Century of Migrations
Person in charge: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen, Faculty of Education, University of Tampere
The project Century of Migrations (2017–2018) provides a venue for scholarly exchanges by organizing eight workshops on issues central to the study of international migration. In addition to providing a platform for cross-disciplinary debates in a workshop format, each event also includes public lectures given by leading scholars in the field. The theme of the first year (2017) is Global Situation and the second year (2018) Europe and Finland. Each of the eight workshops has its own sub-theme. The sub-themes for 2017 are Environmental Change, Population Growth, Development, and Diaspora. The sub-themes for 2018 are Politicization, Economy, Generations, and Diversity.
International workshops:
1. Environmental Change 24.–25.1.2017 (Turku/Helsinki)
2. Population Growth 4–6/2017 (Turku)
3. Development 5.-6.9.2017 (Tampere)
4. Diaspora 11–12/2017 (Helsinki)
5. Economy 1–3/2018 (Turku)
6. Politicization 4–6/2018 (Tampere)
7. Generations 8–9/2018 (Helsinki)
8. Diversity 10–12/2018 (Turku)
Duration: 1.1.2017–31.12.2018.
Funding: around 200,000 e, Finnish Cultural Foundation
Consortium: Institute of Migration (project manager), Research Centre on Transnationalism and Transformation (TRANSIT), Finland Future Research Centre, Society for the Study of Ethnic Relations and International Migration (ETMU)
ReWell – Promoting regional wellbeing through adult and vocational education
Person in charge: Professor Anja Heikkinen, Faculty of Education, University of Tampere.
Through Re-Well, partners improve cooperation inside university and with regional education institutes, industry and community, and clarify their agenda in university and wider education policy. Students and staffs are engaged in trans-national research and education community, building on their indigenous knowledge and expertise. Re-Well also contributes to establishment of East-African network for adult and vocational education, where universities of Mzumbe and Kyambogo are pioneering.
The main products will be 1) Research-based and practically relevant programmes in adult and vocational education in partner universities, engaging regional practitioners and policy-makers in development of study programmes and research in universities; encouraging studies on regional governance and policy-making from the perspective of democratic participation, negotiation patterns, actor networks; and on regional economy and industry from the role and potential of native skills and practices; on sustainable use of natural resources as pre-condition for regional wellbeing; sensitizing researchers, practitioners and policy-makers to inclusiveness, especially in relation to women, youth, elderly and minority groups in the region; 2) Cooperation networks for future development of regionally relevant and globally aware study programmes and research in adult and vocational education; 3) Recommendations for regional agendas for developing adult and vocational education.
Funding: 1.6.2014-31.12.2015, 77 000, CIMO and partners´ own funding
Members of the group: coordinator Anja Heikkinen University of Tampere (Finland), coordinator Perpetua Kalimasi Mzumbe (Tanzania), coordinator Kimani Muturi Kyambogo (Uganda), with regional adult and vocational institutes in each country
International collaboration: Vocational education and culture-research network, Freedom and responsibility in liberal adult education-programme.
Strengthening Institutional Capacity for Higher Education Leadership and Management in sub-Saharan Africa (LMUU II), 2013-2015
Person in charge: Professor Seppo Hölttä, Faculty of Management, University of Tampere.
Funding: 500,000 e
International collaboration: University of Kwazulu-Natal (South Africa), Pan African Institute of University Governance (Cameron).
Nordic Council of Ministers project to jointly develop an online course on “Entrepreneurial Universities”, 2013-2015
Person in charge: Professor Seppo Hölttä, Faculty of Management, University of Tampere.
Funding: 29,500 e
International collaboration: University of Agder, University of Lund, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
Transcultural roadmap for supporting belonging among unaccompanied children and young people (TRUST)
Person in charge: Docent Anna-Kaisa Kuusisto-Arponen.
Site of research: Faculty of Management, University of Tampere
TRUST is an Academy of Finland Key Project focusing on the transcultural and translocal belonging of unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors. The TRUST project claims that the care systems fail to acknowledge the lived experiences of these unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors, which frequently leads to the misconstruing of their needs and unworkable practical measures to support their subjective agencies. This social neglect of experiential knowledge on migration and lack of compassionate understanding of what it means to be separated from the family have already led to severe personal, familial and social challenges, including marginalisation, mental health problems, existential loneliness, and sometimes even the increasing risk of radicalisation. TRUST develops understanding and practical tools through which the unaccompanied minors can be supported and protected in an embracing manner in their new host societies. Through experiments and pilots in Finland, Sweden, Germany and Australia, TRUST gains first-hand knowledge of how to ground social integration and belonging into care practices and policies.
