Friday Joseph Agbo

Doctoral candidate

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

Roseanna Avento

Global Development Manager

  • Institution University of Eastern Finland
  • Department/faculty Development Services

Aina Brias Guinart

Doctoral candidate

  • Institution University of Helsinki
  • Department/faculty Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences

My research explores the links between education and biodiversity conservation. I am particularly interested in how conservation NGOs implement education programmes in rural communities in Madagascar and how they affect local cultures, environments and knowledge systems. I have mainly been doing qualitative research using interviews, focus groups and participant observation as methodologies.

Projects

Unpacking the role of education as a tool for biodiversity conservation

Yuzhuo Cai

Senior Lecturer

  • Institution Tampere University
  • Department/faculty Faculty of Management and Business

Yuzhuo Cai is a Senior Lecturer and Adjunct Professor at the Higher Education Group (HEG), Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, Finland. He has been with the HEG for 15 years and was the Acting Professor of the unit from August 2013 to July 2014. He is the (Chinese) Director of Sino-Finnish Education Research Centre jointly coordinated by Tampere University and Beijing Normal University. His teaching and research areas are higher education policy and management, internationalisation of higher education, innovation studies and comparative education, with 78 peer reviewed publications (59 in English) and 6 scholarly books in these fields.

Analía Capponi-Savolainen

Doctoral candidate

  • Institution University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy
  • Department/faculty MuTri Doctoral School

Researcher, educator and musician working at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Center for Educational Research and Academic Development (CERADA). My current project on children's singing in culturally diverse Finnish schools is part of the ArtsEqual Research initiative (The Arts as a Public Service: Strategic Steps towards Equality) funded by the Academy of Finland.

Kajsa Ekroos

Project Coordinator, MA

  • Institution UniPID, University of Helsinki
  • Department/faculty Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science

I'm a project management professional with several years of experience in coordinating international cooperation projects in both academia and the private sector. My areas of expertise are: science, technology and innovation (STI) cooperation frameworks between Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, EU-CELAC STI policy dialogue, internationalization of higher education and research, Latin American Studies and intercultural communication.

Projects

Developing Finnish Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Europe, Africa, Asia and the LAC Region (FinCEAL Plus)

Developing Finnish Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Europe, Africa and the LAC Region (FinCEAL)

Developing Finnish Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation between Europe, Africa, Asia and the LAC Region (FinCEAL Plus Continuation)

Internationalizing Finnish Science: Building Sustainable Bridges to Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean (BRIDGES)

Marianna Ferreira-Aulu

Doctoral Researcher, Project Researcher

  • Institution University of Turku
  • Department/faculty Finland Futures Research Center / Turku School of Economics

Hi! I am Marianna Birmoser Ferreira-Aulu, project researcher and doctoral student at the University of Turku (UTU), Finland. My long-term professional goal is to contribute to society by exploring innovative pathways towards just and sustainable futures. I intend to do this by producing high-quality scientific materials, by popularizing science to catalyze positive transformations, and by engaging with the civil society to collaborate with various stakeholders. During the past five years, I have been working as project researcher in two departments in the University of Turku: the Finland Futures Research Centre, and the Centre for Collaborative Research. I have been engaged with various projects in strategic foresight, futures literacy, sustainability and climate action, renewable energy, food research, and international collaboration. In addition to desk research, I enjoy doing workshop facilitation (have experience in Finland, Peru and Colombia). I have also been quite active in public speaking, by giving talks in various seminars and conferences. I also enjoy cooperating to developing the strategy of our own organization. I have represented UTU in international cooperation initiatives through international education services. Since the beginning of 2021, I have also been pursuing my doctoral degree in Futures Studies. The working-title of my dissertation is “Building a Strategic Roadmap for Ecologically Sound and Socio-politically supported Conservation of the Brazilian Amazonia”. The research takes into consideration the local socio-political dynamics, the uniqueness of its peoples and its biodiversity. I look at the conservation of Amazonia as a wicked problem that needs diverse set of actions to attempt to solve it. This research topic is a continuation, and expansion of my Master’s Thesis, where I explored futures scenarios for the Volta Grande do Xingu, the region most affected by the construction of the Belo Monte Dam, in the East of the Brazilian Amazonia.

  • Institution Turku University
  • Department/faculty Dentistry/Medicine

Aside from being a PhD student, I am currently a lecturer of Dental Public Health in an academic institute in Saudi Arabia. I have an MSc in Dental Public Health and a Joint master’s in health professional Education. I serve as a reviewer for several international journals and an section Editor in Frontiers Oral Health and have publications in reputable and hi-indexed journals. I am a core team member in global initiatives that address oral and mental health.

Osku Haapasaari

Project Worker

  • Institution University of Turku
  • Department/faculty Finland Futures Research Centre
  • Institution Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology
  • Department/faculty Computational Engineering

Post-doctoral researcher at LUT-University. MSc degree in Financial and Actuarial Mathematics from Wroclaw University of Technology (2007), MSc in Technomathematics from Lappeenranta University of Technology (2008) and DSc in Applied Mathematics from Lappeenranta University of Technology (2011). Specializes in modeling financial markets, time series analysis, statistical modeling, as well as mathematical epidemiology. 9 years of experience in academic teaching (including an award for the best international teacher), covering mainly scientific computing, statistics and stochastic modeling, and calculus. In years 2013-2015 having coordinated the following capacity building projects between Finland and East Africa: NSS East Africa Technomathematics and HEI ICI Mathematics Education and Working Life Relevance in East Africa. Experienced participant in Modeling Weeks (both as a student, instructor and organiser) and Study Groups. Recently organized a successful ECMI Modeling Week at LUT in July 2017.

Projects

Mathematical modeling