Friday Joseph Agbo

Doctoral candidate

  • Institution University of Eastern Finland
  • Department/faculty School of computing

Ilkka Jormanainen

Senior researcher, PhD

  • Institution University of Eastern Finland
  • Department/faculty School of Computing

Dr. Ilkka Jormanainen is working as a senior researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, School of Computing. He is part of “Technologies for Learning and Development” research group. Dr. Jormanainen has a strong background on ICT4D research, and he has been involved in several education, research, and development initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. He was leading “Strengthening ICT in Education in Eritrea (ICT4EEDU)” project (2015-2018), funded by Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Jormanainen has published more than 60 internationally refereed book chapters, journal articles, and conference papers. He also holds a title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) at the University of Turku, Finland. He is currently supervising or co-supervising 11 PhD students, of which eight are from sub-Saharan Africa or are working with an ICT4D topic.

Satu Järvinen

Doctoral Researcher

  • Institution University of Eastern Finland
  • Department/faculty Doctoral Programme in Science, Technology and Computing

The title of my research is: ”Using digital micro certificates in the recognition and validation of skills of the informal sector in Africa” The key research questions are: -What is the digital learning capacity of people in the informal sector? -How do we design digital platforms and present learning content so that it fits the learning styles and abilities of the informal sector? -What value do people in Africa give to (informal) micro-certificates compared to traditional formal certificates? -How can new technologies (AI, Machine learning...) support development of automated and varied skills validation? My research aims to give insight to servicing a new segment of people that has traditionally been neglected by development activities. The informal sector people are not the poorest of the poor in Africa and fall outside many development aid programmes. At the same time it consists of most people taking part in the labor force. Formalising the informal sector people to tax-paying citizens is key to the economic development of most African countries.

Shahid Mallick

Doctoral Research, Environmental Policy

  • Institution Eastern Finland University
  • Department/faculty Dept. of Geographical and Historical Studies

I have been working in the field of education development and research for a reasonable period of time. gradually I become fascinated in the field of environment, society, and culture. My masters’ thesis at Future Generations University, USA was on water pollution and social change and I have explored the interrelationship of human behaviors and water pollution. I, also involved with some other projects related to water and climate change mentionable are 'Water, Food Security, and Climate Change: Local Knowledge Global Implications,' Bangladesh Sustainable Development Learning project: Saving river Bangshi through community participation and student engagement. Founding member of a community development organization name TREE-Training Research Education for Empowerment My involvement with the research and development projects related to water and climate change guide me to develop PhD research on ‘Culture, climate change, and water conservation: ‘water ecosystems and culture base adaptation practices in Bangladesh

Laís Oliveira Leite

Early Stage Researcher

  • Institution University of Eastern Finlanf
  • Department/faculty Philosophical Faculty

My PhD research revolves around how teacher education programs can nurture student teacher professional agency in two countries: Brazil and Finland. The two study cases have different personal and environmental elements that influence student teacher professional development: curriculum coherence between theory and practice, pedagogical interactions of the learning environment, and negotiation of professional identity.

Mikko Pitkänen

Head of Project Management

  • Institution University of Jyväskylä
  • Department/faculty Agora Center

Julia Renko

Doctoral Candidate

  • Institution Aalto School of Engineering

I am a doctoral candidate at Aalto ENG (Water and Environmental Engineering). I research higher education pedagogy for sustainable development, with a particular focus on engineering education, problem-based learning and Global South networks.

Wissam Saleh

Doctoral Researcher

  • Institution University of Eastern Finland
  • Department/faculty Computer Science

Researcher interested in educational technologies and AI Economist interested in sustainable development in the Global South

Vilma Timonen

Senior Lecturer, Researcher

  • Institution University of the Arts, Helsinki, Sibelius Academy
  • Department/faculty Folk Music Department

Timonen, V. (in review). Lessons from a Finnish and Nepali collaboration: Co-constructing an intercultural professional learning community in music education. Timonen, V., Juntunen M-L., Westerlund H. (in review). Colonialism or an invitation for utopian life-projects? On politics of reflexivity in Nepali and Finnish music teachers’ intercultural dialogue. In Kallio, A., Karlsen, S., Marsh, K., Saether, E., Westerlund, H. (Eds.), The Politics of Diversity in Music Education. Treacy D.S., Timonen V., Kallio A. A., Shah, I. (2019). Imagining Beyond Ends-in-view: The Ethics of Assessment as Valuation in Nepali Music Education. In D.J. Elliott, M. Silvermann & G. McPhearson (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Philosophical and Qualitative Assessment in Music Education. Oxford University Press. Timonen, V., Houmann, A., Sether, E. (2020). The reinvented music teacher-researcher in the making: Conducting educational development through intercultural collaboration. In Westerlund, H., Karlsen, S., Partti, H. (Eds.) Visions for intercultural music teacher education. Springer.