OPPIVA, or the Annual Meeting of Research on Learning and Learning Difficulties will take place at the University of Oulu Linnanmaa Campus from 10 – 11 June 2025. OPPIVA 2025 will include paper and poster presentation sessions as well as keynote speeches from Professor Silke Göbel (University of York, UK) and a FinEd early career researcher (TBA). The programme will be updated closer to the date, abstract submission deadline is 11 April 2025. Read more and submit your abstract on the OPPIVA 2025 website!
It is soon time for another season of FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT)! Our FORT events comprise one-hour online talks on current topics, showcasing the wide variety of research in educational sciences conducted in FinEd’s member universities. The FORT events are targeted particularly for PhD researchers, but other members of the scientific community, as well as all other interested parties, are also warmly welcome. Participation is free, hope to see many of you there!
Monday 31.3.2025 at 12:00–13:00
Class in the class: middle-class habitus and the silence of social class in schools, Professor Sonja Kosunen (University of Eastern Finland)
In this presentation, I examine the boundaries of social class, its silence and the differences it produces in schools. In general, social class is still rarely discussed in connection with schools and teaching in Finland, although it influences several school-related phenomena, such as school choice, school segregation and the differentiation of students’ educational paths. In this presentation, I present an analysis on teachers’ perceived social class and its visibility (and invisibility) in teachers’ work from a Bourdieusian perspective. I also discuss class as a factor mediating career-related choices, i.e., how teachers view social class as having shaped their education, housing and moments related to applying for and choosing a job. I understand that the habitus mediated by the teacher’s class background functions, on the one hand, between the middle-class school and the students, and on the other hand, in relation to the middle-class school itself. Although the teachers currently perceive themselves as middle-class in terms of their professional status, income and education in the interviews, not all of them originally had a middle-class background. In this case, the habitus formes a hybrid, in which the working-class background was combined in the discourse with the current ‘lived class’, which many of them consider to be partly useful and partly harmful when working in a school environment.
(Digital) Ethnographies in a postdigital age: Examples from four studies, Associate professor of education Fredrik Rusk (Åbo Akademi University)
Networked digitalization has changed conditions not just for education but for sociality, as spatial boundaries are changed when online digital technologies are inherently embedded in the everyday. There is no clear-cut line between what is on- or offline. Instead, the divide is more akin to a porous cell membrane, which can be referred to as ‘postdigital’. This is a methodological challenge for pedagogical research interested in social phenomena, such as ethnographic research: How can we get access to the interwoven reality of participants’ contemporary everyday lives?
In ethnography, there are currently variations that address online fields in different ways, such as netnography (Kozinets, 2012), virtual ethnography (Boellstorff, Nardi, Pearce, Taylor & Marcus, 2024) and connective ethnography (Hine, 2007), to name a few. Now, digital ethnography (Taylor, forthcoming) seems to be the latest in that it, in a sense, emerged from fact that digital and analogue lives have blended together to create a form of ubiquitous hybridity. For me, all of the above are ethnography.
In this talk, I will open up the concept of digital ethnography and ask whether or not we, as ethnographers, simply have to deal with the fact that the digital is part of what ‘ethnography’ is today. I will do this by presenting and critically discussing four projects that are all digital ethnographies, however wildly different in how they approach the digital. From lower secondary students’ socialization in school, to esports teams playing, to an exclusively online youth center, and finally to the omnipresence of an administration platform at schools. Through insights from ethnographic work in these four settings, I discuss possibilities for ethnography to stay relevant in the postdigital, without losing its strengths of being situated, relational, and consensual.
Fredrik Rusk is an associate professor of pedagogy (teacher education) at Åbo Akademi University in Vasa. His research involves ethnographic, ethnomethodological and conversation analytical studies using diverse data to critically analyse social organization, identity, culture and learning from participants’ perspectives both in- and outside of the classroom/school, and in-and-through diverse digital and screen-mediated interaction, such as smartphones, social platforms, video conferences and video games.
The call for FinEd’s annual academic writing workshop is opening on Monday 3 March 2025.
