Curriculum vitae and Track Record
PERSONAL DETAILS
Myllylä, Yrjö
URL for web site:
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0565-2900
https://www.utu.fi/fi/ihmiset/yrjo-myllyla
- Education and key qualifications
17/4/2023
The title of a docent, in the field of Geography, especially Regional Development and Regional Foresight
Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
.
28/12/2007
Doctor of Social Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences and Regional Studies, University of Joensuu, Finland
.
1990
Master of Social Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences / Regional Planning, University of Joensuu, Finland
.
- Current position(s)
2010 – 2025 Senior Researcher
Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Business, University of Turku
Employment contracts / affiliation memberships during the period, currently employment contract
until 2027
2023 – 2025 Adjunct Professor at the University of Eastern Finland in the field of Geography, especially
Regional Development and Regional Foresight
.
- Previous position(s)
1996 – 2022 Principal Investigator & CEO
RD Aluekehitys Oy (Regional Development Ltd)
2018 – 2020 Project Chief in Foresight
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences, Finland
2004 – 2007 Researcher
Faculty of Social Sciences and Regional Studies, University of Joensuu, Finland
1995 – 1996 Project Chief in logistic
University of Lapland
1990 – 1994 Project Chief
Transportation Research Group, Viatek-Yhtiöt (current Ramboll Finland Oy)
.
RESEARCH ACHIEVEMENTS AND PEER RECOGNITION
Research achievements
- Myllylä, Yrjö (2008). Industrial, Logistic and Social Future of the Murmansk Region – Summary of the Doctoral Dissertation by Yrjö Myllylä. 64 p. Publications of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland 3/2008. Sponsored by Cargotec, Aker Arctic Technology, Finstaship, Lapland Chamber of Commerce, Municipality of Salla, Barents Group Ltd and Management & Transportation Experts Matrex Oy
Significance: Combines geopolitical foresight with national interest mapping in Arctic and Baltic growth corridors.
Role & Relevance: Sole author. Advocated Finland’s competence-based Arctic strategy resilient to Russian authoritarian trajectories.
- Myllylä, Yrjö (2010). Arktinen ja Itämeren kasvualue Suomen intressien polttopisteessä. (The growth area of the Arctic Region and Baltic Sea in the focus of Finland’s interests) 92 p. Työ- ja elinkeinoministeriö, alueiden kehittäminen, (Ministry of Employment and the Economy) 43/2010. <https://rdaluekehitys.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/tem_43_2010_netti.pdf> and Myllylä, Yrjö (2010). The Murmansk region’s growing importance in the energy economy and logistics creates opportunities also for Finnish companies. In the book: Kuusi, Osmo & Hanna Smith & Paula Tiihonen (eds.) (2010). Russia 2030 based on contracts. Publication of the Committee for the Future 6/2010. 170-180.
Significance: Combines geopolitical foresight with national interest mapping in Arctic and Baltic growth corridors.
Role & Relevance: Sole author. Advocated Finland’s competence-based Arctic strategy resilient to Russian authoritarian trajectories.
- Myllylä, Yrjö & Maurizio Sajeva & Jari Kaivo-oja & Samuli Aho (2011). iKnow Delphi 2.0 Country Report Finland. 104 p. October 2011. iKnow Project, Finland Futures Research Centre FFRC. <https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/147566>
Significance: Applied hybrid foresight combining Delphi and wild card analysis across EU clusters—direct methodological input to WP foresight design.
Role & Relevance: Lead for Finnish data collection and reporting. Focused on bioeconomy and energy. Key foresight output anticipating pandemic risk. Demonstrates capacity to coordinate transnational foresight under EU mandate.
- Myllylä, Yrjö (2013). Arktisen meriteknologian ennakointi – Uudenmaan pk-yritysten näkökulmasta. (Arctic Maritime Technology Foresight) 141 p. Uudenmaan ELY-keskuksen julkaisuja 13/2013. <https://www.doria.fi/handle/10024/90791>
Significance: Regional foresight pilot for SMEs in Arctic maritime technology—showcases scalability and innovation system integration.
