TestLab Mehtimäki project

New business, services and entrepreneurship

Project duration

30.09.2023 - 30.12.2025

Project background

The Mehtimäki project boldly seeks growth by creating a new kind of platform for sports business, learning and research. The Mehtimäki project is responsible for promoting the growth of companies and creating new jobs by creating a platform for exercise and well-being that enables the creation of new services and business opportunities. The platform also enables the creation of research-oriented businesses and student-oriented innovation activities. The platform creates multidisciplinary research and learning environment for the fields of exercise and well-being. The operation is physically located in the Joensuu Areena. The implementers of the project are the City of Joensuu, Sports Institute of Eastern Finland (ISLO), Karelia University of Applied Sciences and the University of Eastern Finland.

The project includes five work packages:

Overall project coordination and communication,
Construction of the Joensuu Arena testing and measurement environment,
A new business platform for future welfare services,
Construction of a learning environment and development of regional mobile services,
Research on exercise and sports and its connection to the possibilities of augmented reality.

Work packages 2 and 3 are the main responsibility of ISLO project workers.

Project objectives

Construction of a versatile and new type of testing station: A versatile well-being and exercise testing station serving the needs of a wide target group will be built at Joensuu Areena. The testing station also offers mobile services and various remote solutions, which will help expand operations throughout the province.

Development of sports business and entrepreneurship: New entrepreneurship in the sports and wellbeing sector will be developed around the testing station. During the project, a plan will be made together with entrepreneurs in the sports and wellbeing sector and sports clubs to develop the sports business in the Mehtimäki area and provide new types of wellbeing services.

Promotion of research and innovation activities: The testing station will promote research, development and innovation activities to create new types of products and services. In addition, the project aims to support student entrepreneurship and provide opportunities for research-based innovation activities, especially in the photonics area of expertise.

Creating a new kind of research and learning environment: The testing station serves as a research and learning environment for the University of Eastern Finland, Karelia University of Applied Sciences and the Sports Institute of Eastern Finland, especially for education in the fields of physical education, well-being and social and health care. The learning environment aims to provide an opportunity to acquire new skills and capabilities, act as a channel for the transfer of knowledge from companies and professionals to students, and promote the attractiveness of education.