As part of the Osaka World Expo 2025, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences brought the Finnish perspective on sustainable urban innovation to the international stage. The university’s new research and collaboration platform, the Immersive Sustainability Lab, was featured during the Nordic Metaverse Day held at the Nordic Circle pavilion in Osaka on May 30th, where Nordic and Japanese industry professionals, researchers, and business leaders gathered to discuss the role of extended reality (XR) in shaping future cities and societies.
The Nordic Metaverse Day, organized by Business Finland, served as a hub for more than 70 participants from diverse sectors including industry, defense, and sustainable city development. The day was divided into thematic sessions: the morning focused on “Industrial Transformation & Defence” with demonstrations of Distance Technologies’ glasses-free mixed reality systems and Nokia’s Real-time Extended Reality Multimedia (RXRM) supported by advanced 5G technologies. The afternoon session shifted attention to “Smart Cities, Sustainability and Future Societies,” featuring presentations such as Younite’s AI-powered digital twins, Göteborg & Co’s inclusive cityverse project, and Metropolia’s Immersive Sustainability Lab.
Representing Metropolia’s Helsinki XR Center, XR experts Narmeen Marji and Erson Halili delivered a keynote speech that highlighted the importance of imagination and human-centered design in the creation of future technologies. They urged participants to consider not only technical optimization but also broader questions about wellbeing, biodiversity, and inclusivity.
“Presentations about recent developments and the future vision of XR and AI reminded us that we should put humans and biodiversity at the center when designing new technologies,” Halili emphasized.
Marji added: “While efficiency and economic models matter in smart city planning, our approach focuses on asking deeper questions about the human experience. How do we ensure advanced technologies genuinely serve residents’ quality of life?”
Launched in November 2024, the Immersive Sustainability Lab is part of Metropolia’s Smart and Creative City innovation hub. The platform seeks to combine XR, AI, and immersive tools with sustainability-driven design to help communities imagine and test future urban solutions. By encouraging the fundamental question “What if?”, the lab supports urban planning processes that prioritize human needs, biodiversity, and long-term resilience.
Päivi Keränen, Project Manager at the Smart and Creative City innovation hub, noted that Japanese professionals were particularly enthusiastic about the Finnish approach: “What stood out was not only the interest in our methods but also the strong willingness for collaboration in developing new technologies and research.”
The collaboration reflects Finland’s reputation as a leader in human-centered innovation and urban sustainability. By connecting Nordic and Japanese ecosystems through platforms like the Immersive Sustainability Lab, Metropolia strengthens its role as a key player in advancing regenerative urban development on a global scale.
Source: Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
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