Welcome to the final seminar of the project VINCE, which has been selected as the “Strategic project” by the programme. The project will organise the seminar to present the mobile application developed in the project to support the integration of migrants, and talk about, among other things, interaction and digitalisation as well as co-creation in public services. Participants can also try out the app and see what this is all about!

Here’s a link to a press release published on 22.01.2026: EU-funded Finnish–Swedish project launches a mobile app to support migrant integration  – Central Baltic

Time and place

Thursday 22.1.2026 at 11-16
Turku City Theatre, Itäinen rantakatu 14, Turku, Finland
Register here by 16.1.26. ONLY A FEW OPEN SPACES!

Preliminary programme

11.00 – 12.00
– Registration, lunch, and VINCE application try outs

12.00 – 13.45
– Opening the seminar and greetings from the rector Vesa Taatila, Turku UAS
– Presenting the VINCE project by Riina Riihimäki, Turku UAS
– AI-based integration services and virtual environments by, Jaakko Haavisto, Axel Lindberg and Aapo Nikkola, FIT Turku Competence Center
– Greetings from the funder, Aleksandra Oczko-Dolny, Policy Officer at the unit dealing with Innovation and Security Research,
European Commission Directorate General for Internal Affairs and Migration

13.45 – 14.15
– Coffee break and VINCE application try outs continue

14.15 – 15.45
– Co-creation of integration services by Hanna Kirjavainen, Turku AMK
– Interaction and digitalisation from the perspective of nonprofit organisations by Katja Ollikainen and Pat Kulka-Kowalczyk, Sateenkaari Koto ry
– Multilingual Turku 2.0 by Tuija Väyrynen, City of Turku
– Possibilities for further development of the application

15.45 – 16.00
– Closing words

VINCE – Virtual Integration Home

The aim of the VINCE project, co-funded by the Central Baltic, is to develop and support the accessibility of integration services for migrants through digital solutions. The project has been developing a mobile application based on artificial intelligence and virtual environments. The application, which provides key information to support the integration of migrants, is easy to use in one’s own language and is always with you on your smart phone. The application has been developed together with migrants in various workshops and application testing sessions. 

Register by 16.1.2026

Lunch and coffee will be served, so please sign up so we can prepare for the catering: Register here by 16.1.26.  

The presentations are in Finnish.
The event is by invitation only.

Speakers

Riina Riihimäki, project manager, Turku UAS, Social Inclusion and Active Citizenship research group. Riina Riihimäki served as an innovative content lead in the VINCE project. She works as a Senior Lecturer in Social Services at Turku University of Applied Sciences and is a psychotherapist and Master of Social Sciences. She is passionate about strengthening dialogue, ensuring clients feel heard, and promoting an equally good life for all.

Jaakko Haavisto, Project Engineer, Turku UAS, FIT research group. Jaakko Haavisto is a programmer focusing on networking and interactive applications. He is responsible for the server-side of the VINCE application and for the multi-user aspects of the project.

Axel Lindberg, Project Engineer, Turku UAS, FIT research group. Axel Lindberg is a programmer focusing on frontend systems, UI/UX, and audio solutions. He is responsible for frontend architecture and implementation, UI logic, language services and localization, and virtual avatar controls across both PC and mobile platforms.

Aapo Nikkola, Project Advisor, Turku UAS, FIT research group. Aapo Nikkola is a technical artist with a strong interest in developing interactive virtual environments. In the VINCE project, his responsibility has been the visual development of the virtual rooms and the user interface, from concept to final implementation. Currently, Aapo is excited to see and experience how AI will enhance and advance development workflows in R&D contexts.

Hanna Kirjavainen, senior lecturer and research group leader, Turku UAS, Social Inclusion research group. Hanna Kirjavainen is enthusiastic about development work and is deeply involved in practical research projects, many of which relate to migrants. Her interests are primarily focused on the opportunities and pitfalls of digital co‑creation, social work, and the challenges of public service digitalization—particularly how it affects vulnerable populations and immigrant integration. Her recent doctoral research at the University of Vaasa investigates the opportunities and limitations of digitalization in supporting the participation of vulnerable citizens in the co-creation of public services.

Katja Ollikainen, project manager, Sateenkaari Koto ry. Katja Ollikainen has spent the past two years working in the VINCE project, coordinating activities through Sateenkaari Koto ry. During this time, she has focused on the needs of migrants in the Turku region, leading numerous workshops across the city. Over the past year, Katja has conducted application testing with migrants and with organizations that provide migrant services, gathering valuable service-design insights for the TUAS FIT team. Her testing work has centered on app usability, translation and AI quality, as well as the user experience of the virtual rooms.

Pat Kulka-Kowalczyk, project coordinator, Sateenkaari Koto ry. Pat Kulka-Kowalczyk is an application testing coordinator at Sateenkaari Koto ry within the VINCE project, bringing nearly two decades of international project coordination experience, focused mostly on minorities and human rights-oriented initiatives. With expertise in migrant counselling and multilingual user testing, Pat ensures that digital services genuinely reflect diverse community needs, creating a meaningful bridge between end users and technical development.

Abdel Bettahar, customer advisor, International House Turku, works as a digital coach in the VINCE project. Bettahar has a diverse background as a customer advisor and has worked for a long time in the NGO sector creating strong networks.

VINCE is built in close cooperation between Finnish and Swedish partners: Turku UAS, City of Turku, and Sateenkaari Koto ry in Finland, together with the Refugee Health Center and County Administrative Board of Östergötland in Sweden. This cross-border collaboration has enabled the sharing of expertise in social work, service design and digital innovation.

With a total budget of €2.2 million, VINCE demonstrates how European funding can translate shared challenges into concrete, scalable solutions. The project partners see VINCE as a foundation for developing future digital integration services across Europe and hope the support for this kind of initiatives continues.

For more information visit the project webpage: https://centralbaltic.eu/project/vince/  

You are warmly welcome!

Project partners