I work as a university teacher in Karelian. I am working on my PhD on translating into Karelian and neologisms created during the translation process as methods of language revitalisation. In addition to teaching and research, I actively take part in the revitalisation of Karelian and have been involved in, for example, the Karelian language revival project (University of Eastern Finland, 2021–2024) and the Karelian language specialist group (Institute for the Languages in Finland, 2023–2025), and was the first author of the Karelian Language Revitalisation Programme published in 2025. Above all, I approach linguistics from the viewpoint of language revitalisation, and, in addition to translation, I am interested in e.g., the identities of speakers of minority languages, and “reclaiming” endangered languages.
Niko Vartiainen ([email protected])
I work as a university lecturer in legislative studies at the UEF Law School. In my research and teaching, I have focused especially on questions related to the quality of law drafting and regulatory impact assessment. My practical impact assessment work has mainly focused on local government sector and municipal finance. My research and teaching is also characterized by the use of statistical methods and economic analysis in legal issues.
Nilay Kilinc ([email protected])
I am a migration and mobility studies scholar whose interdisciplinary research sits at the intersection of social anthropology and urban sociology with a focus on second generation, return migration, highly skilled migration, labour market integration, transnationalism, gender in migration, identities, home and belonging. I hold a PhD in Migration and Mobility Studies from the University of Surrey (UK, 2018) and an MA in European Studies from Lund University (Sweden).
Before my current position as a Senior Researcher at UEF, I served as a Grant-funded Researcher at the Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies (Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Helsinki) through my three-year KONE Foundation-funded project, “Narrating and Performing the Art of Becoming Citizens: Creative Migrants’ Democratic Participation in Finland.” (2023-2026). Previous to the KONE Foundation project, I completed a postdoctoral fellowship under the “Urban Inequalities” research group at the Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies (URBARIA), University of Helsinki, investigating the social and labor market integration of highly skilled Turkish nationals in Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen. I am currently still affiliated with the University of Helsinki wherein I am a visiting scholar at the Department of Geosciences and Geography.
My international trajectory includes fellowships at prestigious institutions across Europe, including the Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (Gerda Henkel Fellowship), the New Europe College in Bucharest (Pontica Magna Fellowship, Volkswagen Stiftung), the Centre for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe at the University of Rijeka and Leipzig University.
I authored and co-authored extensive peer-reviewed literature in top-tier journals, including the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Global Networks, and Population, Space and Place. My major publications include the monograph A Place in the Homeland? Turkish-German Return Migration (Edinburgh University Press, 2025, co-authored with Russell King) and the edited volume Handbook on Diasporas and Migration (Edward Elgar, 2026, co-edited with Ayhan Kaya).
I hold leadership roles within IMISCOE, including serving as co-chair of the PhD Academy Training Committee and a board member for the Standing Committee on Migration, Migrants, and Labour Markets (IILME). I previously served as vice-chair of the Society for the Study of Ethnic Relations and International Migration (ETMU) in Finland. Alongside holding a Senior Fellow credential from the UK Higher Education Academy, I design and teach postgraduate courses on sociology of migration, urban diversity, inequalities and qualitative methodologies. Between 2021 and 2024, I represented Finland as an expert on immigration and integration in the Nordic Migrant Expert Forum under the Nordic Council of Ministers. I also integrates arts-based methodologies into my academic practice; I wrote and directed the award-winning ethnographic film Arkadaşloch: Nobody’s Problem (2022), which was screened at 18 international film festivals.
Nina Hakulinen ([email protected])
PhD 2003, Post-doctoral Researcher 2003-2011, Adjunct Professor (Docent) “Structure-function studies of proteins” 2011, Academy of Finland Research Fellow 2012-2017, University Researcher 2017-
Research interests:
– Structural biology of industrial enzymes
– Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass
– Structure and function of metalloenzymes
Nina Kumpulainen ([email protected])
MSc, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Peatlands play an important role as carbon storages, but in addition, they offer numerous other beneficial ecosystem services. Still, a big part of peatlands has been drained. This has altered ecosystem functioning, especially greenhouse gas and carbon dynamics. In my doctoral research, I will develop a new method for peatland restoration, which aims to enhance the recovery of functional diversity of a peatland and limit methane emissions. Sphagnum translocation will play an important role in this method development.