What? The workshop focuses on the processes of academic and scientific writing. Activities will include individual and group work, mentor and peer feedback on participants’ texts, and interesting keynote speeches. Furthermore, the workshop offers early career researchers an opportunity for networking, peer support, and making new friends. FinEd will pay the expenses of successful applicants (accommodation and meals; remuneration of travel within Finland).
When and where? The workshop will be held at Hanaholmen Conference Hotel in Espoo, from Monday 11 – Tuesday 12 August 2025.
For whom? We invite applications from doctoral researchers regardless of paradigm, writing either article-based or monograph thesis on an educational-sciences topic at FinEd member universities. However, please note that while we welcome applicants at all stages of the PhD process, to get the most out of the workshop, you should have a textual part of your thesis (e.g., a section of an article, or chapter of your monograph/summary) to work on at the workshop. Participants will be asked to submit this for mentor comments before the workshop.
How to apply? Please fill in the application form at https://link.webropol.com/s/FinEdworkshop2025 and include a motivation letter of max. 500 words. The application period is from 3 – 21 March 2025.
Based on the applications, max. 25 participants will be chosen by a selection committee comprising five FinEd steering group members, with a view to facilitating diversity (i.e., aiming for equal representation of FinEd member universities, researchers from different paradigms and at different stages of the PhD process), and with specific weight given to the motivation letter. Our selection committee will make the decisions in the first week of April, and successful applicants will be informed about the choice by mid-April.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact FinEd coordinator Anna Rawlings (anna.rawlings@uef.fi). We look forward to receiving your applications, and hope to see you in August!
In 2024, FinEd continued its work of supporting PhD researchers in our member universities, and facilitating co-operation between member universities especially as regards doctoral education. In this newsletter, we take a look at FinEd’s activities in 2024, extend our warmest thank-yous to everyone who participated in our events, and wish everyone a Happy New Year 2025. The events of the new year are decided in FinEd’s steering board in the end of January, and information will be posted on our website soon after that.
Responsibility for steering FinEd
University of Eastern Finland (UEF) is responsible for steering FinEd activities during the two-year period 2024–2025. The network’s activities were chaired by Prof. Markku Niemivirta until September 2024, with Prof. Jaana Viljaranta acting as chair from October 2024 onwards. We thank Markku for his work! Anna Rawlings continues as coordinator of FinEd’s activities.
FinEd Online Research Talks
The FinEd Online Research Talk events – FORT for short – launched in 2022 were continued in 2024. The FORT events comprise keynote talks on their ongoing research from professors and other researchers of FinEd’s member universities. The series has provided us with a new way of reaching out to doctoral researchers as well as the academic community more broadly. The FORT events also raise awareness of FinEd and showcase the broad range of research done within our network.
Our spring 2024 season FORT speakers were Prof. Sara Routarinne (UTU) with Learning-in-interaction: what makes video observations powerful for studying teaching and learning?, Prof. Petri Nokelainen (TAU) on Some examples of using Bayesian multilevel regression in educational research and Prof. Kristiina Brunila (UH) on Educational Futures are Here: Revisiting Approaches to Future-Proofing Education. The autumn season speakers were Prof. Pauliina Rautio (OU) on Multispecies justice in transdisciplinary research and interspecies action – tracing complexities and Prof. Pigga Keskitalo (LAY) on The Significance of Sámi Educational Research. Warm thank-you to the speakers!
Academic writing workshop for doctoral researchers, 14–15 August
Our annual scientific writing workshop was again arranged at the beautiful, inspiring Hanaholmen Conference Center at the border of Helsinki and Espoo, with 21 PhD researcher participants mentored by four senior mentors. Workshop activities included two keynote speeches, with Prof. Markku Niemivirta (UEF) speaking on the topic From planning to dissemination – Openly and ethically and Hilma Halme PhD (UH) on From research plan to defence, as well as group work with mentors on participants’ abstracts and article manuscripts, and time set aside for networking, sharing experiences with peers, and making new friends. We received some very positive feedback for the workshop, as well as a some suggestions for making it even better. As before, we will take these into account when planning and organising the 2025 workshop.
