LAB Focus Blogs
The blogs of LAB's four focus areas bring forth each focus area’s RDI and education activities.
Publication series
The LAB publication series publishes reports, monographs and compilations based on the RDI and higher education teaching activities at LAB.
All publications in the series are available online via Theseus.
About publishing in LAB
You can read more about LAB’s publishing activities from the LAB Guide to publishing and open science. The guide also offers information about open science, how to evaluate scholarly publications, and how to promote your research.
For any additional information or questions, please contact julkaisut
lab [dot] fi (julkaisut[at]lab[dot]fi)
Latest articles
LAB Open
Bridging the AI Skills Gap in Healthcare and ICT Education: A Curricular Gap Analysis Across European VET and HEI Institutions
The use of artificial intelligence in healthcare is advancing at a rapid pace, yet educational curricula have not kept up. As part of the Erasmus+-funded DETECT 2.0 project, a survey was conducted across four European vocational education and training and higher education institutions to analyse the current state of artificial intelligence (AI), innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainability competencies taught to healthcare and information and communication technology students. In line with the project’s objective to improve the quality of life of people with early-stage dementia through technology, the survey examined whether curricula included content on AI-based assistive technologies for dementia care. Over 82% of programmes lacked meaningful AI integration, 71% had no dementia-specific content, and 65% of educators expressed low confidence in their graduates' preparedness to use AI-driven tools effectively and responsibly. These descriptive results underscore the urgent need for interdisciplinary curricula that bridge healthcare domain knowledge and technical AI competencies and provide the evidence base for DETECT 2.0’s training interventions. Source
Humane technology is decided at the interface: digital humanism, Industry 5.0 and the case for design research
Two influential ideas illuminate today’s debate about human-centric technology, each from a different direction: Vienna-based digital humanism and the European Union’s Industry 5.0. One speaks the language of values and critique, the other the language of industrial policy, and they do not necessarily meet. Neither pays much attention to the place where most of us actually meet technology: the interface in front of us when we are trying to get something done. I argue that this is exactly where human-centricity is won or lost, and that design research is unusually well placed to bring the two ideas down to that level. Source
Using Copilot for Intercultural Communication Practice: A Simulation-Based Approach
Communication skills and cultural awareness are among the most crucial skills for a professional in any field. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) provides educators with new possibilities for teaching and practicing these skills with students. This article describes how GenAI can be used as a communication partner in AI-based simulation activities to develop students’ readiness for intercultural communication. Source
LAB Focus
Building local trust helps international students to be employed
Heikki Korpela (2026), a researcher at the VATT Institute for Economic Research, noted that recent media coverage of the unemployment situation may convey an overly negative picture of the employment outcomes of higher education graduates. When employment is examined from the perspective of earnings, 85.4% of graduates from universities of applied sciences earned more than […] The post Building local trust helps international students to be employed appeared first on LAB Focus.
Supporting Sustainable Mobility in Päijät-Häme Is a Joint Effort
The state of Finland, its regions and around 300 municipalities have committed to reducing carbon emissions and have set up targets to do so in the near future (Digital and Population Data Services Agency 2026). The main challenges are well reported: the decarbonization of mobility, resilience of the mobility system as a whole and maintaining […] The post Supporting Sustainable Mobility in Päijät-Häme Is a Joint Effort appeared first on LAB Focus.
Why Credible Evidence Is the New Marketing Advantage in Sustainable Fashion
Sustainability claims are everywhere in fashion: almost every store markets its products as eco-friendly, sustainable, or ethically made. Yet as the messaging grows, consumer trust in it is falling. The more brands say, the harder it becomes for shoppers to tell a genuine commitment from a marketing line. Studies show this skepticism is well-founded, as […] The post Why Credible Evidence Is the New Marketing Advantage in Sustainable Fashion appeared first on LAB Focus.