Tandem Industry Academia (TIA) Professor (2024)
Chief Researcher Jenni Ervasti’s project demonstrates the role of strategic work ability management in the light of key economic indicators for companies
Project title:
Strategic work ability management and its potential in reducing work disability risks during the different phases of work disability
Approved funding:
126 876 €
Applicant:
Finnish Institute of Occupational Health
Industrial partner:
Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Company
“This collaboration will open up new research avenues as well as new perspectives for research into work ability and disability. The new research questions addressed will also pave the way for new research projects.”
Jenni Ervasti, Chief Researcher
The proportion of the working-age population is shrinking. It is therefore increasingly important to strive to maintain the health and work ability of the workforce through to retirement. This joint project between Chief Researcher Jenni Ervasti and pension insurance company Ilmarinen is aimed at exploring how strategic work ability management can help to support the work ability of employees and to prevent work disability, and how optimal work ability management is reflected in various economic performance indicators, such as the employer’s pension insurance contributions.
The data for the research come from Ilmarinen’s customer database and individual employees’ benefit applications. These data sources are highly regulated and have so far not been accessible for academic research purposes, and therefore the joint project is in the position to produce entirely new information. The results will allow companies to boost their productivity and reduce their insurance premiums. At the same time, the broader society will benefit from longer working lives and higher rates of labour participation.
Research Professor Ismo Strandén’s project will develop a crop plant breeding model that incorporates the impacts of climate change
Project title:
Enhancing genomic selection for breeding crop adaptation to climate change
Approved funding:
152 319 €
Applicant:
Natural Resources Institute Finland
Industrial partners:
Boreal Kasvinjalostus Oy
“This project will provide a concrete understanding of what’s really important and what practical limitations there are in plant breeding. Our collaboration in the project will concretise the global and local challenges presented by the changing climate to plant breeding and at the same time help generate new ideas for research.”
Ismo Strandén, Research Professor
Climate change and the associated extreme weather events are creating significant challenges for crop production. New, more climate-resilient crop varieties are constantly being developed by means of plant breeding, which is enhanced by genomic selection based on DNA markers. However, current genomic breeding models assume that plant varieties have the same harvest potential regardless of the environment and disregard varying weather conditions.
To facilitate more effective breeding for future climate conditions, it is critical that weather data are incorporated into breeding models. This joint project between Research Professor Ismo Strandén and Boreal Plant Breeding Ltd will be working to develop a new genomic breeding model that can improve the climate resilience of crop varieties and reduce the risks in crop production.