Previously I have studied the communication between the tadpoles of the dyeing poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius) and how lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus) affects beetle species diversity and a number of beetles living on the road verges.
Nina Tusa ([email protected])
I work mainly as the head of education in the Wellbeing services county of North Savo, Educational Services, and I am in charge of developing general practise specialist training and organizing training for trainers at the YTA in eastern Finland.
My study concerns the impact of the participatory care plan. The study includes 605 patients with hypertension, coronary artery disease or diabetes from the Siilinjärvi health centre. We have followed the clinical parameters of patients and their health-related quality of life for three years already and the eight year follow-up is ongoing. Our research team could still accommodate 1-2 doctoral researchers, so feel free to contact us what research is of interest.
Nollatutkijat
Our group began at the Joensuu campus through joint discussions between three fellow academics. Very soon we realized that we were wondering the same thing: what is happening to the university: who defines what can be studied at the university, how the perception of human sciences and ways of working are changing, and why academics are being monitored increasingly.
The group consists of three people whose disciplines and methodological skills are complementary. The team’s work has been characterized by the testing and development of methods related to different types of texts – oral and written – and their interpretation.
Ismo Björn is a senior researcher at the Karelian Institute. His background is in the study of history, where social and nature-related topics are in the focus of the analysis. Pirjo Pöllänen is a researcher at the Karelian Institute and specializes in social policy issues, e.g. changes in working life. Jarmo Saarti is the director of the University Library. In his research he has dealt e.g. the management at the universities and also communication process of fiction.
The group has published studies about university strategies and the rhetoric of the academic leadership and management.
Noor Alwash ([email protected])
As a researcher, my focus is on investigating the impact of environmental factors on fish populations and the ways in which human activities can affect these relationships. Through my research, I aim to better understand the negative impact of humans on the environment and fish populations, and to use this knowledge to inform the development of conservation strategies.
My approach to research includes both laboratory studies and computer-based data analysis. With a background in biology, I have gained experience in various areas including gene extraction, genetic data analysis, phylogenetic tree construction, and protein prediction.
I have a passion for understanding the natural world and am committed to staying up-to-date with the latest research and techniques in my field. I am always looking for opportunities to learn and collaborate with others.
Noora Heiskanen ([email protected])
Noora studies themes related to special education, in particular early childhood special education (planning, documentation and evaluation of support, work of a special education teacher in early childhood education and care, behavior support, participation). Noora is an expert in early childhood special education and cooperates both nationally and internationally in research on the topic and has also extensively networked with societal actors. Noora’s duties include research, teaching, guidance and societal activities. In 2020-2021, Noora has led a large-scale national project to study support and inclusion practices in early childhood education and care commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Culture. At the moment, he leads the research project about administrative decisions on child’s support in early childhood education and care as well as Vaka-Tuvet project. In addition, Noora is a member of the Finnish Educational Society’s Early Childhood Education and Early Childhood Special Education (VAKAe) theme group and the editorial board of Barn – Forskning om barn og barndom i Norde. He is an alternate member of the Board of the Society for Childhood Studies. Noora has early childhood special education teacher qualification and she has worked in teaching positions in early childhood education, secondary education and university.
Northern Dimensions of European Union Actorness
This research deals with the EU’s role as a global actor by focusing on one of the a highly sensitive area: relations with Russia. Despite the apparent frustration of EU neighbourhood policy ambitions due to Russian interventions, particularly in regard to Ukraine, lessons need to be learned from this experience. There will be little alternative to interest-based but mutually constructed regional cooperation and the EU still offers the most attractive alternative.