Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU) in Finland is an internationally acknowledged research university with an extensive responsibility for preserving the Swedish educational and cultural heritage as the only Swedish-speaking multidisciplinary university in Finland. Due to the Swedish language and the university’s location on the South-West and West coast, ÅAU also serves as a bridge for collaboration in research and education between Finland and other Nordic states. ÅAU employs 1,200 staff and provides education to 5,500 undergraduate and 780 postgraduate students.

With the choice of minority studies as a strategic research profile Åbo Akademi University endeavours to be an active agent within Europe as the emergence of multicultural and multilingual societies puts pressure on individual European nations to find new mechanisms to addressing societal, ethical, legal and educational issues that embrace and include a multitude of different communities.

Experience Lab at the Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies at Åbo Akademi University is also part of the project. Experience Lab is a project-based cross-disciplinary research and innovation unit with a focus on meetings between humans and technology in all sectors of society.