Karelia University of Applied Sciences awarded the best theses of 2022. Henna Kiiskinen’s Master’s Degree Programme in Business Management and Leadership thesis Asiakkaiden näköinen kirjasto: Palvelumuotoilulla kohti uudistuvaa lähikirjastoa (Customer-looking library: Towards a renewing local library) was selected as the best thesis for the Master’s degree programme. The thesis was commissioned by Joensuu Regional Library.
Joonas Jutila’s Degree Programme in Media thesis Media Deepfake-ilmiön käsitteleminen mediakasvatusvideolla (Deepfake phenomenon in a media education video) was chosen as the best thesis for the bachelor’s degree. The thesis was commissioned by the National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI).
Henna Kiiskinen’s thesis, which utilizes the tools of service design in a versatile way, focused on the Joensuu Rantakylä library. She compiled her customer data from different user groups through interviews, surveys and various workshops. It is particularly interesting that kindergarten-aged children were able to use drawings to show what their dream library would be like. School-age young people, for example, were also able to tell what they expect from library services.
- In my thesis, I was able to combine my own library expertise with what I had learned during my master’s degree programme. With the help of the service design process, library users were placed at the centre of service development, where they belong. A library that looks like customers is the customers’ own space, and services are tailored for the library’s main user groups, Henna Kiiskinen sums up.
- Service design is at the core of library development: the work is done together with and for customers. Henna Kiiskinen’s thesis showed in concrete terms the arc of service design work in an extensive development entity and taught the work community a lot. The fruits of the planning will be seen in the renewed Rantakylä library, comments Suvi Pirnes-Toivanen, Director of Library Services at Joensuu Regional Library.
Jutila’s thesis combines an operational and a research perspective to create a media education video on deepfake videos for KAVI’s national needs. After completing the thesis, the topicality of the topic has only increased as content produced by artificial intelligence applications has become more common very quickly. These contents challenge the media criticism of recipients in completely new ways. Jutila’s thesis contains well-founded views and tools for dealing with them.
- The video has been very well received and there has clearly been a need for it. So far, it has attracted over 900 views, which indicates not only the topicality of the topic, but also that the video has been perceived as a useful tool in media education and a successful material, says Sari Murtonen, Project Specialist at KAVI.
The selection of the year’s theses was made by the thesis committee of Karelia University of Applied Sciences.
Henna Kiiskinen: Asiakkaiden näköinen kirjasto: Palvelumuotoilulla kohti uudistuvaa lähikirjastoa.
Joonas Jutila: Deepfake-ilmiön käsitteleminen mediakasvatusvideolla