Sports innovations through close cooperation

Jyväskylä has a wealth of uncommercialised sports expertise. According to the parties behind the Sport Innovation Hub, the city's sports innovation process needs to be sped up. When it comes down to it, the real question is: how can we transform solid expertise into profitable business?

The Sport Innovation Hub is building operating models that bridge the gap between sports and companies, to boost both innovations and business. The aim of the Hub aim is to strengthen cooperation between research and education institutions, SMEs and hands-on sports operators, as well as to create a platform for the generation of innovations, products and services. New innovations, products and services can be created around themes such as smart training, mental well-being or sports psychology. And it doesn't stop there – helping companies improve pre-existing products is also key.

At the Sport Innovation Hub, the Finnish Institute of High Performance Sport KIHU, the University of Jyväskylä and JAMK University of Applied Sciences will work closely together on the project's themes. Successful cooperation requires mutual trust and regular communication.

-  We are engaging in continuous dialogue on the project's aims. Our goal is twofold: we are striving to develop both the businesses and the sports, says Chief Specialist Pasi Teräväinen from JAMK.

Pasi Teräväinen, Riku Valleala and Sanna Paasu-Hynynen are working together on the project.

And the aims when it comes to the impact of the Sport Innovation Hub are by no means modest:

-  We are looking for the next Firstbeat in Jyväskylä, explains Teräväinen, giving an example to illustrate the kind of scale of the project's aims.

Creating a clear plan through gamification

Businesses' potential has been explored through means such as Game Day events organised by JAMK, where experts in sports and physical activity and entrepreneurs come together to bounce ideas off each other at workshops. Game Day is an operating model developed in the Sport Innovation Hub project to help businesses exchange ideas. Topaasia decks were used in the workshops, helping to combine hard skills and business development through gamification. The aim of Game Day events is to create a clear development plan for the companies participating.

Hanna Kortejärvi (Mindfull engineering) participated on Game Day. Photo: Riku Valleala

-  The decks provide a structure for the days, and the situation progresses and tangible measures are created accordingly. With the help of Topaasia's cards, it is also easier to shine a spotlight on difficult issues, says Teräväinen.

As Riku Valleala, communications manager at KIHU, explains, each Game Day offers fosters the spirit of common development. Bringing together a range of companies and experts ensures plenty of different points of view are heard.

-  External partners to bounce ideas around with help bring the company out of its own bubble, says Valleala.

Pasi Teräväinen and Milja Markkanen (Hengitysvalmennus) discuss on Game Day. Photo: Riku Valleala

Modern technology for all to try

At the turn of the year, the Sport Innovation Hub project is set to yield a very tangible result when the KIHU SportTech Experience – a smart experimentation and development environment – opens at KIHU. The idea behind the development environment is to make modern, sports-related technology available for everyone to try. In the experimental and development environment, users can find out more about the kinds of things that can be measured or how technology could be utilised in their own sport, for example. There will also be a lot of virtual technology available, such as various applications using VR glasses. With the help of VR glasses, users can practise sports even when recovering from a injury or in similar situations, or work on repetitions in situations that cannot feasibly be practised as much in real life. A virtual environment can offer the opportunity to repeat a situation far more than a real-life context can.

- In rally and other motor sports, simulators offer plenty of scope for driving, but the same opportunities are just not there for athletics, Valleala explains, comparing the situations.

At the same time, an understanding is emerging of what future practice sessions could be like. Companies can also bring their own technology to the facilities, allowing athletes to test it and give feedback. As such, the space also offers businesses tools with which to create innovations.

- Often, sports innovations are nestled away in their own niches, rarely crossing paths with one another. This could be an environment where they can truly blossom. The starting pistol has been fired and now it's time to see how far we can go and what we can achieve, says Project Manager Sanna Paasu-Hynynen.