Doctoral student studying remotely from Alaska, USA working on sustainable educational training for teachers with a focus on Indigenous pedagogy.

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.

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.

EduCase is a global pilot funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education EDUCase, and coordinated by Aalto University. EduCase aims at developing an innovative and educational case based institutional collaboration between Finnish Higher Institutions and Institutions/HEIs in potential partner countries in Africa. The major objectives of the EDUCase project include assisting in the provision of education relevant with sustainable development challenges, strengthening networks between partner countries’ HEIs and local innovation ecosystems, enhancing practical collaboration and deepening research networks and global competence of Finnish HEIs, advancing furthers innovations and the reaching of education development targets of HEIs in partner countries, advancing common innovation ecosystem between Finland and partner countries. Hanken/CCR's part of the project aims to device innovative educational collaborations with HEIs as well as with governmental and nongovernmental institutions that work on innovation in potential partner countries in Africa.

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.