have a long tradition of believing in reading and writing for knowledge development, However, with AI the students do not need to read or write to produce reports, such as master theses. How should we deal with this?

In this interactive session, we discuss how to deal with the use of AI in our education. What are the implications of AI on our teaching and examination?

Maria Morgunova (UU) and Anastasia Tsvetkova (ÅA)

This roundtable aims to broaden the discussion on nuclear energy within the IEM community and industry to identify opportunities for future research and collaboration. Rather than treating nuclear energy only as a technical or energy policy issue, the session invites participants to explore its dimensions as technology adoption, potential for novel business models, infrastructure and supply chains, stakeholder collaboration, etc. By bringing together scholars and practitioners, the roundtable seeks to expand the network of researchers interested in nuclear energy and industrial transformation, and to support the development of a broader IEM research agenda on the role of nuclear energy in sustainability transitions.

More information coming soon

by Pia Hautamäki (TAU) and co-chairs

by Osmo Kauppila (UO), Johan Frishammar (LTU), and Leena Aarikka-Stenroos (TAU)

The working environment of an IEM professional is shifting ever so rapidly. For us IEM educators this implies exciting times. How do we design our curricula to meet the competence needs of the upcoming decade? How do we account for topics such as generic skills, AI, sustainability, circularity, and resilience in our curricula? In this session we tackle these topics through a collaborative discussion based on recent curriculum work and stakeholder views. We aim to cross-pollinate emerging ideas and hopefully provide the participants with fresh ideas to boost their curriculum work.

Anna Yström (LIU) and Susanne Ollila (CTH)

This interactive session explores how “spaces for innovation” enable and constrain collaboration between academia and industry. Building on research on collaborative arenas, boundary work, and relational dynamics, participants will reflect on how spaces for innovation are designed, governed, and experienced in practice. After a short introduction, participants engage in facilitated small-group discussions around key themes such as orchestration, power and inclusion, and the role of intermediaries. The session invites shared reflection on how we can better “choreograph” the interaction between academic and industrial actors to support innovation, learning, and societal impact.

Jaakko Siltaloppi (TAU) and co-chairs

The session invites reflection on how diverse collaborative forms, such as supply chains, business networks, project organizations, and innovation ecosystems, can enable the promotion of sustainability outcomes. It focuses on sustainable innovation as an area that depends on collaboration yet often faces challenges with economic feasibility, technological readiness, partner misalignments, and legal and policy constraints. The round table reflects on coordination challenges and governance tools that shape effective collaboration beyond dyadic interactions. The round table also considers the role of policies and legal frameworks, and in general invites multi-disciplinary insights on how to cultivate collaborative innovation in industrial systems.

by Filip Högberg (KAU) and co-chairs

Hanna Krauth (DTU), Kathrin Kirchner (DTU), Thomas Burø (DTU) and Christine Ipsen (DTU)

This interactive workshop explores how professionals understand and make sense of technology implementation in organizational settings. Participants will discuss what technology implementation means in practice, the assumptions and expectations associated with it, and the processes through which implementation unfolds. Aligned with the conference theme, “Dance of Academia and Industry,” the workshop aims to have a dialogue between researchers and practitioners from the ScAIEM community, while generating insights for an ongoing conceptual research project. The session will serve as both a knowledge-sharing forum (with takeaways for participants) and a collaborative data-collection opportunity (with takeaways for the research team).

Jussi Heikkilä (LUT) and Anu Kostiainen (LUT), Gülfem Özmen (LUT), Ville Ojanen (LUT), Mirva Peltoniemi (TAU),  Jyri Paasonen (UVA), Jyri Naarmala (UVA), Toni Selkälä (UTU), Timo Ali-Vehmas (IND.)

Standards and standardization shape businesses, ecosystems and innovation activities in all industries. The interplay between regulation and standardization directs R&D investments of companies and more generally technological progress. Hence, it is important to analyze how companies and other organizations develop their dynamic standardization capabilities.  This session brings together fresh perspectives on standardization education and research. (3-5 research paper/project presentations)

Lars Bengtsson (LTH) and Carl-Johan Asplund (LTH)

We will in this session present different forms of university-industry educational collaboration activities in the IEM-education, and our experiences and the effects of these activities. The session will discuss various ways to strengthen university-industry educational collaboration, especially for SMEs and startups, in the road ahead, with a special focus on IEM-education.

Magnus Hellström (ÅA), Tuomas Ahola (TAU), Harri Haapasalo (OY), Lea Hannola (LUT), Jouni Juntunen (UVA), Saku Mäkinen (UTU), Jens Schmidt (Aalto)

All Finnish universities with Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) degree programs have joined forces to publish a concise new report: “IEM in Finland.” The report captures where Finnish IEM research is heading, how departments are resourced, and the collective outputs generated across institutions. Join this interactive session to explore the key findings and participate in a broader discussion on what these insights mean for the future of IEM research and teaching across the Nordics.

Nina Tura (LUT)

Sustainability transitions are reshaping industries, organizations, and managerial decision-making, raising important questions about the future of Industrial Engineering and Management (IEM) education. This interactive LEGO Serious Play® roundtable invites participants to explore and discuss how IEM education should evolve to better support sustainability transitions. Using hands-on LEGO modelling as a catalyst for reflection and dialogue, participants will share perspectives on current challenges, emerging needs, and possible futures for IEM education. The workshop is designed to encourage active participation, creative thinking, and exchange of experiences across universities, countries, and career stages. Rather than seeking consensus or predefined solutions, the aim is to trigger meaningful discussion and new perspectives on the role of sustainability in IEM education. The session seeks to create connections and conversations that can continue beyond the workshop and contribute to the ongoing development of the IEM community.

Kirsi Kokkonen (LUT) and Thomas Lennerfors (UU)

Ethical issues are central to industrial engineering and management education, for example related to AI and automation, sustainability trade-offs, workplace safety, responsible business and accountable leadership. This workshop invites educators, program directors, and others to share current experiences on addressing ethics in IEM courses and programs, and to generate collective development ideas for future ethics education.

by Guðmundur Oddsson (HI) and co-chairs

Conference participants (Yes, that is You!) are invited to hold micro-presentations of 5min to network, raise attention, and start new collaborations. Please see call for presentations here.