There are similar regional centres funded by the International Association of Schools of Social Work RRCs in other regions of the world such as China, Oceania and Eastern Africa. Our network of university partners is committed to exchange and communication across participating countries for the promotion of global social work education (including fieldwork) and the recognition of best examples of innovative and transformative social work research and practice.
We seek to create new opportunities for active partnership in teaching and research on the contemporary issues such as sustainability, diversity, inequality, migration and promote the regional professional profile of social work education and research. The centre is coordinated by the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, Germany and University of Eastern Finland, Finland, higher education institutions with a longstanding commitment to global social work education and scholarship. The current coordinators of this centre are Professors Chaitali Das, (FUAS), Janet Carter Anand (UEF).
Improving the quality and sustainability of learning using early intervention methods based on learning analytics
Ismo Pellikka (ismo.pellikka@uef.fi)
I teach in the basic, subject and advanced courses in classroom teacher education and supervise Bachelor’s theses. In class teacher training, I am involved in the implementation of the evangelical religion course, as well as the history and social studies courses. I am responsible for the pedagogy of life-religious studies course. In early childhood education, I am responsible for the unit on “Similar and different humans together” (consisting of moral education and development, history education and religious & multicultural education). I am very happy to lecture on Finnish educational system and school life for our exchange student from all over the world.
I am also the academic supervisor of the Pedagogy and Teaching for Sustainability Master´s Degree.
Jenni Lahtinen (jenni.lahtinen@uef.fi)
I am a doctoral researcher at the department of social sciences. My dissertation locates in the fields of youth studies and sociology and it deals with vocational students well-being from the perspective of Capability -approach and ecological sustainability. The aim of the research is to hear young people’s own perceptions of their well-being and examine how vocational education supports young people’s opportunities to live a life they have reason to value. In addition the objective is to find out, how ecological boundaries emerge in the young people’s perceptions of their own well-being. The practices of vocational education to promote opportunities for just and sustainable well-being are analyzed.
My previous research projects has dealt with participation and belonging at child welfare services, young peoples’ experiences and well-being in the times of Covid-19 and young peoples’ educational choices as well as equality in carrier guidance.
Juha Kinnunen (juha.kinnunen@uef.fi)
As my main occupation, I work as a project manager in a project called “Circular economy skill development for working life”. Additionally, I am finalizing my own doctoral dissertation (on self-management/resilience). Furthermore, I teach part-time as an hourly teacher in work and organizational psychology. I am a member of the Center for Sustainable Circular Economy (CECE) and the Sustainable Innovation Research Team (SUN LAB), as well as the Research Group on Intellectual Capital Management. My research interests include, among other things: sustainability themes, resilience, leadership topics, self-management, metacognition, fear of change, organizations, etc.
Kaisa Henttonen (kaisa.henttonen@uef.fi)
The larger question I am involved in solving through my research is: how to enable a less resource-dependent sustainable economy by means of digitalisation and sustainable circular economy and to, hereby, renew the operations of companies as well as create new and new kind of jobs. First, my focus within the question is on organisational renewal and digital transformation i.e. how to manage work and innovation in a digital world. Secondly, my research focuses on sustainable entrepreneurship based on (digital) business models i.e. how entrepreneurs come up with and commercialise sustainable innovations to achieve sustainability goals. Thirdly, my research focuses on organisational development i.e. how to manage innovation in organisations with special focus on enhancing knowledge sharing and encouraging innovation behaviour in organisations.
Kaisa Huhta (kaisa.huhta@uef.fi)
Dr. Kaisa Huhta is an Associate professor of European law, especially energy law at the UEF Law School and at the Centre for Climate Change, Energy and Environmental Law. She also holds a part-time professorship at the European University Institute’s Florence School of Regulation. Her research focuses on EU energy law. She has produced publications on State aid law, free movement law, competence and institutional issues in EU law, the regulation of new energy technologies and energy investment, security and consumers in EU law. Her broader research objective is understanding the roles of law in governing the energy sector and the low-carbon energy transition in the EU. Dr. Huhta is the Principal Investigator in the EUJUST project (2021-2024), funded by the Academy of Finland, which studies EU law as an instrument for energy justice. She is also a work package leader in the RELIEF project (2023-2026), funded by the Strategic Research Council, which studies the role of law in sustainability transformations.
Dr. Huhta has published in top level international journals such as the European Law Review, the International and Comparative Law Quarterly and Global Environmental Change. In total, she has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles, books, book chapters, expert statements and other publications. Previously, she has been a visiting researcher at the University of Oxford, the European University Institute (EUI), the University of Tilburg, the University of Iceland and the University of Waikato.
Dr. Huhta’s lecturing responsibilities at the UEF Law School has covered courses in general EU law as well as energy law. She supervises Master’s theses in energy law and EU law. She also teaches research methodologies to doctoral researchers. She is available to supervise doctoral candidates in the field of energy law.
Dr. Huhta is an expert member of the Finnish Market Court and actively carries out consultancy work in the field of EU and Finnish energy law. In addition to her research and consultancy work, Dr. Huhta frequently speaks at international conferences, seminars and training events.
Katja Pasanen (katja.pasanen@uef.fi)
I work as a project manager at the Business School at the University of Eastern Finland. I have wide experience in tourism research and development including sustainable tourism, nature-based tourism, e-tourism and cultural and event tourism. I have experience in multiple tourism projects funded for example by EU Regional Development Fund, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, European Commission, and the Finnish ministries. My goal is to work in the interface of the tourism business and research and develop the tourism business by offering them insights from the latest research. I am especially interested in responsible tourism and sustainability marketing, as well as opportunities offered by technology for improving the customer experience and making tourism more sustainable.
Specialities:
Sustainable and responsible tourism
Sustainability marketing
Nature-based tourism
Event & cultural tourism
Customer research and knowledge
Kristina Leppälä (kristina.leppala@uef.fi)
My mission is to create knowledge and understandings of the phenomena of practices in life, work, and work life practices, particularly during technology innovations and during sustainability transitions and implementations. I study practitioner logics, emergence, and co-creation with qualitative methodologies and adopt a practice theoretical approach.
Microplastics and health are particular emerging topics which interest me.
Law in Water and Environmental Governance
Our research team examines water and marine environmental law from a river basin perspective. Our research is multi-level, covering international, EU and Finnish law. The background of our group is in the theory of complex systems and adaptive governance. Our research is methodologically diverse, combining doctrinal study of law, empirical legal research (especially qualitative research) and analytical legal theory. Our group consists of researchers in environmental law and environmental policy, and its activities include monthly meetings on water themes, and an annual International Conference on Water Law and Governance. We have published our research in top international publications such as Nature Urban Sustainability and PNAS.