Research funding: Academy of Finland Key Project funding for the period 2016-2018.
Research group: Docent Anna-Kaisa Kuusisto-Arponen (Academy of Finland Research Fellow), Dr. Mervi Kaukko (Postdoctoral Researcher), Dr. Kristiina Korjonen-Kuusipuro (Postdoctoral Researcher), Dr. Mari Pienimäki (Postdoctoral Researcher) and Jaakko Tuominen (Research assistant).
Collaboration: Finnish Newspapers Association, Office of Ombudsman for Children, Guardians for Asylum Seeking Children, Central Union For Child Welfare, TIUKU Public Information Cultural Factory and Ofelia Puppet Theater, and academic partners in Germany and Sweden.
Transnational Migration in Transition: Transformative Characteristics of Temporary Mobility of People (EURA-NET)
Person in charge: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen.
Site of research: Faculty of Education, University of Tampere.
EURA-NET is an international research project coordinated by Professor Pirkko Pitkänen, Faculty of Education. The objective of the project is to attain an understanding of the current characteristics and related policy impacts of temporary transnational mobility of people between Asia and Europe.
EURA-NET addresses three basic research questions: (1) What are the transformative characteristics and development impacts of the temporary transnational migration of people? (2) What are the policy implications of people’s temporary migrations at national, regional (European and Asian) and international levels? (3) What can we learn from temporary migrations in the Euro-Asian transnational space to better understand other world regions?
Research funding: The project has got funding of 2,5 million euros from the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme for the period 1.2.2014 – 31.1.2017.
Research group: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen (person in charge), Dr. Mari Korpela, Dr. Virve Kallioniemi-Chambers, Mr. Jaakko Hyytiä, Mr. Pekka Rantanen, Mr. Mika Raunio, Ms. Tiina Vaittinen and Ms. Jaana Palander. In other participating countries (Belgium, China, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine) the total number of researchers is around 30.
International collaboration: Centre for European Policy Studies (Belgium); Beijing Normal University/School of Social development and Public Policy; Bielefeld University/Center on Migration, Citizenship and Development (Germany); University of Macedonia of Economic and Social Sciences; Economic Research Institute-Budabest; Centre for Development Studies (India); Maastricht University/Graduate School of Law; Scalabrini Migration Center (Philippines); Mahidol University/Institute for Population and Social Research (Thailand); Koc University/Migration Research Center (Turkey); and Ethnology Institute of national Academy of Sciences (Ukraine).
Adult Education as a Means to Active Participatory Citizenship (EduMAP)
Person in charge: Professor Professor Pirkko Pitkänen.
Sites of research: Faculty of Education and Faculty of Information Science, University of Tampere.
EduMAP is an international research project focusing on the educational needs of young people with low levels of basic and functional literacy, with deficient language and cultural skills (foreign newcomers, ethnic minorities), those who have dropped out of school and those not in education or training due to handicap.
The fundamental aim is to help European, national and local policymakers, educational authorities and educators to tailor adult education policies and practices to meet the needs of young adults in a vulnerable position. The main research question is: What policies and practices are needed in the field of adult education to include young adults at risk of social exclusion in active participatory citizenship in Europe?
Research funding: The project has got funding of 2,5 million euros from the EUs Horizon2020 programme for the period 1.2.2016 – 31.1.2019.
Research group: Professor Professor Pirkko Pitkänen (Coordinator), Dr. Virve Kallioniemi-Chambers, Professor Martti Juhola, Professor Hanna Toiviainen, Professor Raija Hämäläinen, Professor Veli-Matti Värri, M.Ed. Paula Kuusipalo, Dr. Jyrki Rasku, Dr. Henry Joutsijoki.
International collaboration: Dr. Kai Pata (Tallinn University, Estonia), Dr. Beate Schmidt-Behlau (DVV International, Germany), Professor Giorgios Zarifis (Aristoteles Thessaloniki, Greece), Professor Judith Toth (Szeged University, Hungary), Dr. Jo Tacchi (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Spain), Dr. Armagan Erdogan (Social Sciences University, Ankara, Turkey), Dr. Natasha Kersh (University College London, UK).
