I am studying the role of African elephants in climate change by examining their feeding impacts on vegetation and above-ground carbon dynamics. My research aims to identify demographic and habitat degradation thresholds that could shift their ecosystem role from carbon accumulators to carbon releasers, while also addressing misconceptions about the two African elephant species and their hybrids. As elephants face increasing threats from poaching and escalating human-elephant conflict (HEC) across their range, my work further explores any synergies or trade-offs between climate change mitigation and conservation efforts, and how these are linked to HEC. Learn more on my website: http://www.samuelawini.com.

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.

I am working on the Aid, Policy, and Growth nexus, which is close to development cooperation, policy intervention, and sustainable agriculture development. I am particularly interested in addressing the global shared responsibilities and contemporary issues of the food crisis, climate change, and poverty in developing countries.

The Role of Village Community Banks in Tanzanian Female Entrepreneurs’ Lives. The doctoral dissertation studies the characteristics of community banking in the global South, with the focus on Tanzanian Village Community Banks VICOBAs. It seeks to address the benefits and drawbacks of the community groups. In addition, the study explores how mobile technology, namely mobile money service, can benefit entrepreneurs’ businesses.

PhD candidate in Political Science at University of Lapland (since 2025), specializing in resilience and restorative justice. My research explores how restorative justice can add to resilience research in context of conflict and development policy to address structural inequalities, power dynamics, and sustainable conflict resolution.

Mika Sillanpää’s research work centers on chemical treatment in environmental engineering and environmental monitoring and analysis. More specifically, he has worked extensively with adsorption, photocatalysis, electrochemical treatment, membrane biological processes and advanced oxidation processes as well as chromatographic methods, electrochemical sensor development and real-time monitoring. Mika Sillanpää received his M.Sc. (Eng.) and D. Sc. (Eng.) degrees from the Aalto University, where he also completed an MBA degree in 2013. He has published more than 700 articles in peer-reviewed international journals, including Chemical Society Reviews, Advanced Materials, Environmental Science & Technology, Water Research, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Green Chemistry, Journal of Catalysis, Bioresource Technology, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Mass Spectrometry Reviews, Chemical Engineering Journal and Coordination Chemistry Reviews. Having an h-index of 78, his publications have been cited over 30 000 times (Google Scholar). Also, he has been invited as an external examiner and opponent of several adjunct professorships and doctoral degrees and participated in the evaluation of research proposals in over 10 countries. He has supervised 45 PhDs and been a reviewer in over 240 academic journals, many of which are top-ranked in their fields. Mika Sillanpää has received numerous awards for research and innovation. For example, he is the first Laureate of Scientific Committee on the Problems of the Environment (SCOPE)’s Young Investigator Award, which was delivered at the UNESCO Conference in Shanghai 2010 for his “significant contributions, outstanding achievements and research leadership in Environmental Technological Innovations to address present water pollution problems worldwide, especially with regard to wastewater treatment and reuse”. In 2011, he was invited to act as a Principal Scientific Reviewer in the GEO-5 report of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP). In 2012, he received Tapani Järvinen Environmental Technology Award and Publication Award of the University. In 2014, he received the Science Award of the Lappeenranta University of Technology and Pro Mikkeli Award. In 2018, he was invited as a Member of the Finnish Academy of Sciences and Letters and Academy of Technical Sciences. He also received Literature award from the Water Association of Finland in 2018. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, he was listed as a Highly Cited Researcher by Thomson Reuters.

Professor Tuija Turunen holds a position of Dean at the Faculty of Education, University of Lapland, Finland. She is a leader of the teacher education programme. Turunen holds the UArctic Chair in Education for Social Justice and Diversity and leads the UArctic and the UNESCO/UNITWIN networks on Teacher Education for Social Justice and Diversity. Professor Turunen is an internationally recognized expert in these fields and has given invited addresses throughout the globe both in scientific and popular arenas, e.g. UNESCO Teacher Task Force in Jamaica, Arctic Forum in Russia, IICBA in Ethiopia and various forums in Europe. She has published widely and leads several national and international projects. Professor Turunen’s current research interests focus on teacher education, indigenous education, professional development in higher education, educational transitions (especially starting school), multi-professional work in schools, and preventative school welfare work.

Researcher of world politics with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa. In my PhD project, I examined the post-war realities of former girl and women soldiers in Liberia and gained my doctorate in 2017. My recent publications include a book 'Liberia's Women Veterans: War, Roles and Reintegration' (Zed Books 2018) and several peer-reviewed articles on gender, post-war reconstruction, child soldiers, inequality, and visual research methods. I have lived, studied and/or worked in Liberia, Senegal as well as Zambia and am eager to develop innovative ways to study and understand different phenomena around the world.