“I will recommend this workshop to all of my fellow doctoral researchers. The whole event made me feel really appreciated. In the academic world it is really nice to feel that doctoral researchers matter too.” – From participant feedback
FinEd preseminar at the FERA conference at University of Turku, 20 November
The 2024 preseminar was organised in collaboration with the network of educational science journals in Finland. The theme of the day was Tiedejulkaiseminen – miten vastaanottaa vertaispalautetta ja antaa hyvä vertaisarviointi (”Scientific publishing – how to receive and give a good peer review”). In the morning, editors-in-chief of Finnish educational science journals talked about how the editorial process and peer review is conducted in their journal. Additionally, participants and the editors together formulated ”guidelines for good peer review”. Fifteen PhD researchers participated in the afternoon’s FinEd workshop, in which Prof Janne Varjo (UH) and Mirjam Raudasoja PhD (JYU) demonstrated using their own articles as examples how an article manuscript develops into its final, published form. After this, participants familiarised themselves with the forms and instructions for both authors and reviewers of some central Finnish and international publishing houses and journals. Feedback on the clarity of their instructions and forms was given to the domestic journals.
“Tohtorikoulutus tulevaisuudessa” (“Doctoral education in the future”) lunch meeting
We continued the tradition started in 2022 of organising a lunch meeting for our member universities’ heads of doctoral programmes, vice-deans for research, and professors with extensive experience is supervising doctoral theses, in conjunction with the FERA conference on 21 November. The meeting aims to support and facilitate collaboration between FinEd member universities at a time when Finnish doctoral education is undergoing some fundamental changes. The lunch meeting has become an established part of our annual programme.
Research, emotions, and well-being seminar at Tampere University, 4–5 December
The network of doctoral programmes in language studies Langnet and FinEd collaboratively organised a Research, emotions, and well-being seminar at Tampere University on 4–5 December, with keynote speeches also viewable on zoom. The seminar focused on both individual-level affective processes in academic work and emotions related to academic structures. The aim was to offer early-career researchers concrete tools for dealing with emotions related to research work. Keynote talks were given by Riitta-Liisa Larjovuori (TAU), Johanna Hokka (TAU), Solveig Cornér (UH), and Jaana-Piia Mäkiniemi (TAU). There were also all told eight workshop sessions, run by Niina Lilja (TAU), Katriina Tapanila (TAU), Maija Hirvonen (TAU; two sessions), Susanna Hartikainen and Ilmari Puhakka (TAU), Elisa Kurtti (JYU), Laura Visapää (UH), and Marja-Liisa Helasvuo (UTU). We were able to take altogether 60 participants, 30 from both networks, with over 100 people applying. The feedback we received from the seminar suggests that the topic is important, and we hope to arrange another one sometime in the future.
Other activities
FinEd funded two FinEd early career researcher keynote speakers at different conferences in 2024. Lauri Räty PhD (JYU) spoke interestingly on the topic “Research-based pedagogical practices for teaching students with intellectual disabilities” at the OPPIVA conference at the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu on 4 June. Anna Wallin PhD (TAU) gave an inspiring talk on the topic Mielikuvitus ja tarinallisuus laadullisessa tutkimuksessa (”Imagination and storytelling in qualitative research”) at the FERA conference at University of Turku on 22 November.
FinEd keynote speaker Lauri Räty with main keynote speaker Judith Harackiewicz FinEd keynote speaker Anna Wallin giving her talk
NB update: due to unexpected popularity and large volume of registrations in the first week, we are closing registration for live attendance ahead of time, effective 8 November. Fordistance participation (note: keynote speeches only) registration continues as planned until 22 November.
Registration is about to open for the Research, emotions and well-being seminar, held on 4–5 December 2024 at Tampere University (and partly hybrid on Zoom), organised by FinEd in collaboration with Langnet, the network of language-related doctoral programmes. The seminar focuses on emotional processes related to the individual in academic work, as well as emotions related to academic structures. The goal is to provide young researchers with concrete tools for dealing with emotions related to research work. The speakers and workshop leaders include experts who have studied emotions and well-being in academic work. Most of the presentations and workshops are held in Finnish, a few are held in English and one in Swedish. Please see the seminar programme below.