Transnational Dynamics in Quality Assurance and Evaluation Politics of Basic Education in Brazil, China and Russia (BCR) 2014–2017
Person in charge: Associate Professor Jaakko Kauko (consortium and team leader), Professor Tuomas Takala (team leader), Professor Risto Rinne (team leader)
Site of research: Faculty of Education, University of Tampere; University of Turku, Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE)
The cases of study are the three large and increasingly powerful nations of Brazil, China and Russia. They are characterised as ‘future societies’ and strive to overcome their dependency on global models to establish a position of stronger sovereignty in the global arena.
The main research objective is to explore how the intertwinement of the local, the sub-national, the national, the regional, and the global scales constructs the local dynamics in QAE politics and thus shapes local learning environments in the case countries. The project will develop and probe a new theoretical and methodological approach, Comparative Analytics of Dynamics in Education Politics (CADEP), towards comparative understanding of education systems.
By means of a new theoretical and methodological approach, the project will affect the general comparative, socio-historical and transnational understanding of the construction of learning environments, with a particular focus on the policies and practices of QAE. Owing to its focus on the effects of the evaluation procedures that re-shape local relations and learning environments, it will shed light on how they enhance, but also hinder, learning, and provide clues as to the evaluation know-how required in the future.
Video – Visit to field work site Cheboksary
Research funding: The Future of Learning, Knowledge and Skills TULOS, Academy of Finland research programmes, 2014-2017
Research group:
•Team Brazil: Associate Professor Jaakko Kauko (consortium and team leader), Postdoctoral Researcher Vera Centeno, Research fellow Helena Candido
•Team Russia: Professor Tuomas Takala (team leader), Post-doctoral Researcher Nelli Piattoeva, Research fellow Galina Gurova
•Team China (University of Turku): Professor Risto Rinne (team leader), Post-doctoral Researcher Johanna Kallo, Research fellow Olli Suominen, Research fellow Zhou Xingguo
Collaboration: The research is conducted by a consortium of two Finnish universities (Tampere and Turku).
Increasing Intercultural Understanding in Work Communities: Contextual Action Research in Social and Health Care Work (MULTI-TRAIN)
Person in charge: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen.
Site of research: Faculty of Education, University of Tampere.
MULTI-TRAIN is a contextual action research managed by Professor Pirkko Pitkänen, Faculty of Education. The project is conducted in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland, Department of Health and Social Management. The objective of the project is to provide empirically validated know-how about how to contribute to successful daily intercultural interaction and learning in social and health care work in Finland. The basis for the project design and for the composition of the research team are four key factors causing concern in daily social and health care work: management of diversity, recruitment /qualification, intercultural interaction and intercultural learning. An action-oriented research approach has been taken as the aim is not just to review the current state of affairs but also to help work communities to become more competent to manage cultural change, to solve interaction and management problems arising, to create conditions for sustainable transformation processes and to make intercultural learning processes as a matter of course.
Research funding: The project is funded by the Academy of Finland for the period of 1.9.2013 – 31.8. 2017 (600,000 euros).
Research group: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen (person in charge), Professor Vuokko Niiranen (person in charge in UEF), Adjunct Professor Kaija Matinheikki-Kokko, Dr. Aulikki Sippola, Dr. Suvi Nieminen, Dr. Kirsti Sainola-Rodrigues, Dr. Katja Keisala, Dr. Pirjo Raunio, Dr. Sari Hammar, Ms. Kaisa Niiranen, Ms. Päivi Vartiainen-Ora, Ms. Krista Nuutinen and Ms. Marja Koskela.
International collaboration: Professor Maddy Janssens, Research Centre for Organization Studies, Katholoeke Universitiet Leuven; Professor Peter Koehn, Department of Political Science, University of Montana; Dr. Erica Righard, Malmö Institute of Migration, Diversity and Welfare; and Dr Nevel A. Vassel, Department of Public Health, Birmingham City University.
Emergence of Transnational Educational Space in Social and Health Care Work: Case Study in Training and Integration of Filipino Nurses in Finland (TRANS-SPACE)
Person in charge: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen.
Site of research: Faculty of Education, University of Tampere.
The focus of this three-year research project is on the transformation processes underway in the field of education due to the increasing international recruitment of labour. International nurse training in the Finnish-Filipino transnational space will be introduced as a case study, with a view to the applicability of lessons learned to other educational and occupational environments. The objectives of the project are to learn about how to contribute to successful nurse training in a transnational setting, and to attain an understanding of the transformative characteristics of the emergent transnational educational spaces.
Research funding: The project is funded (140,000 euros) by Finnish Work Environmental Fund for the period of 1.6.2014-31.5.2017.
