Researchers

Researchers at the university of Eastern Finland

Päivi Siivonen is a docent in adult education and a senior researcher in educational sciences. Her current research interests include academic entrepreneurship as a social process, higher education employability, inclusion/exclusion and narrative methodology. She will lead the HighEmploy consortium and also participate in generating and analysing the data and publishing the results.

Maija Korhonen is university lecturer and post-doctoral researcher. Her research interests include life course research, social psychology of education, critical studies on education and working life, and gender studies. Her special expertise lies in narrative and discursive analysis. She has studied gendered and classed constructions of educability and abilities in entrepreneurship education.  She is interested in studying the role of institutions in people’s lives. She will lead the sub-project 2 and is responsible for conducting qualitative analysis of the interview-based longitudinal data.

Heli Mutanen, MEd, is a university teacher and a PhD student at the University of Eastern Finland, School of Educational Sciences and Psychology. Her research interests include narrative methodology and youth identity and agency negotiations in the realm of school to work transitions. She is currently involved in a research project ‘Higher Education Graduates’ Employability and Social Positioning in the Labour Market’ (2018–2022) funded by the Academy of Finland.

Inka Hirvonen is a PhD student and she is increasing her expertise in narrative methodology and research on higher education employability. She will participate in sub-study 2.

Professor Katri Komulainen (UEF, psychology) and emeritus professor Hannu Räty (UEF, psychology) act as the project’s senior researchers.

Researchers at the university of Turku

Ulpukka Isopahkala-Bouret is a successful higher education and agency scholar, initiator and energetic cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural networker. Her specific research topics include educational credentialing, age(ing) and gender, professional expertise, life course agency and career transitions. Ulpukka will lead the consortium subproject at the University of Turku. She will participate in the planning and research design of the sub-project 1 and in interviewing and analysis of the sub-project 2, as well as in co-publishing.

Mikko Aro is a postdoctoral researcher and an expert in quantitative methods and research on educational expansion and inflation. He will lead the sub-project 1 and conduct data analysis of the register-based data.

Kristiina Ojala is a postdoctoral researcher and is an expert in higher education graduates’ relative competitiveness in the labour market. She will analyse the survey data of the sub-project 1 and conduct interviews and analysis in the sub-project 2.

Hanna Nori is a university researcher and an expert in research on selection and access to higher education. She will contribute to the analysis of the register-based data of the sub-project 1.

Nina Haltia is a postdoctoral researcher and has expertise in mixed-methods and research on adult/non-traditional students in higher education. She will conduct interviews and analysis in the sub-project 2.