We have acquired external funding for the seminar to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of approx. 40 participants, of which 20 are allocated to doctoral researchers in educational sciences. With self-financing, more participants can be taken. The seminar is primarily aimed at doctoral researchers, but self-funding post-doctoral researchers are also welcome. Funding will be granted and places filled in order of registration. Registration starts on 4November at 9 o’clockand ends on 22November. Please register here.
SEMINAARIN OHJELMA / PROGRAM
Ke 4.12.2024: Yksilö ja tunteet / The individual and emotions
klo 12.15–12.30 (Auditorio D10b) Anna Rawlings, Anna Vatanen, Maija Hirvonen, Petri Nokelainen: Tervetuloa / Welcome
klo 12.30–13.15 (Auditorio D10b) Riitta-Liisa Larjovuori, TaY: Työhyvinvoinnin rakentuminen ja edistäminen yliopistotyössä
klo 13.15–14.15 Lounastauko / Lunch klo 14.15–15.30 Rinnakkaissessiot
Sessio 1A (Luokka A07), Niina Lilja, TaY: Writing funding applications and coping with rejections
Sessio 1B (Luokka A06), Katriina Tapanila, TaY: Miten erottaa ”minä” ja ”työ” tutkimustyössä? Tutkimusta ohjaavat usein henkilökohtaiset kiinnostuksen kohteet, jolloin tutkimustyö voi olla tärkeä osa omaa identiteettiä. Työpajassa pohditaan, miten tutkimusta voisi tehdä hyvinvointia tukevalla tavalla siten, että tasapaino säilyy eri elämänalueiden välillä.
klo 15.30–16 Kahvitauko / Coffee klo 16–17.15 Rinnakkaissessiot
Sessio 2A (Luokka A07), [speaker TBC]: Fixed terms one after the other – risk tolerance and the uncertainty of the academic career
Sessio 2B (Luokka A06), Susanna Hartikainen ja Ilmari Puhakka, TaY: Huijarisyndrooma ja epäonnistumisen pelko. “Kohta ne huomaa, etten osaakaan mitään…” Akateeminen maailma voi tuntua painostavalta ja tuomitsevalta varsinkin aloitteleville tutkijoille. Työpajassa käydään läpi ilmiötä ja kehitellään keinoja osaamiseen liittyvän epävarmuuden hälventämiseksi.
klo 19 Mahdollinen omakustanteinen illallinen (varmistuu myöhemmin) / Possible self-financed dinner (TBC)
To 5.12.2024: Akateemiset rakenteet ja tunteet / Academic structures and emotions
klo 8.30–9.30 (Auditorio D10b) Johanna Hokka, TaY: Searching for an average researcher amid competition and collegiality: key points from the project Academic Affects / Keskivertotutkijaa etsimässä kilpailun ja kollegiaalisuuden keskellä. Akateemisten affektien etnografia -hankkeen tuloksia (in English)
klo 9.45–11 Rinnakkaissessiot
Sessio 3A (Luokka E221), Elisa Kurtti, JY: Akateemisen työn absurdiudet ja hyvinvointi. Tiedemaailmassa navigoiminen on pullollaan ristiriitaisuuksia, joista moni juontuu myös itse tiedejärjestelmän toiminnasta. Kuinka säilyttää hyvinvointi ulkoisten ja sisäisten vaatimusten keskellä?
