VISCI – Project (2009-2012)
Virtual Intelligent Space for Collaborative Innovation
VISCi is a four-year (2009-2012) multidisciplinary research project is funded by the Academy of Finland in the MOTIVE research programme. 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.
Research themes of VISCI project:
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.
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:
Professor Kristiina Kumpulainen, CICERO Learning Network, University of Helsinki (coordinator of the consortium project)
Professor Petri Myllymäki and Professor Patrik Floréen, Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT)
Professor Riitta Smeds, SimLab, Helsinki University of Technology (TKK)
Additional information and contact:
Project Manager at SimLab Päivi Pöyry-Lassila
VISCI - project website