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Purpose This study aims to determine how sustainable development (SD) demands (according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) SD themes from 2005) are connected to the contents of education, research, development and innovation (RDI) in higher education institutions (HEI). Education and the RDI nexus may affect HEI’s capability to handle SD-related wicked problems and enhance their societal impact. Design/methodology/approach This paper examined SD-oriented curricula contents of two universities (Brazil and Finland) and counted the number of SD-related research outcomes. In addition, conceptual modelling was used to analyse the mechanisms that may be directing HEIs’ SD work in local innovation. Findings The data showed a convergence deviation in the RDI of SD-related subjects between the two HEIs. There was no correlation between SD-oriented education and RDI-work in either HEI. Education and RDI processes have different UNECE SD themes at the focal point, and the education-research nexus is lacking. This difference indicates that new SD-related knowledge produced through RDI was not effectively used in education. Modelling revealed that the convergence in RDI outcomes arose from the same kind of local business, industry and societal challenges, implementing effective stakeholder pressures into HEIs. The results may indicate that stakeholder SD needs were not directly transferred into the competence qualification of the curriculum. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to reveal the independence of universities’ SD-related RDI subjects on educational curricula.

There were two projects at the National Defence University of Finland (NDU), which both ended by the end of 2022. One of them tried to find the answers to the main question: How artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to improve learning, teaching, and planning? The other tried to find the answer to the main question: What new skills do officers need when artificial intelligence is coming? We did literature reviews and found out that intelligent technology combined with data analytics can offer several improvements to traditional classroom teaching. From literature reviews, we also found some new skills that officers might need to be able to handle AI- based technologies. This is a position paper presenting the arguable opinions of the writers. We have found lots of benefits that the use of intelligent learning technology can bring, mainly by supporting individual learning paths. There is also an obvious need for AI officers who should have a deeper understanding of the AI-supported technology than normal officers. This project and some other similar projects have raised a lot of discussions, one seminar series about artificial intelligence and we do have some trained AI officers as well. Keywords: artificial intelligence, intelligent learning, supported studying, intelligent planning, characteristics of war

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan ammattikorkeakoulutusta erityisesti opinnäytetyön näkökulmasta. Opintojen tavoite on muodostaa kokonaisuus, joka antaa edellytykset ammatilliseen asiantuntijuuteen kasvamiseen. Ammattikorkeakoulujen opinnäytetyöt kytkevät opitun teoreettisen ja käytännöllisen tiedon työelämässä ilmenevien ongelmien ratkaisuun. Metodiselta luonteeltaan opinnäytetyöt ovat tyypillisesti käytäntölähtöisiä, jolloin ongelmaksi tulee käytäntölähtöisen tutkimuksen heterogeenisuus. Kehittämisen tavoitteen ollessa parantaminen, peruskysymys liittyy siihen, miten asioiden tulisi olla. Tällöin tarvitaan tietoa niistä keinoista, joilla asetetut tavoitteet voidaan saavuttaa. Kuitenkin lisäksi tarvitaan tietoa sekä siitä, miten asiat tällä hetkellä ovat, että siitä, miten asioiden toivottaisiin olevan.