Holis­tic inter­na­tion­al­i­sa­tion and the promo­tion of sustain­able devel­op­ment in all our actions are among the key strate­gic aims of Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences. This devel­op­ment work is in turn supported by the three-year Hori­zon2020-funded project INVEST4EXCELLENCE. The project is elab­o­rated by the INVEST Euro­pean Univer­sity, which is an educa­tional and research commu­nity of five higher educa­tion insti­tu­tions (HEIs) from Slova­kia, Bulgaria, Greece, Finland and the Nether­lands, and their regional stakeholders.

The INVEST4EXCELLENCE project aims for capac­ity build­ing that fosters the compe­tence devel­op­ment and strate­gic elab­o­ra­tion of the joint research and inno­va­tion agenda for the exist­ing INVEST alliance. This paper discusses the devel­op­ment, imple­men­ta­tion and key find­ings of the three-step case study research that frames the staff compe­tence devel­op­ment process. 

Intro­duc­tion

In 2020, Karelia UAS joined the ERASMUS+ Euro­pean Univer­si­ties-funded INVEST Alliance. The INVEST consor­tium is a combi­na­tion of five HEIs from Finland, Slova­kia, Bulgaria, Greece and the Nether­lands. The alliance is supported with the three-year Hori­zon2020-funded INVEST4EXCELLENCE project that started in 2021 and aims at estab­lish­ing a common research, devel­op­ment and inno­va­tion agenda and a compe­tence devel­op­ment ecosys­tem for the alliance.

To support the devel­op­ment agenda, the alliance conducted a three-step case study to iden­tify the key research, devel­op­ment, and inno­va­tion (RDI) compe­tences, which are essen­tial in devel­op­ing and main­tain­ing sustain­able supply chains (SSC). Firstly, the case was framed with scoping review analy­ses that were based loosely on the scoping review proto­col by the Joanna Briggs Insti­tute (JBI, 2022).  Secondly, it was defined in more detail with organ­i­sa­tional case descrip­tions and, thirdly, the focus group data was collected from the iden­ti­fied infor­mants. The focus group infor­mants included RDI profes­sion­als from most of the INVEST part­ners and their regional stake­hold­ers from the public and private sectors. The results were summarised in the form of an RDI compe­tence matrix, in which three key areas of compe­tence were iden­ti­fied: 1) sustain­able supply chain manage­ment (SSCM), 2) HEI-stake­holder inter­ac­tions, and 3) the inter­nal sustain­able devel­op­ment of HEIs.

The results provide a refer­ence point for the HR devel­op­ment that is needed to ensure rele­vant capa­bil­i­ties in promot­ing sustain­abil­ity and respon­si­bil­ity in the research, devel­op­ment and inno­va­tion of supply chains within the INVEST consor­tium. This process serves the goal to create a joint INVEST centre for excel­lence in the longer term.

Research process and compe­tence matrix description

Karelia UAS leads the capac­ity-build­ing process and is respon­si­ble for the evidence-based approach. The essen­tial RDI compe­tences in main­tain­ing and devel­op­ing sustain­able supply chains (SSC) were reported in the form of a compe­tence matrix. The data collec­tion included a scoping review, an organ­i­sa­tional case study and a focus group inter­view, and the results were grouped into three cate­gories based on the content analy­sis method.

First, the sustain­able supply chain manage­ment group (SSCM) included four main cate­gories that are all sub-grouped in more detail into general and specific compe­tences (see Table 1a).

The general compe­tences include a wide variety of skills and knowl­edge from sustain­able lead­er­ship to corpo­rate social respon­si­bil­ity (CSR) and from sustain­abil­ity certi­fi­ca­tions to tech­nol­ogy and IT, big data and green logis­tics. Specific compe­tences seem to go deeper in under­stand­ing a more defined context and include the circu­lar economy, life cycle assess­ment (LCA) and peace econom­ics, for example. Some compe­tences are over­lap­ping within the four main categories.

Second, based on the scoping review and inter­nal and exter­nal inter­views, the higher educa­tion and indus­try inter­ac­tion group includes a wide list of detailed compe­tences that still need thematic group­ing and further elab­o­ra­tions (see table 1b).

Both higher educa­tion profes­sion­als and stake­holder repre­sen­ta­tives stressed that a varied set of substance skills and knowl­edge have to be increas­ingly accom­pa­nied by a wide range of inter­ac­tion skills. An impor­tant aspect of these skills is flex­i­ble inter­ac­tion in inter­dis­ci­pli­nary special­ist networks in a vast variety of contexts. Compa­nies pointed out that their work in diverse contexts bene­fits from experts with diverse profes­sional back­grounds and cross-cutting compe­tences. One company repre­sen­ta­tive stated that it is diffi­cult for them to find employ­ers who can explore solu­tions from several points of view, such as water and elec­tric­ity, simultaneously.

