Irina Lavikainen (irina.lavikainen@uef.fi)
– Receipt, processing and evaluation of further utilization of invention disclosures
– Proof of Concept funding application and project implementation support services
– Draft funding application support services
– Spark Finland program support services
– Technology transfer and advocacy related to the commercialization of research results
– Administration related to university patent applications and other industrial property rights
– General support and advice related to innovation activities and research impact planning
Isaac Afara (isaac.afara@uef.fi)
I am an Associate Professor with more than a decade of experience in applied and translational spectroscopy. My research interests range from applied spectroscopy, through multivariate and machine learning analysis in biospectroscopy, to computational biophotonics, all with the aim of bench-to-bedside translational of spectroscopy-based innovation for state-of-the-art optical characterization and diagnosis of biological tissue pathologies.
I currently lead the Biomedical Spectroscopy Lab (BSL, est. 2018), a multi-disciplinary team of Physicists and Engineers focused on applied spectroscopy and computational biophotonics research.
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 Raninen (kaisa.raninen@uef.fi)
Researcher in the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and in the SIB Labs (Science – Innovation – Business) team in the Department of Technical Physics in the Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology.
I have knowhow in food analysis, clinical nutrition interventions, microbiology, microplastics and biorefining, and special expertise in analysis of volatile compounds (GC-MS).
Katariina Ylönen (katariina.ylonen@uef.fi)
My expertise and interests relate to sales, sales leadership and innovativeness, as well as workplace and organizational culture. In my doctoral dissertation, I focus on the innovativeness of sales organizations and the role of sales in enhancing organisation innovation capabilities. As a researcher, I am inspired by interdisciplinary collaboration and approaches intending to understand the future. In International Retailing -project I teach sales and buyer behavior from the perspective of retailing and in the International Business and Sales Management -master’s degree program I teach the International Sales Work course.
Katja Weckström (katja.weckstrom@uef.fi)
My research focuses on emerging markets and the evolving regulatory framework for commerce. I concentrate on the role of law and trade in shaping the global economy, which directly impacts national and regional economies. My research targets regulation that may enable growth and remove barriers to trade and commercial development. Global transactions impact the regulator’s ability to control actors and digital content as well as reducing risks and preventing harm to consumers. Hybrid governance models and institutions are necessary to govern international distribution chains to detect fraudulent activity and promote innovative entrepreneurship.
Technological development surpasses regulation that is mainly geared towards real world commerce. Digitalization does not replace, but transforms international chains of commerce and creates opportunities for new business innovations. Trade in physical goods remains relevant, yet now trade revolves around digital content and the service economy. My research focuses on grey areas or gaps in commercial regulation. Thematically I focus on the areas of internet, IPRs and food law.
The focus on IPRs relates to policing criminal activity and utilizing protection schemes to further entrepreneurship, especially protecting innovative SMEs in global markets and developing countries and capitalizing on the potential in food innovation to enhance food security and sustainable business models in food development.
Katri Rusanen (katri.rusanen@uef.fi)
Master of Agriculture and Forest Sciences (University of Helsinki 2019).
Sustainable economy, sustainable forest bioeconomy networks, sustainable value creation and innovation.
Kristin Williams (kwilliam@uef.fi)
I am a Visiting Researcher with the Innovation Management research team at the UEF Business School, University of Eastern Finland. I am also the Historian in Residence with the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University in Canada. I bring to various collaborative research projects a gender lens and a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. I am a critical management studies scholar and I identify as a polemical feminist engaged in critical historiography through activist writing and narrative methods. Much of my work has focused on uncovering neglected female figures in management and organizational studies and management history. I completed my PhD studies at the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University, Canada.