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Tutkimus-, kehitys- ja innovaatiotoiminnan sydämessä

Avainsana: wellbeing

Female entrepreneurs without borders
http://Creative%20project%20in%20wellbeing%20group,%20cut%20colorful%20papers%20in%20abstract%20form.
25.4.2023
Heini Maisala-McDonnell & Outi Pyrhönen

In Finland, there are entrepreneurs from about 130 countries. A reason to become an entrepreneur as a person with a foreign background living in Finland may be the difficulties in the job market, however, there is also a genuine draw towards entrepreneurship. In this blog post, we introduce foreign-background female entrepreneurship in Finland and describe the wellbeing groups for female entrepreneurs as a venue to integrate Finnish and foreign-background entrepreneurs. Based on our experiences, group activities can be conducted bilingually, which provides an opportunity for mutual learning, encouragement, and support. Entrepreneurship is a key part of social and economic sustainability. Female entrepreneurs in Finnish statistics The rate of entrepreneurship among the foreign background population is the same among the native Finnish population (1). The portion of foreign-background female entrepreneurs is steadily increasing (2). For example, in 2021 almost 43 percent of foreign-background clients in Business Helsinki (formerly Helsinki NewCo) were women, in 2019, 36 percent (3). In general, Finland has the highest share of female entrepreneurs in the Nordic countries at almost 34 percent (4). The perception of their own skills, as well as education, age, and income influence the way women (and men) interact with others around them. Women tend to become entrepreneurs if they have female role models and female networks. Unfortunately, female entrepreneurs have smaller networks than male entrepreneurs do, leaving women at a disadvantage (4). Hence, the importance of providing opportunities to form relationships and network widely. Female entrepreneurs coming from foreign backgrounds, are often equipped with a language barrier, presenting them with even more challenges. Entrepreneur’s wellbeing is vital for business success Wellbeing is divided into two parts, individual’s physical and psychological health and wellbeing as well as social wellbeing. For an entrepreneur the promotion of their business is directly tied to their personal wellbeing, as it is a foundation for work ability and capacity (5). The survivability of a business and produced income is directly correlated with the entrepreneur’s personal wellbeing, and any decline causes immediate problems with the functions of a business. For which reason, the promotion of wellbeing for entrepreneurs is vital. Wellbeing groups offered for female entrepreneurs The personal and business wellbeing of female entrepreneurs can be strengthened in organised group functions. These wellbeing groups for female entrepreneurs should aim to provide a positive and psychologically safe environment to make connections with other female entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds form long-lasting business and personal relationships provide reciprocal support and coaching in their business endeavours The atmosphere is as important as the content of the meetings. The purpose of the group setting, and providing activities is to offer an opportunity to build bridges between female entrepreneurs across the cultural and language lines. Repeatedly, female entrepreneurs with foreign background have expressed difficulties to connect with Finnish female entrepreneurs. Since most female entrepreneurs are solo or small business entrepreneurs, there is a need for a supportive network. When you are living in another country without your usual family and social network, the need is even greater. Supporting sustainability in wellbeing groups for female entrepreneurs Sustainability is also supported in wellbeing groups. Sustainable development is divided into social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The social foundation consists of education, employment and income, social equality, gender equality, networks, issues related to health, food, housing, and energy. Without social foundation, people are not well (6). The economy makes it possible for the society and services to function. Economic sustainability aims to promote development-driven practices to support production, creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship, creation of decent jobs, and to enable the creation and success of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (6,7). Entrepreneurship education and events bilingually Foreign-background entrepreneurs are offered education regarding starting and conducting business in Finland. This education is often provided in English, but especially in the Metropolitan area, the courses are provided in multiple languages. Considering that many people with a foreign background do not speak English promoting integration and learning Finnish, having education and materials in so called selkosuomi, plain Finnish, would be beneficial. In almost all fields of business Finnish skills are beneficial and knowing the needed terminology in Finnish helps business activities. Usually, business education and events are organised in English or another single language. This keeps certain language and cultural barriers present. Female entrepreneurs with foreign background often express that they would like to make more connections with their female counterparts. Events and education organised bilingually, for example English-Finnish, promote connections between female entrepreneurs across the language and cultural lines. Both, native Finnish speakers and entrepreneurs with another native language, would benefit. Foreign-background females would be able to use English and express themselves whilst immersing themselves in Finnish words, having a safe environment to try to speak Finnish as well as encourage others to use their English skills. Native Finnish speakers would have an opportunity to use English while encouraging their counterparts to use Finnish. This kind of interaction would encourage the creation of new connections and sharing of experiences. Female entrepreneurs from various backgrounds can offer each other fresh, even unexpected, points of views and suggestions. Wellbeing groups offered for Female Entrepreneurs Wellbeing groups for female entrepreneurs were provided as a part of ESF funded project Oona 2.0 - Strengthening Women's Entrepreneurship through Digitalisation and Partnership. The purpose was to provide a small group environment to extend and strengthen the participants’ networks, make connections as well as strengthen personal and business wellbeing. The group meetings were conducted in an inclusive manner and in selected groups bilingually, in English and Finnish. The participants were both foreign-background and native Finnish female entrepreneurs. This is an unusual approach not to divide by a language. The participants made genuine connections and relationships with the colleagues with diverse cultural and language backgrounds. The participants’ personal knowhow and their multitude of experiences were present while mentoring each other. Authors Heini Maisala-McDonnell, MHC, is a vocational teacher with a physiotherapy and entrepreneur background. She works at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences as a senior lecturer with Finnish and international students and as an expert in the Oona 2.0, SDG4BIZ and Wellbeing by Hybrid Services projects. Outi Pyrhönen, who has an entrepreneurial background, is M.Sc. (Health), a vocational teacher and psychotherapist. She works at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences as a senior lecturer, as an expert in the Oona 2.0 project, and in a wide range of guidance and development tasks. Sources Fornaro, Paolo.2018. Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Finland (etla.fi). Luhtala, T. 2018. Tilastokeskus. Tieto ja trendit. Trendit. YLE.2022. Women with immigrant backgrounds increasingly becoming entrepreneurs. Yle news 10.6.2022. Grünfeld,L., Hernes S.M. & Karttinen, E. 2020. Female Entrepreneurship in the Nordics 2020 (PDF, menon.no). Menon Economics. Gould, R., Ilmarinen, J., Järvisalo, J. & Koskinen, S. 2008. Dimensions of Work Ability – Summary and Conclusions. Teoksessa Gould, R., Ilmarinen, J., Järvisalo, J. & Koskinen, S. (ed.). Dimensions of Work Ability. Results of the Health 2000 Survey. 2008, s. 165 (researchgate.net). Kestävä kehitys. 2023. What is sustainable Development? (kestavakehitys.fi) United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2023. Goal. (un.org) Oona 2.0 - Strengthening Women’s Entrepreneurship through Digitalisation and Partnership Networks is a project co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and implemented by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences in the Uusimaa region. The duration of the project is 1.4.2020-28.2.2023.

