Project

GrowthCF – Renewing Business through Student Collaboration

Project sponsors

Abbreviation
GrowthCF
Project type
Development project
Focus area
Innovative Learning
Implementation time
1.1.2025 - 31.8.2026
Financing program
Just Transition Fund (JTF)
UN Sustainable development goals
Project description

KasvuKS - Innovative Business through Student Collaboration Project is part of a comprehensive set of three parallel projects aimed at renewing business operations and improving research, development, and innovation (RDI) opportunities in Central Finland. The parallel projects are carried out by the Central Finland Entrepreneurs Association and the Jyväskylä Education Consortium Gradia. These projects aim to create a more favorable operating environment for SMEs to engage in RDI activities and to renew their business operations in various ways.

The purpose of the parallel project at the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (Jamk) is to enable more local SMEs to utilize Jamk's free student collaboration as an innovation platform—a place where they can get support for renewing their business operations and find a long-term partner in the higher education institution. The other parallel projects support this goal by focusing on tightening collaboration within the service network, making services more comprehensible for businesses in need of renewal, developing service guidance, and producing information on RDI activities within local SMEs.

The success of the project is based on strong collaboration between companies, educational institutions, and the service network. Through collaboration, new operational models are developed to expand the user base of services supporting business renewal, strengthen long-term collaboration between companies and educational institutions, and enhance the growth of innovation and business in Central Finland.

Project results
As a concrete result of the project, at least 25 companies in Central Finland will utilize the student collaboration innovation platform to renew their business. Depending on the assignment, they will receive innovative concepts for more sustainable business, renewable energy solutions, service development, or entirely new business ventures. If companies find it meaningful to modify joint assignments, the result will also be new or strengthened collaboration between companies. The enhanced collaboration with educational institutions aims to provide long-term support for the company's development efforts. The goal is also to create a plan for the next student assignment or a commitment to other forms of collaboration with the educational institution with 12 companies during the project, which will advance the company's development efforts.

The concrete outputs produced in the work packages are:

Work Package 1
  • Plan for implementing growth discussions
  • RDI profiles of SMEs formed based on customer understanding
  • Article on the RDI readiness and aspirations of SMEs
Work Package 2
  • Webinar recording on introducing FF activities to companies
  • Summary of participatory observation in the FF actors' workshop
  • Summary of the development workshop results, evaluating the most relevant and easily implementable FF platform development actions from the companies' perspective
  • Development continuation plans with 12 companies, i.e., a second student assignment to be formulated during the project or a commitment to other forms of collaboration with the university that will support the company's development efforts.
Work Package 3
  • Company and collaboration stories highlighting the customer value from companies that have tried FF activities
  • Article on the value produced by student work for business renewal
  • Guide for companies on student collaboration
  • Vision formulated in the network workshop on developing services supporting RDI activities or communicating about them to support broader SME RDI investments
  • Article based on the network workshop results
The project's results will have an immediate impact on both the companies conducting FF trials and the FF activities. Companies will gain new perspectives on business development, and the FF team will be able to make justified changes to the FF process, which are seen to increase the value companies receive from student collaboration. The immediate impacts produced for companies will be identified when compiling company and collaboration stories.