Projects

Driving Climate Positive Futures (DREAM+PLAN), a truly interdisciplinary, international, and intersectoral PhD program, uniting European and Australian research via 32 doctoral positions, many for double degree. DREAM+PLAN brings together a community of visionary changemakers, leaders, who dream big and develop tangible pathways for solving local and global climate-related challenges, all united by a mission to create a positive impact, towards a more sustainable, fair, inclusive and thriving planet for future generations. The overarching objectives of DREAM+PLAN research training program is to create and deliver, legacy-worthy, novel, cutting-edge, 3i-centric training through best-practice multi-faceted, group and individual training options for DC’s

This Centre of Excellence (CoE) focuses on fostering innovation in resource efficiency, promoting circular economy practices, utilizing local resources, ensuring safe material circulation, and educating researchers to reduce environmental impacts. It centers around four key areas: Strategic Mineral Resources (SMR), Carbon-Based Resources (CBR), Circular Technologies Upscaling (CTU), and Circular Business Eco-System and Modeling (CBEM). The SMR group maps critical materials in waste streams, including renewables, for extraction and reuse while minimizing hazardous waste. The CBR group develops eco-friendly pathways for essential chemicals and plastics, also assessing their environmental impact. The CTU group pioneers waste reduction and recycling methods for aqueous, and solid waste, incl. water purification. The CBEM group analyzes sustainable business ecosystems and value chains. This CoE's interdisciplinary approach will benefit both Estonia and Europe by advancing circular economy.

Easy2reUse project will develop an intelligent reusable mask for healthcare workers, critical working groups and citizens. The mask will be sustainable, easy-to-breath, comfortable to wear long working hours, low lifetime cost, easy to clean, meeting the universal fit and standard requirements. User experiences of the mask will be closely studied in Finland and Spain. Cleaning and maintaining in the hospital environment and other environments are the essential part to make the mask reusable, fulfilling the cleanliness requirements. The market readiness research for reusable facemasks focuses on designing manufacturing processes that emphasize material sourcing, cost efficiency, and sustainability. A comprehensive understanding of economic feasibility, usability, and manufacturing efficiency is achieved by combining quantitative and qualitative analyses throughout the prototype development and testing phases. During these tests, facemask prototypes with integrated electronics are evaluated for functionality, durability, and compliance with current regulations and standards. Additionally, documentation for EU type-examination is prepared, and an internal quality control system is established and verified. The project explores best practices and challenges in production, regulatory compliance, and market entry by drawing insights from similar industries. Comparative case studies, life cycle costing (LCC), and assessments of market and technology readiness (MRL and TRL) guide the creation of scalable production plans. A preparedness plan is also developed for stockpiling, scale-up, and adoption by healthcare workers and the public during pandemics, applicable across European countries. The manufacturing process is designed to ensure production takes place in Europe, supporting regional supply chain resilience. Market readiness and cost-effectiveness are evaluated to create a comprehensive plan for rapid production and widespread market adoption.

The aim of the financial competence development project led by TalTech is to provide, in collaboration with various institutions and researchers, the necessary scientific expert group to solve various problems related to improving financial literacy and to conduct measurements and experiments during the project. The project will carry out the analysis described in the initial task, answer the research questions, and additionally propose activities and measures to improve financial literacy. Researchers from TalTech, the University of Tartu, Tallinn University, Estonian Business School, and Mainor Business School will participate in the project, along with external partners from Aalto University (Finland), Trier University (Germany), and Otto Beisheim School of Management (Germany).

The project aims to investigate and compile a report on men’s responses to diversity interventions and gender equality practices in Nordic workplaces.

Active mobility is an accessible, healthy and green mode of transport. In the BSR dark winters, with snow and rain, active mobility usage drops. To increase Year-Round Active Mobility (YRAM), suitable infrastructure and equipment must be in place, and citizens need to see it as an attractive and safe option. Public Authorities responsible for urban design, mobility planning and road maintenance do not currently give special consideration for YRAM. Out of tradition, mobility and road planning is still largely focused on cars, and cycling and walking planning typically targets daylight and warmer weather conditions. By learning about the benefits and opportunities through accessing new tools and evidence-based recommendations on YRAM, planners can implement the right interventions to increase AM use all year round, contributing to low carbon mobility systems. BATS supports local and regional authorities to design and implement policies, infrastructures and campaigns that effectively promote Year-Round Active Mobility (walking and cycling in adverse light and weather conditions). Our two solutions will be co-developed and tested in 7 BSR countries and transferred to neighbouring cities and regions. Solution 1: a YRAM Technical Toolkit, helps planners to Diagnose YRAM issues, develop Intervention Strategies and Monitor progress. Solution 2: a Citizen Activation Guide for YRAM helps planners understand and prioritise user groups and deploys effective campaigns to promote AM use.