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Sustainable wellbeing through inclusiveness in the construction industry
http://Four%20hands%20moving%20wooden%20building%20blocks%20on%20black%20table.
8.9.2022
Sunil Suwal, Manika Bajracharya, Sharmaa Devi Muthusami, Vipul Agrawal

The construction industry is one of the nation's most important prominent socio-economic drivers. It guides the built environment we work and live in. The built environment has a vast and direct impact on our day-to-day life as it is the context for every single human activity. Technological developments have reshaped how construction projects are handled. New tools and processes have influenced how we design, construct and operate facilities and infrastructures. Data-driven construction approaches and digitalization in construction projects are popular today. They provide the possibilities of wider collaboration not only among the project stakeholders but also as a tool for direct participation for the end users of the facility. A bilateral relationship between the people working in the construction industry and the local government's policymakers is crucial to fostering inclusiveness. Creating an inclusive community will aid in promoting unity among the diverse population. It is a key to build a shared vision that hinges on the acceptance of vibrancy and contrast of societies to utilize the strengths of the diverse community. Digitalization is the new era of empowering people The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the global economy in profound ways. Nevertheless, if we look at the positive impacts of the pandemic, it has transformed the way an industry works for the better in the long run. At first, changing the work mode from going to the offices to online meetings and working from home seemed challenging to adopt not just for the employee but also for employers. Moreover, the transformation extended beyond the offices into the real world, evolving and digitalizing people's daily lives. Inclusive research, development and innovation (RDI) and Digital Living Labs contribute significantly to these dimensions of digitalization. Inclusive RDI in this framework is the key to enable stakeholder participation as partners in all phases of the RDI processes. Additionally, digital living lab(s) provide easy to use and accessible digital (and/or physical) platform(s). These aid the participation and collaboration through participatory research partnership, support co-creation and appropriation of innovations. A construction project is collaborative in nature as the tasks and activities are divided into different specializations and many organizations. Today, the construction projects and stakeholders incorporate data-driven approaches, tools and activities for the built facility's design, development, construction, and operation. The centralized data, collaborative network and technology itself and its parallel associates such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and IoT based smart systems, are key target areas of investments in research and development. They support strategic governance and the transition to digital construction methodologies and processes. Participatory approaches in construction projects Construction projects and their successful planning and implementation require a wide range of collaboration. Model-based information tools and environments provide direct participation possibilities today. Such a common platform for information sharing and collaboration is known as Common Data Environment (CDE). CDE is an “agreed source of information for any given project or asset for collecting, managing and disseminating each information container through a managed process” (ISO 19650-1:2019) (Figure 1). Information content and its development during the various stages of the project needs intensive collaboration between the project stakeholders. Inclusion of the indirect participants like the end users of the facilities as well as residents of the area is important. It provides the opportunities for social inclusion where everyone’s voice is heard. Reciprocity, openness of data and the usefulness of the activity for everyone involved is at the digital environment's core. CDE environments enable participation and collection of the opinions of such user groups. It allows the indirect participants to participate in the development actively. Such environments also provide an accessible and easy to use tool to know and understand the project through different 3D model-based environments. It can as well be used to give a real time update about the impact of the project in the day-to-day life of the residents (Figure 2). The challenge is, however, to enable stakeholders' participation throughout the RDI process as equal partners, and not only as informants for the researchers and developers. Sustainable well-being in the construction projects The EU diversifies its focus through sustainable development goals and sustainability in the construction industry is one of the key focuses. While the construction industry alone is responsible for 20% of the global energy consumption and approximately one-third of energy-related CO2 emissions; our built environment utilizes the world’s 40% of energy, 50% of natural resources and contributes to 40% of carbon dioxide emissions (WEF, 2016). Ecological sustainability is considered as the basis for achieving social and economic sustainability goals. The transformational change for the