Third, based on the scoping review and the inter­nal and exter­nal inter­views, the sustain­abil­ity in higher educa­tion group includes quite a compre­hen­sive list of organ­i­sa­tion-related compe­tences that support apply­ing sustain­abil­ity into all actions of higher educa­tion (see table 1c).

Exam­ples of the main compe­tences include, for example, Higher Educa­tion for Sustain­able Devel­op­ment (HESD) prac­tices (see e.g. Lozano et al. 2017), open inno­va­tion in HEIs, and knowl­edge of inter­na­tional dimen­sions of HEIs. As sustain­abil­ity chal­lenges are global, sustain­able devel­op­ment calls for global inter­ac­tion and reci­p­ro­cal co-creation. Thus, the RDI profes­sion­als need to be compe­tent in order to contribute to global networks. More specif­i­cally, this requires skills in glob­al­i­sa­tion, languages and inter­cul­tural communication.

Discus­sion

The defi­n­i­tions of all these three groups, sustain­able supply chain manage­ment, inter­ac­tions between HEIs and indus­try, and sustain­abil­ity in higher educa­tion, can bring bene­fits as a base­line to eval­u­ate exist­ing compe­tences, iden­ti­fy­ing the gaps and devel­op­ing spec­i­fied learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties for capac­ity-build­ing actions within the INVEST alliance.

Overall, the results indi­cated that the RDI skills, compe­tences and knowl­edge related to HEI-stake­holder inter­ac­tion are an impor­tant and diverse aspect of RDI capac­ity-build­ing actions in sustain­able supply chains. The HEI-stake­holder inter­ac­tion pertains to 1) the compe­tences needed by the RDI profes­sion­als to carry out the HEI-stake­holder collab­o­ra­tion, and 2) the compe­tences that the students need when working in the context of sustain­able supply chains now and in the future. The study showed that higher educa­tion and stake­holder repre­sen­ta­tives partly share the same vision for these inter­ac­tion capac­i­ties, but there are also differences.

Based on the results, it seems that the focus groups, which included HEI profes­sion­als and stake­hold­ers, agree that manag­ing sustain­abil­ity chal­lenges requires self-oriented contin­u­ous learn­ing and busi­ness devel­op­ment of RDI person­nel. More­over, the infor­mants high­lighted the right atti­tude towards RDI work and self-oriented life-long learn­ing skills as essen­tial. Thus, the results of this three-step case study vali­date the need to create a system­atic capac­ity-build­ing process with both infor­mal and formal learn­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties to re- and upscale the compe­tences to boost more sustain­able supply chains.

In addi­tion to foster­ing inter­ac­tional activ­i­ties with stake­holder groups, sustain­abil­ity efforts in supply chains chal­lenge higher educa­tion insti­tu­tions to iden­tify, manage and develop their inter­nal compe­tences, skills and knowl­edge. Overall, the research provided insight into the organ­i­sa­tional compe­tence devel­op­ment of RDI dimen­sion with respect to manage­ment, social respon­si­bil­ity and inter­na­tion­al­i­sa­tion on a broad scale. 

In the follow­ing project years, the capac­ity-build­ing process will be further comple­mented with the creation of a tool for stake­holder involve­ment, devel­op­ment of open science train­ing mate­ri­als, and opening up the holis­tic INVEST Fellow Programme for peer-learn­ing opportunities.

---

Authors:

Tiina Muhonen, Project Special­ist, Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences

Helena Puhakka-Tarvainen, Senior Project Manager, Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences 

Liisa Timonen, Head of Inter­na­tion­al­i­sa­tion, Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences

---

Refer­ences:

Lozano, Rodrigo, Michelle Y. Merrill, Kaisu Sammal­isto, Kim Ceule­mans, and Fran­cisco J. Lozano. 2017. “Connect­ing Compe­tences and Peda­gog­i­cal Approaches for Sustain­able Devel­op­ment in Higher Educa­tion: A Liter­a­ture Review and Frame­work Proposal” Sustain­abil­ity 9, no. 10: 1889. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101889

Joanna Briggs Insti­tute (JBI) 2022. JBI Scoping Review Proto­col Template. https://jbi.global/sites/default/files/2020-07/SUMARI_Protocol_Template_Scoping_Reviews.docx. 30.9.2022.

Cover photo: Tirachard Kumtanom

Another article on the same study is in the process of being published:

Timonen, L., Puhakka-Tarvainen H. & Muhonen T. (2022) Rele­vant Research and Devel­op­ment Compe­tences. Smart Energy for Smart Trans­port -Proceed­ings of the 6th Confer­ence on Sustain­able Urban Mobil­ity, CSUM2022, August 31- Septem­ber 2, 2022, Skiathos, Greece.