The DILEC research investigates employee-centered and digital solutions for developing inclusive leadership, career path processes, and knowledge transfer from experienced to younger employees. Additionally, the project examines the impact of these solutions on business productivity and the quality of working life.
The DILEC research project is carried out by Laurea University of Applied Sciences and the University of Lapland. The project duration is from August 1, 2025, to June 30, 2028. In addition to the research organizations, Business Finland funds the DILEC project.
DILEC is implemented in collaboration with Finnish and international partners, including companies and universities that contribute research knowledge, valuable expertise, and new perspectives. Learn more about DILEC’s partners through the presentation below.
Ramirent is a leading service company providing equipment rental, scaffolding, and weather protection for construction, industry, and events. We help our customers work safely and effeciently by renting out the right equipment for their needs and serving them smoothly with a smile. Ramirent is part of the Loxam Group, the fourth largest equipment rental company in the world.
Thanks to the DILEC project, our service will be even smoother—without losing our positive touch.
Folkhälsan is Finland’s largest Swedish-speaking organization working for better health and quality of life. Folkhälsan is both a service provider and an expert organization, as well as a civic movement. Folkhälsan’s research center conducts research in the fields of public health and genetics. The research promotes the development of new methods and better services. The foundation of all Folkhälsan’s activities is scientific evidence. This means that we work based on scientifically proven knowledge.
The collaboration between Folkhälsan and the Dilec project strengthens the project’s expertise in research methods and, on the other hand, enables the utilization of research results in Swedish-speaking companies.
As Europe’s leading provider of circular economy services for businesses, Elis ensures the highest standards of hygiene, safety, and well-being for its customers — in a sustainable way. Our circular economy services help our clients focus on their core business while reducing their environmental impact. Elis rents, maintains, and reuses the products and textiles it provides to customers, enabling both environmental and customer benefits.
The circular business model creates a connection between us, our customers, and the planet, and it unites our people around the world.
We find the topics of the Dilec research project timely and inspiring. The development of inclusive leadership and onboarding, as well as the future opportunities of digitalization, are areas that connect Elis and the Dilec project.
We look forward to gaining new tools from the project to support knowledge transfer from experienced employees to younger ones, and to better incorporate employee-centric approaches into our processes in the future.
The foundation of Restaurant Factory’s values is a “can-do attitude”. We do what we promise, whether it’s lunch service, corporate events, or building a lunch restaurant in the client’s premises. All of us at Factory share the desire to succeed – we are proud of what we do.
Factory restaurants want to develop their operations in a multidisciplinary way also in the future. In the Dillec project, we are exploring new opportunities for even better personnel management and new ways of working in a changing world.
Digia is a software and service company that combines technological possibilities and human capabilities to build intelligent business, society and a sustainable future. Our mission is to ensure that our customers are at the forefront of digital evolution. There are more than 1,600 of us working at Digia and we operate globally with our customers.
Together with the DILEC project, we are shaping a future where Finnish organisations evolve with agility and responsibility through digital transformation. We believe that sustainable, human-centred change is the foundation of long-term competitiveness. We bring our expertise in developing change capability and apply research insights in practice across our clients’ transformation initiatives.
Nokia is a global leader in connectivity for the AI era, providing the critical network infrastructure the world relies on. Every day, we’re powering our customers with advanced connectivity across fixed, mobile, and transport networks, delivering the performance and security they need to meet the demands of an AI-enabled future.
The DESIS-Q Laboratory advances social design research within the Department of Strategic Design, Faculty of Design, Kyushu University. Situated within the specific socio-cultural and environmental context of Kyushu, Japan, the laboratory engages with a range of projects that emerge from and respond to contemporary societal challenges. Its research focuses on developing strategic and systems-oriented design approaches to address complex social issues and foster sustainable transformations.
Our participation in the DILEC Project broadens our strategic research vision through collaboration with international partners. These collaborations provide critical contextual perspectives that support our inquiry into emerging socio-technological conditions, enabling the development of innovative methodologies and solutions that address the evolving nature of future workplaces in Japan and Finland.
Mälardalen University is a modern, progressive university in Sweden located an hour from Stockholm—home to around 19,000 students and 1,000 staff. Mälardalen University is renowned for its strong commitment to sustainability and was the world’s first university to be certified under ISO 14001. The university combines high-quality education with cutting-edge research, in close collaboration with industry, public organizations, and international partners. The DILEC project is thematically close to strong areas of our university such as Health and welfare and Innovation and design—addressing sustainable leadership, employee-centric transformation, hybrid work, and wellbeing.
We believe that our collaboration in DILEC directly contributes to our vision of being “a progressive and collaborative university where together we shape a sustainable future”.
DILEC Project Manager Minna Pietikäinen presents the upcoming content of the DILEC project to company representatives during the project’s first workshop organized for businesses.
The DILEC research explores practical methods for digital inclusive leadership and employee-centered career path development, including knowledge transfer using AI solutions. It also studies the impact of these approaches on work quality, operational efficiency, and business productivity.
Digital transformation requires companies to balance technological advancements with employee experience. The project provides companies with best practices for inclusive leadership and employee-centered career path development, helping them improve leadership and processes. When employees participate in developing work and career processes, the solutions become more effective and widely accepted.
The research results promote a more innovative, resilient, and employee-centered working life in Finland. Companies that adopt inclusive leadership and digital employee-centered transformation practices achieve higher productivity and profitability while creating workplaces where employees thrive, participate, and commit to long-term success.
We launched the DILEC project together with companies in September 2025. Our first research task is to understand what digital and AI tools companies use for leadership and process development, and how employee participation is realized in everyday teamwork and work development. We use workshops, interviews, and surveys to understand company practices. Based on the collected data, we can better target the research and support companies in their digital transformation.
Companies are enthusiastically participating in the joint research, and we look forward to fruitful research years from 2025 to 2028.
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