policy development for an integrated approach to Agenda 2030 demands the conventional growth to be replaced by policies that prioritizes welfare and wellbeing and puts ecological and social objects at the forefront of policy making. While the environmental impacts of the construction industry are huge, socio-cultural impacts are very minorly focused in such developments. Building Information Modeling (BIM) provides virtual design Model based tools, applications and processes commonly known today as Building Information Modeling (BIM) provides the ability for virtual design and construction prior to the construction of the actual infrastructure. BIM provides a way to check its constructability aspects prior to the actual construction possibilities and tools in making informed decisions for creating a better outcome that can minimize waste of resources, optimize energy and help achieve passive design strategies and achieve sustainable solutions based on the set strategies. These include energy efficient building, comfortable spaces and so on. While these tools have diversified use for the direct construction project participants, these also support inclusion and participation of the indirect stakeholders and consistently works towards developing innovative solutions to achieve smart living, social wellbeing, and sustainable cities. An ideal scenario for attaining the projected vision is to utilize digital platforms where stakeholders can collaborate on future interventions to deliver better user experiences based on refined data and through the common data environment that has the potential to be developed as a daily life digilab throughout the life cycle of the built environment (Figure 3). Introducing the interactive model through the CDE implementation will help include all the stakeholders from the inception of an idea until its lifecycle that provides the potential in creation of a positive wellbeing of all. Such an inception would help in: active participation and inclusion of all the direct and indirect participants use digital tools to virtually explore the proposed solutions easy collection, review, and dissemination of the information for perceived benefits analyze the potential impact of the proposed development on the everyday life activities and in terms of sustainability aspects. Conclusion: creating a Common Data Environment (CDE) ecosystem The main challenge of ensuring all people in a society are included can be solved by creating a CDE ecosystem that promotes and sustains participatory co-research, development and innovation activities. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences is currently co-developing a 'Daily Life Digital Lab (DigiLab)' platform as a part of the inclusive ecosystem concept to support stakeholder engagement and collaboration. External stakeholders can participate in the different phases of a construction project and contribute to the final product's concept, design, and implementation. Moreover, DigiLab will make the information exchange between external and internal stakeholders more accessible by bringing both parties on a common platform. Consequently, internal stakeholders will have the opportunity to evaluate the ideas set forth by external stakeholders, which will have a positive impact on the overall project throughout its lifecycle. Inclusive and participatory approaches amongst the stakeholders through the digital tools and platforms will enable the participation and engagement to co-create the sustainable built-environment that is accepted by the majority, if not by all. Authors Sunil Suwal (MSc. Construction and Real Estate Management) works as a Lecturer at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Manika Bajracharya, Sharmaa Devi Muthusami, Vipul Agrawal are Construction and Real Estate Management professionals, and students of ConREM, Metropolia. References Adrian Burgess (2016), Demystifying the Common Data Environment (pbctoday.co.uk) ISO 19650-1:2019, Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles (ISO 19650-1:2018) Suwal, S., Laukkanen, M., Jäväjä, P., Häkkinen, T., & Kubicki, S. (2019, August). BIM and Energy Efficiency training requirement for the construction industry. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 297, No. 1, p. 012037). IOP Publishing. WEF -World Economic Forum. (2016). Shaping the Future of Construction: A Breakthrough in Mindset and Technology. Cologny, Switzerland: World Economic Forum Jäväjä, P., Suwal, S., Porkka, J., & Jung, N. (2013, June). Enhancing customer orientation in construction industry by means of new technology. In 7th Nordic Conference on Construction Economics and Organisation 2013 (pp. 215-226). About the project Sustainable well-being is created together in participatory RDI partnership The blog post is related with a RDI project called “HYTKE - Creating wellbeing in daily life through inclusive RDI”. HYTKE project aims to build an inclusive RDI culture across the Metropolia organization and networks, improve access and competence to RDI participation for a wider range of stakeholders and embed participation and accessible technology more comprehensively in RDI projects. Inclusive RDI is at the core of Metropolia’s strategy 2030 and focuses to generate positive societal impact by strengthening its role as an enabler of participation, everyday wellbeing and holistically sustainable RDI culture and solutions with a multidisciplinary approach.

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