Platform work is a growing form of employment in Estonia, impacting social security options, career paths, and traditional forms of employment. It is essential to understand the economic and social outlook of workers engaged in platform work and the future of this sector in Estonia, in relation to developments in the European Union. This interdisciplinary project, which brings together social scientists, legal scholars, and economists, offers insights into the field of platform work and its broader impacts on the Estonian economy through various quantitative and qualitative methods. The central outcome of the work is a scenario-based analysis of the potential future development of platform entrepreneurship in Estonia, including an examination of emerging risks and opportunities-, considering regulatory developments in Europe, macroeconomic trends, and technological advancements. It also considers the impact of different scenarios on society, including the potential increase in vulnerability. The report produced within the framework of the project, and the related activities carried out within the project are based on the need to understand platform work more broadly while also considering its potential impacts on the development of social security in Estonia.

The PSYR-IR project zooms in on occupational safety and health, with a particular focus on mental health and worker well-being. It is our aim to identify the broad challenges and issues at play, as well as their underlying drivers, across all EU Member States and all economic sectors. This will be done by implementing an overarching conceptual framework on OSH and linking it with the existing empirical evidence and the policy/regulatory context (e.g. legislation, collective bargaining, etc.) on mental health in EU workplaces. Next to this overall analysis, identifying specific groups at-risk on the EU labour market, we also focus on the mental health of two predetermined target groups: frontline workers (in the female-dominated public health sector) and on-location production workers (low-skilled blue collar workers in the male-dominated private sector). Furthermore, the project will consider the interplay between psychosocial risks and mental health and well-being across economic sectors in the EU27, with separate case studies at the level of the participating EU Member States. Besides identifying challenges and drivers, the project wants to understand what actors can play a role in addressing them, at different levels (EU level, national level, sectoral level, company level) and what policies, practices, tools, actions and initiatives can be or are being adopted. Specific attention will go to the role of the social partners and of social dialogue (collective bargaining), and to worker participation in OSH matters. The project will also identify good examples to inspire policy- and decision-makers at different levels. Methodologically, the project will combine desk research, quantitative analysis, qualitative analysis and dissemination techniques. To do so, we bring together partners with expertise on OSH, industrial relations, or both, from countries in different European regions representing different institutional and industrial relations regimes.

STP15 "Work Worth Doing? The Value of Platform Work in Estonia" was a short 20-month project aimed at helping a returning scientist establish a thriving research stream and network in Estonia. I am pleased to report that the project has successfully achieved this goal. During its duration, I mentored a master's student who is now continuing as an early-stage (PhD) researcher under my supervision. Together, we are involved in a follow-up grant application in collaboration with the University of Tallinn and the University of Tartu. Consequently, the project continues to progress and, with the support of university co-funding, promises to have long-term impact on the future of sustainable platform work in Estonia. In addition to fostering the development of the next generation of researchers, the project has yielded significant results in terms of publications, dissemination, and follow-up grant applications: (1) Publication of Master's thesis: Toikka, A. (2023). "Worth of Platform-Based Gig Work from the Point of View of Employees and Society." School of Business and Governance, TalTech. (2) Opinion piece in Estonian media: Toikka, A. & Stein, M-K. (2023). "TTÜ Teadlased: Platvormitöötajate Alaväärtustamine Varjutab Ükssarviku Edulugu." Novaator. (English version: Researchers: Undervaluing Platform Workers Tarnishes Unicorn Success Story). (3) Participation in grant application: RITA-PLATV2 2024 "Impacts and Future Directions of Platform Work in Estonia." These outcomes are primarily focused on constructively shaping public discourse around platform work and its participants in Estonia. Given that A. Toikka is continuing this research as a PhD candidate, we have decided to extend our data collection beyond the project's duration to aim for publication in top-tier journals. Preliminary results from the project were presented for feedback at the pre-ECIS (European Conference of Information Systems) Changing Nature of Work workshop (2023) in Kristiansand, Norway.