Project website: www.visci.fi

This four-year (2009-2012) multidisciplinary research project is funded by the Academy of Finland. As education and business today are increasingly globalized, new challenges are facing communication, interaction, and collaboration for the advancement and creation of innovation. There is a clear need for new knowledge about ubiquitous computing, communication, and knowledge co-construction processes in virtual teams as well as about the possibilities of modern information technology to support virtual knowledge co-creation and innovation. This consortium research project tackles these challenges via a multidisciplinary research approach incorporating expertise from several disciplines, namely computer science, information technology, education and behavioral sciences, linguistics and communication, as well as industrial engineering and management science. The project focuses on the following research themes:
a) Communication and interaction in and for innovation in virtual teams and
b) Technology as an enabler of interaction and innovation in virtual teams.

The project applies a user-centred approach that aims at supporting human interaction and innovation with novel, intelligent technologies. Special attention will be paid on the supporting role of technological ubicomp solutions.

During the project, the team will implement in an iterative manner several prototypes of a web-based virtual space for supporting collaborative innovation in educational and company settings. The VISCI systems will offer users novel, innovative features that will be specified and developed across the project. The project implementation will take place via three working packages:
a) Specification and planning
b) Implementation and testing and
c) Empirical validation and user studies.

The project will be implemented using a rapid prototyping model, where the focus of the project work is iteratively switched forth and back between the three work packages, and the whole cycle over the work packages is iteratively repeated several times. In sum, this research project will create valuable new scientific knowledge for the information society via a multidisciplinary research approach focusing on communication, interaction, and enabling technology for the advancement of collaborative innovation in virtual teams in networks of educational institutions as well in company networks. It will develop and test novel technologies that facilitate social interaction and collaborative knowledge creation for learning and innovation. It will explore how adaptive and personalized technology works as an enabler in learning and innovation processes, encouraging creativity and self-expression among individuals. It will produce new knowledge on how individuals from different backgrounds interact, communicate and collaborate in virtual spaces to co-construct knowledge and to create innovations through emerging technologies.

Research consortium
Leader of the consortium: Kristiina Kumpulainen, CICERO Learning, University of Helsinki

Scientific leaders:
Kristiina Kumpulainen
Professor Petri Myllymäki and Professor Patrik Floréen, Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT)
Professor Riitta Smeds, Aalto University, School of Science and Technology

Project coordinator:
Juha Kronqvist, CICERO Learning Network, University of Helsinki (juha.kronqvist()taik.fi)