Applying the positioning phase of the digital transformation model in practice for SMEs: toward systematic development of digitalization

Digital transformation (DT) refers to the changes in ways of working and business offering caused by adoption of digital technologies in an organization. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling with this transformation because of their limited resources and know-how. Thus, SMEs need practical grassroots-level help for DT that allows the companies to analyze where they stand in digitalization, and how they should proceed. This article discusses how SMEs can be supported in their DT by utilizing the DT model consisting of four consecutive phases for supporting companies’ systematic development of digitalization. The article focuses on the first phase of the DT model, positioning, where company’s digitalization status is analyzed in detail, and development ideas are identified. The positioning phase was conducted for 19 SMEs in Northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. The results indicate that the used process and tools were suitable to support SMEs for analyzing their digitalization status and identifying areas for improvement. The DT model and piloted tools have been published as a free-of-charge ApuaDigiin.fi online service to facilitate their widespread use in the future. In this way, public regional business development authors or research organizations can utilize the online service while supporting the digitalization of SMEs

From high-level languages to dataflow circuits

La manera tradicional de computar alguna cosa és creant software que es pot executar en la unitat de processament central (CPU) d'un processador. El problema és que una CPU no té la capacitat de còmput suficient per executar correctament aplicacions pertanyents a certs àmbits, com per exemple l'aprenentatge profund o la mineria de cripto-monedes. Amb el pas del temps, les unitats de processament gràfic (GPUs) es van començar a utilitzar en altres camps més enllà dels ideats inicialment (p.e. videojocs), permetent l'execució d'aquelles aplicacions que les CPU no podien. No obstant, existeix una altra manera per executar programes o algorismes, la qual és molt més eficient en el consum de temps i energia que executar software en CPUs i GPUs. Aquesta altra manera consisteix a dissenyar i implementar directament un circuit hardware per executar alguna cosa en particular, en lloc d'utilitzar un circuit de propòsit general que permet executar qualsevol cosa. Per aquesta raó, l'objectiu d'aquest projecte és el de desenvolupar una eina de síntesis que generi circuits de data flow a partir de llenguatges de programació d'alt nivell. Aquests circuits es poden implementar en tecnologies com les matrius de portes programables (FPGAs). Aquest projecte crearà el back end d'un compilador, amb l'ajuda d'algun front end d'un compilador que permeti la traducció de codi d'alt nivell en una representació intermèdia, com per exemple LLVM. La idea és tenir un únic codi intermedi per múltiples llenguatges d'alt nivell. Aleshores, aquesta representació intermèdia es passarà al nostre back end, i aquest generarà un conjunt de mòduls amb diferents funcionalitats, i canals per transmetre dades entre mòduls, en la forma d'un graf dirigit. Finalment, aquests grafs s'implementaran en les mencionades FGPAs, creant el circuit hardware final que s'executarà. El funcionament d'aquests circuits seguirà el paradigma del data flow, proposat en el MIT a mitjans dels anys 70.The traditional way to compute something is writing software that can be executed in the processor's central processing unit (CPU). However, a CPU does not have the computing capacity to properly run applications belonging to certain fields like for example, deep learning and cryptocurrency mining. With the passage of time, graphic processing units (GPUs) began to be used in other fields besides the initially intended ones (e.g. video games), permitting the execution of those applications that CPUs could not. Nevertheless, exists a different way to execute programs or algorithms, that is much more efficient in time and power consumption than executing software in CPUs and GPUs. This other way consists in directly designing and implementing a hardware circuit to particularly execute something, instead of using a general-purpose circuitry that can compute anything. For this reason, the goal of this project is the development of a synthesis tool that generates data flow circuits from high-level languages. These circuits can be later be implemented in technologies such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). This project will create a compiler back end, with the help of some existing compiler front end that can translate the initial high-level code into some intermediate representation, such as LLVM. The idea is to have a unique intermediate code for multiple high-level languages. Then, this intermediate representation will be fed to our back end, and it will generate a set of modules with different functions, and channels to transmit data between modules, in the form of directed graphs. Finally, these graphs will be implemented in the mentioned FPGAs, creating the final hardware circuit that will be run. The functioning of these circuits, will follow the data flow paradigm proposed at the MIT in the mid 70's

Program Pengembangan Minat Kewirausahaan Mahasiswa

The objective of developing entrepreneurship program to produce new entrepre-neurs.  The methods in this activity were training, workshops, and observations. The results of implementation program among others, a very good commitment of tenants have been carried out all activities, the amount of attendance of tenants for each activity were  100%, their activeness in each activity were good and the average activity in 78 %, the successful of program is good and the program success rate in 75 %. We hope all of the activities implementation of developing entrepreneurship program increase the tenants interesting in entrepreneurship. It is recommended for the team to assist tenant activities until they can be independent entrepreneurs

Digitalisaation edistämisen ohjelman loppuraportti

Digitalisaation edistämisen ohjelma 2020-2023 oli yksi pääministeri Marinin hallitusohjelman digitalisaatiohankkeista. Ohjelman roolina on ollut erilaisten yhteistoimenpiteiden kautta ohjata, tukea ja kannustaa viranomaisia viemään kansalaisille ja yrityksille suunnattu palvelutarjontansa digitaaliseen palvelukanavaan. Ohjelmaan sisältyi hallitusohjelmasta myös digitaalisten julkisten palveluiden saavutettavuus ja riittävien palveluiden käytön tukipalveluiden turvaaminen kansalaisten yhdenvertaisuuden varmistamiseksi. Arvioinnin mukaan ohjelma on tuottanut hyödyllisiä tuotoksia, kuten työkaluja ja toimintamalleja, sekä vahvistanut kokonaiskuvaa julkishallinnon digikehittämisen kokonaisuudesta. Digikehittämisen tarpeiden ja pullonkaulojen täsmentyminen on tärkeää jatkokehittämisen kannalta. Ohjelman tuotosten vaikuttavuus on kuitenkin toistaiseksi ollut pistemäistä. Arviointi suosittelee, että ohjelmassa valmistuneiden tuotosten ja tulosten käyttöönottoa ja viemistä osaksi muuta kehitystyötä, kuten Digikompassia, jatketaan ohjelman päätyttyä

In search of Finnish creative economy ecosystems and their development needs:study based on international benchmarking

This report reviews the status of domestic creative economy ecosystem development, benchmarks creative economy focused policies and models in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and gives recommendations on how to support cross-sectoral use of creative competencies in ecosystem development in Finland. In the review of creative economy in Finland, creative activities are grouped into four categories (creative and cultural products, creative content, creative services, creative environments and platforms) that differ from each other in terms of value creation logic, easiness of scalability and recycling of intangible value, and the role of interaction and communities in the value creation process. This categorisation has been applied in updating the creative sector fact sheets. International benchmarking shows that official recognition, champions and organisations are needed to establish a common voice for creative sector actors. These have had an important enabling role for proactive policies supporting the creative sectors’ development. Strengthening of creative activities and connecting them firmly to wider regional and national networks across the economy are on policy agenda in all the three benchmarking countries. Supporting cross-sectoral collaboration and wider use of creative competencies calls for a clear national policy recognising pivotal role of regional hubs, attention to fostering practise oriented business skills in initial education, and flexible arrangements for accessing complementary expertise and facilities. To improve the availability and relevance of data on creative activity, we propose to study and pilot the use of textual data and text mining techniques to complement official statistics on economic activities, and systemise data collection on publicly funded projects. For ecosystem development, the public-private partnership model based growth engine initiatives of Business Finland could offer a platform for cross-sectoral collaboration and for connecting regional hubs with national and global ecosystems