Sessio 3B (Luokka E222), Laura Visapää, HY: ”Pahamaineinen referee 2”, onko sitä? Palautteen vastaanottaminen ja antaminen vertaisarviointiprosessissa.
klo 11–12 Lounastauko / Lunch klo 12–13.15 Rinnakkaissessiot
Sessio 4A (Luokka E221), Maija Hirvonen, TaY: Tenure track: angst-filled pressure cooker or clear career path?
klo 13.45–14.30 (Auditorio D10b) Solveig Cornér, HY: Betydelsen av socialt stöd och välmående i doktorsavhandlingsarbetet. The slides will be in English: The importance of social support and wellbeing in the doctoral thesis process; keskustelua voi käydä myös suomeksi.
klo 14.30–15.15 (Auditorio D10b) Jaana-Piia Mäkiniemi, TaY: Tutkijan tunnepohjainen työhyvinvointi ja siihen vaikuttavat tekijät sekä oman työn tuunaaminen
klo 15.15–15.45 (Auditorio D10b), Anna Rawlings, Anna Vatanen & Maija Hirvonen: Seminaarin koonti / Seminar wrap-up
It is time to announce another season of FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT)! The FORT events showcase the wide variety of research in educational sciences conducted in FinEd’s member universities, with one-hour online talks on current topics. FORT events are targeted particularly for PhD researchers, but other members of the scientific community, as well as all other interested parties, are also warmly welcome. Participation is free, details of the upcoming talks below!
30.9.2024 (Monday), from 12–13 o’clock
Multispecies justice in transdisciplinary research and interspecies action – tracing complexities, Senior Research Fellow Pauliina Rautio (University of Oulu)
In this talk, I will walk the line between my work as a researcher and Principal Investigator of many transdisciplinary projects and my volunteer work in caring for wild birds, framing them through each other, and specifically pursuing questions of multispecies justice. The presentation is illustrated with photographs I have taken, which convey their own kind of visual boundaries: photographing wild birds up close breaks species-typical boundaries and produces different kinds of distances between humans and birds.
The Significance of Sámi Educational Research, Professor Pigga Keskitalo, University of Lapland, Faculty of Education
Sámi people reside in the traditional regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Russian Kola Peninsula, where their educational practices are influenced by the frameworks of these countries. In the face of climate change, political challenges, justice issues, and increasing global interest in Arctic resources and land, Sámi educational research stands out as a vital force in shaping societal and educational advancements. This presentation delves into the significance of Sámi educational research in not only preserving and promoting Indigenous culture and knowledge but also in integrating these elements within broader educational and societal frameworks. By presenting key findings from recent research projects, this presentation explores the educational landscape in a decolonial context, offering valuable insights into the transformative potential of Indigenous education in the Arctic region.
Pigga Keskitalo is a Professor of Education at the University of Lapland, focusing in Arctic perspectives in education. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki and co-edited Indigenous Research Methodologies in Sámi and Global Contexts (Brill, 2021). Currently, she leads the LINCOSY research project (funded by the Academy of Finland) and the REBOUND project (funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC-STN) at the Faculty of Education, University of Lapland.
Attention, PhD researchers: the call for FinEd’s annual scientific writing workshop is about to open on Monday 25 March 2024.
What, where, when? The workshop focuses on the processes of academic and scientific writing, including individual and group work, mentor and peer feedback on participants’ texts, and interesting keynote speeches. Furthermore, it offers early career researchers an opportunity for networking, peer support, and making new friends. The workshop will be held at Hanaholmen Conference Hotel in Espoo, from 14–15 August 2024 (Wednesday – Thursday). FinEd will pay the expenses of successful applicants (accommodation and meals; remuneration of travel within Finland).
For whom? Doctoral researchers from the doctoral programmes on educational sciences of FinEd member universities, representing all paradigms, and writing either article-based or monograph dissertations, are invited to apply. Please note that while we welcome applicants at all stages of the PhD process, to get the most out of the workshop, you should have a textual part of your thesis (e.g., a section of an article, or chapter of your monograph/summary) to work on at the workshop. Participants will be asked to submit this for mentor comments before the workshop.
Based on the applications, max. 25 participants will be chosen by a committee of five FinEd steering group members, with a view to facilitating diversity (aiming for equal representation of FinEd member universities, researchers from different paradigms and at different stages of the PhD process), and with specific importance given to the motivation letter.