Role & Relevance: Principal investigator. Defined change drivers and development priorities for marine tech.
- Myllylä, Yrjö & Jari Kaivo-oja (2015). Integrating Delphi methodology to some classical concepts of the Boston Consulting Group framework: Arctic maritime technology BCG Delphi foresight – A pilot study from Finland. European Journal of Futures Research. Springler. Accepted to publish 9.12.2014. DOI 10.1007/s40309-014-0060-7.
Significance: Methodological breakthrough combining Delphi and BCG portfolio matrix.
Role & Relevance: Co-author and originator of the model. Cited in EU and Chinese strategic planning.
- Myllylä, Yrjö & Jari Kaivo-oja & Jari Juga (2016). Strong Prospective Trends in the Arctic and Future Opportunities in Logistics. Polar Geography, 39(3). 145-164. Funded by Wihuri Foundation. <http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1088937X.2016.1184723> and Myllylä, Yrjö & Jari Kaivo-oja (2014). Trends Relevant the Arctic. In the book: SMARCTIC – A Roadmap to a smarctic Arctic specialisation.University of Oulu, Thule-Institute, Oulu University of Applied Sciences, VTT, TEKES. <http://issuu.com/hanneleh/docs/smarctic/0>
Significance: Identifies Arctic megatrends in logistics, climate and energy.
Role & Relevance: Co-author and consortium contributor. Informed national funding decisions (TEKES, Academy of Finland) for Arctic RDI. Demonstrates capacity to align foresight with strategic resource allocation and cross-WP integration.
- Myllylä, Yrjö & Jari Kaivo-oja & Jouko Inkeröinen (2018). Ympäristöalan vertailulaboratoriotoiminnan ennakointi – Tutkimusraportti. (Foresight of reference laboratory operations in the environmental field, Research report”) 67 p. Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimustoiminta. Valtioneuvoston kanslian julkaisuja (Prime Minister’s Office) 61/2018. <http://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/161155>
Significance: Applied foresight for public systems—illustrates method’s transferability to environmental governance and measurement infrastructures.
Role & Relevance: Lead author. Anticipated disruptive technologies (e.g. neural networks, deep learning, IoT) in environmental sensing.
- Myllylä, Yrjö, Jari Kaivo-oja (2024). A Hybrid Foresight Study of the Environmental Reference Laboratory System in Finland: A Foresight Study for the Government of Finland. European Journal of Futures 12(2). ©Springer. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40309-023-00223-z
Significance: Latest peer-reviewed validation of hybrid foresight.
Role & Relevance: Lead author. Developed and applied Delphi-SWOT, Delphi-PESTEV/L and scenario synthesis.
- Myllylä, Yrjö & Kaivo-oja, Jari (2025). The Six-Stage Model of Profitable Growth and Entrepreneurship in Finland: A Delphi Study. Journal of Business Economics & Management. Accepted to publish 18.11.2024. Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. ISSN 1611-1699/eISSN 2029-4433 https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2025.22902
Significance: Future-oriented growth model.
Role & Relevance: Lead author. Delphi-based framework applicable to bioinspired AI deployment and autonomous system scaling. Bridges foresight with economic viability.
- Myllylä, Yrjö & Jari Kaivo-oja (2025). Vantaa semiconductor industry foresight – Applying the EU’s best regional foresight practice. Paper introduced 12.6.2025 to the following conference: Futures of Technologies – Mutual Shaping of Socio-Technical Transformations 10–12 June 2025 in Turku, Finland. Abstract available in book: Gerasymenko, Iryna and Riikka Saarimaa (editors) Book of Abstracts. FUTURES OF TECHNOLOGIES Mutual Shaping of Socio-Technical Transformations 10–12 June 2025, Turku, Finland futuresconference2025.com. < https://futuresconference2025.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/fc2025-book-of-abstracts-final.pdf>
Significance: Showcases EU’s best regional foresight practice—demonstrates applicability to high-tech transformation and AI ecosystems.