How to apply? To apply, please fill in the application form https://link.webropol.com/s/FinEdworkshop2024 and include a motivation letter of max. 500 words, describing why you are applying to the workshop and why you think you would benefit from it in your PhD process. The application period is from 25 March – 19 April 2024. Successful applicants will be informed about the choice in mid-May, with binding enrolment requested by the end of May.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact FinEd coordinator Anna Rawlings (anna.rawlings@uef.fi). We look forward to receiving your applications, see you in August!
We have another season of FinEd Online Research Talks (FORT) coming up! The FORT events cover current topics in educational sciences and showcase the varied research conducted in FinEd’s member universities. The FORT events are targeted particularly for PhD researchers, but other members of the scientific community, as well as all other interested parties, are also warmly welcome. Participation is free, details of the talks below!
This lecture introduces the use of Bayesian regression methods in the analysis of cross-sectional and longitudinal multilevel data sets. The presentation will begin with a brief comparison with frequentist methods. This is followed by a cross-sectional multilevel analysis using both frequentist and Bayesian methods. At the end of the presentation, the focus will be on the issues of longitudinal multilevel analysis from a Bayesian perspective.
My talk draws on a four-year investigation within the FuturEd research initiative and recent collaborative articles to explore future trajectories of education and the evolving landscape of education governance. Focused on sociology of education and politics in education, the discussion centers on changing education governance and its implications for Future-Proofing Education. Examining the transition towards individually tailored governance strategies, the presentation highlights the driving forces behind this shift, including economic factors, transnational stakeholder networks, and advancements in life and behavioral sciences. The analysis extends to global, national, and local dynamics, emphasizing the profound implications of economically driven governance strategies. By integrating current and emerging trends, the presentation advocates for a novel approach to education governance. In conclusion, the concept of precision education governance is introduced as a strategic framework for crafting future-ready learning human kinds. Through scholarly inquiry and examination, the presentation offers insights into navigating the changing landscape of education governance.
The Annual Meeting of Research on Learning and Learning Difficulties will take place at the University of Eastern Finland Joensuu Campus (Yliopistokatu 2, Joensuu) from June 4th to 5th, 2024. Abstract submission will be open from March 15th to April 15th, presentations on all topics related to learning and learning difficulties are welcome – more info on the OPPIVA2024 website!
The year 2023 saw FinEd continuing its work of supporting PhD researchers in our member universities, as well as facilitating co-operation between member universities as regards doctoral education. In this newsletter, we take a look at the year 2023 and its activities. We also extend our warmest thank-yous to everyone who participated in our events in 2023 and wish everyone a Happy New Year 2024.
Responsibility for steering FinEd
The University of Helsinki has been responsible for steering FinEd activities during the two-year period of 2022–2023, with Vice-Dean, Prof. Auli Toom as chair. Auli will continue to represent University of Helsinki on the steering board, as responsibility for steering FinEd activities is handed over to University of Eastern Finland for 2024–2025. We thank Auli for her hard work during these two years, and welcome Prof. Markku Niemivirta as the new chair. Anna Rawlings continues as FinEd project coordinator.
FinEd Online Research Talks
The FinEd Online Research Talk events – FORT for short – launched in 2022 were continued in 2023. The FORT events comprise keynote talks from professors and other researchers from member universities on their ongoing research. The series has provided us with a new way of reaching out to doctoral researchers as well as the academic community more broadly. The FORT events also raise awareness of FinEd and showcase the broad range of research done within our network.
In the spring term of 2023, our FORT speakers included Professors Pirjo Aunio (University of Helsinki) on Relationships between children’s early numeracy, physical activity and motor skills learning; Tero Järvinen (University of Turku) on The significance of socioeconomic background for the educational dispositions and aspirations of Finnish comprehensive school leavers; and Maija Lanas (University of Oulu) on Decentering the adult and problematising the production of child in education. In the autumn term, Research Coordinator Milla Saajanaho PhD (University of Jyväskylä) gave a talk on Agency and developmental regulation in late adulthood, and Associate Professor Vesa Korhonen (Tampere University) on Towards recognizing the possible interrelated connections between student engagement and well-being within higher education studies.