Role & Relevance: Lead presenter and method developer. Recognized by EC and UN ILO evaluation. Validates foresight’s role in guiding socio-technical transitions.
Peer recognition
The Delphi-BCG hybrid model has been applied in several of Myllylä’s regional development research projects since 2000. Based on the Arctic marine technology foresight study (Myllylä 2013), Myllylä and Jari Kaivo-oja published an article in the European Journal of Futures Research (2015), cited in China’s provincial five-year plans and evaluated among the most significant European regional foresight articles of 2000–2019. These studies are referenced in a co-citation analysis published in European Journal of Futures Research (2021).
A regional foresight method influenced by Myllylä was selected as the EU’s best practice in a European Commission publication, based on evaluation by the UN ILO. The method, developed in cooperation with the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment for Southwest Finland, was recognised for its inclusive stakeholder engagement, prioritised follow-up actions, and use of the Delphi method (Futura, 2012). Myllylä has also co-developed the six-stage Step Model for growth management, which led to the KasvuApp coaching software presented at ISPIM 2024 (Myllylä & Kaivo-oja 2024) and a peer-reviewed article (Myllylä & Kaivo-oja 2025).
Recent presentations include the Future of Technologies conference Turku (Myllylä & Kaivo-oja 2025) on semiconductor industry foresight commissioned by the City of Vantaa, and the PASCAL 2022 conference on emergency supply foresight in Finland’s environmental reference laboratory system, commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Office (Myllylä, Kaivo-oja, Inkeröinen 2018).
Since 2023, Myllylä has chaired the Finnish Traffic Planning Association and serves on the editorial board of its LIIKENNE Yearbook. The Society collaborates with futures and urban planning societies to organise scientific training events. He has also lectured on sustainable transport at the World Bank’s Learning Forum in Washington DC, attended by representatives from over 100 regional offices worldwide.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Yrjö Myllylä’s doctoral dissertation (2007) anticipated the strategic development of the Murmansk region, introducing two methodological in novations: the Strong Prospective Trend (a refined megatrend concept) and the Feedback Delphi Method, integrating expert judgment into final analysis. The work, published by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, was supported by leading Arctic industry actors and laid the foundation for Finland’s Arctic foresight leadership.
Building on this, Myllylä proposed Finland’s strategic investment in Arctic transport, energy, and environmental technologies—a vision later endorsed by the Finnish Parliament’s Committee for the Future (2010). His SME-focused foresight project (2011–2013) helped revive Finnish shipyards, contributing to Meyer’s arrival in Turku. These efforts influenced TEKES/Business Finland to launch a €3M Arctic initiative and co-develop the SMARCTIC programme, directing €100M into Arctic Seas R&D. The Academy of Finland followed with €20M in parallel funding. One outcome was the founding of Iceye Oy, now Europe’s leading private satellite company.
Myllylä’s hybrid foresight methods—Delphi-SWOT, Delphi-PESTEVL, and Futures Workshops—have shaped national and international planning, including China’s AI-integrated provincial development. His methodology was applied in a Prime Minister’s Office study on environmental reference laboratories and pandemic preparedness, presented at PASCAL 2022. Earlier, he led Finland’s contribution to the EU Commission’s Blue Sky programme, identifying “Killer Virus” as a top wild card.
Transport and logistics have been central throughout Myllylä’s career, from early exposure in the U.S. to work at Ramboll Finland and the University of Lapland. His long-term collaboration with Business Finland and regional research initiatives has supported east-west corridor development and Northern Dimension strategies.
In foresight, Myllylä advocates a needs-driven approach, prioritizing decision-maker relevance and company inclusion. He helped shape the EU’s top-rated regional foresight practice and emphasizes direct engagement to capture actionable insights. His innovation philosophy—bridging research and practice—continues to inform strategic planning in complex, Arctic-driven environments.
Yrjö Myllylä 