The 2024 season of FORT events will be kicked off on Monday 22 January 2024, at 12 o’clock (noon) by Professor Sara Routarinne (University of Turku) with her talk entitled Learning-in-interaction: what makes video observations powerful for studying teaching and learning? The abstract and zoom link of Prof. Routarinne’s upcoming talk can be found on our website – you are warmly welcome to come along!
Writing workshop for doctoral researchers, 15-16 August
Our annual scientific writing workshop was again arranged at the beautiful, inspiring Hanaholmen Conference Center in Espoo, with 24 PhD-researcher participants mentored by five senior mentors. Workshop activities included two keynote speeches, How to cultivate wellbeing during the doctoral studies? from Prof. Kirsi Pyhältö (University of Helsinki) and Writing the summary for the article-based PhD thesis from Vice-Dean, Prof. Auli Toom (University of Helsinki), as well as group work with mentors on participants’ abstracts and article manuscripts, and time set aside for networking, sharing experiences with peers, and making new friends. We received some very positive feedback for the workshop, as well as a few suggestions for making it even better. As before, we will take these into account when planning and organising the 2024 workshop.
Keynote from Kirsi PyhältöKeynote from Auli Toom
“The support I received was specific and will advance my research in a concrete way. The workshop is definitely one of the highlights in my PHD journey.”
“The networking part was the most important for me and found the small group sessions about abstracts really nice and good in atmosphere, I think my horizons really widened during this workshop and all the perspectives that I got from everyone.”
“We really had time to connect and network during the two days, and the atmosphere was nice and not too busy for a creative state-of-mind to develop. Altogether, this was a very pleasant and inspiring event. I will definitely recommend it to peers.” – Feedback comments from participants
GroupworkNetworking and relaxing
Focus on Open Science in the Field of Educational Sciences– FinEd preseminar at the FERA Educational Research days, Åbo Akademi University, 22 November
The 2023 preseminar comprised two keynote speeches and a structured workshop on the topics covered in the talks. Dr Sami Syrjämäki (Head of Publications, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies) opened the preseminar with a talk on Contemporary Trends in Scholarly Publishing, followed by Professor Erika Löfström’s (University of Helsinki) talk entitled Open science – open ethics? After a break and some light refreshments, participants reconvened to work on designing their own open science plans in small groups, and finally sharing insights and new ideas with everyone.
We are learning that for many PhD researchers, the opportunity to meet, interact, and network with others who are working on their PhDs is one of the most important things that FinEd can provide, as illustrated by this participant comment:
“I found the seminar interesting, actually more interesting than I had thought in advance because many of the issues are already familiar to me. I wish that there would have been more time for interaction and discussion with other doctoral researchers because that is what made to attend the preseminar in the first place.” – Feedback comment from participant
We will keep the importance of peer connections in mind when planning and implementing future activities.
“Tohtorikoulutus tulevaisuudessa” (“Doctoral education in the future”) lunch meeting
Having examined and compared the criteria for article-based doctoral theses in member universities in 2022, members of FinEd’s steering group collected information on these criteria from international benchmark universities during the summer and autumn of 2023. Both the national and international data were collated and presented at a lunch meeting for member universities’ heads of doctoral programmes, vice-deans for research, and professors with extensive experience is supervising doctoral theses, at the FERA Education Science Days on November 23, 2023. We plan to make these lunch meetings a regular, annual event, with a view to facilitating and supporting open discussion and co-operation between member universities.
Other activities
FinEd funded an early-career-researcher keynote speech at the FERA Education Science days at Åbo Akademi University on 24 November 2024. Dr Anne-Elina Salo PhD (University of Turku, University of Jyväskylä) spoke on the topic Sosiaalisesti kestävää tulevaisuutta rakennetaan yhdessä: Miten jokainen kasvatuksen kentillä voisi tulla nähdyksi, kuulluksi ja ymmärretyksi? (”Socially sustainable future is built together: How can everyone in the field of education be seen, heard, and understood?”).
Early-career researcher keynote from Anne-Elina Salo
As in previous years, FinEd gave a greeting at the opening of the Media Education Conference MEC2023, hosted and organized by the Media Education Hub at the University of Lapland, on 25 September.