Research group: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen (person in charge), Dr. Maruja Asis, Dr. Pirjo Raunio, Ms. Päivi Vartiainen-Ora, Ms. Marja Koskela.
International collaboration: The research is conducted in collaboration with Dr. Maruja Asis, Scalabrini Migration Center, Manila.
Transnational Migration, Citizenship and the Circulation of Rights and Responsibilities (TRANSMIC)
Person in charge: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen,
Site of research: Faculty of Education, University of Tampere.
TRANSMIC is a Marie Curie project coordinated by the Maastricht University. The aim of TRANSMIC is to contribute to the understanding of transnational migration, in particular by looking at the conditions for and effects of transnational migration, possibilities for the mobility of migrants’ rights to be enhanced, and the links between migration, citizenship, and migration and development. The topic of the research conducted at the University of Tampere is “Transformative Impact of Student Migration between China and Non-English Speaking EU Countries” The focus of the research lies in the characteristics and the societal impact of transnational mobility of tertiary-level students between China and selected non-English speaking EU countries (Finland, Germany and the Netherlands). Special attention is paid to the societal impact of overseas mobility in higher education and to the social remittances which are being transmitted in the EU-Asia transnational spaces.
Research funding: TRANSMIC is a Marie Curie Initial Training Network funded by the European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme for the period of 1.9.2014 – 31.8.2018. UTAs share of funding is around 200,000 euros.
Research group: Ten Ph.D. and three post-doctoral researchers implement research within the framework of the TRANSMIC project. The Finnish research group covers: Professor Pirkko Pitkänen (person in charge), Dr. Virve Kallioniemi-Chambers and Ms. Hanwei Li (PhD student).
International collaboration: In addition to University of Tampere, the research consortium comprises Maastricht University, University of Minho (Portugal), University of Oxford (UK), Aix-Marseille University (France), Liege University (Belgium), Centre for European Policy Studies (Belgium) and University of Warsaw (Poland).
The world within a suburb: Encountering Islam in a multicultural suburb in Varissuo, Turku
Person in charge: Professor Laura Huttunen
Site of research: Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Tampere.
In this project, challenges of everyday life in a multicultural suburb are approached both journalistically and through anthropological research. Special attention is paid to two sets of divisions: fist, the tensions between Finns and migrants with Muslim background; secondly, tensions and divisions between different groups of Muslims within the urban space. Everyday encounters are analyzed as embedded in the residents’ various transnational connections. How are various global tensions played out in the everyday life of a multicultural suburb? How do various groups encounter each other, and what are the points of tension, collision and co-operation? The aim is to produce texts for various audiences, including the academic community, the general public but also such specialized groups as civil servants, teachers and social workers. The project focuses on the suburb of Varissuo in Turku; it is one of the most multicultural residence areas in Finland, embodying many of the themes debated currently in the public. Methodologies of both anthropological ethnographic research and of explorative journalism are employed, in order to produce a multi-faceted understanding of social relations and cultural processes among different groups in Varissuo and beyond.
Research funding: The project is funded (221 500 euros) by the bold initiative research program “Is Finland becoming polarised?” by Kone Foundation.
Research group: prof. Laura Huttunen, Dr. Marko Juntunen, author-journalist Yussif Haddad
The role of Finnish experts working in international organisations in influencing decision-making and activities addressing the global learning crisis
Person in charge: Elias Pekkola
Site of research: Faculty of Management and Business, University of Tampere; Unit for Pedagogic Innovations and Culture at Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
The project is a follow up of the ‘Stepping up Finland’s Global Role in Education’ report (2018), in which it is recommended that Finland should strengthen its voice on international organisations and forums, and better utilize its human resources in education and development. The project is commissioned by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
“The study analyses how Finnish education experts have been positioned within international organisations and have influence on development cooperation in the education sector. In addition, the study identifies the career paths of the experts and explores their views on Finland’s role in global development cooperation in the sector. The analysis concludes that the participating education experts identify Finland as a small player compared to other reference countries involved in development cooperation in the education sector. Consequently, resources, funds and room for influence of these experts are limited. Furthermore, contacts between the Finnish government and education experts placed abroad are described as very limited. Based on the study, experts would benefit from a more active role of Finnish government agencies and ministries. The main recommendations of the study are: active strategic positioning of Finland in the global educational architecture, development of national strategy for development cooperation in the education sector, increased support for international careers and international education expertise as well as increased communication and facilitation of education experts’ networks by the government agencies.” (in Report The presence and influence of Finnish Education Sector expertise in international organisations).
Besides a report commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the researchers Íris Santos and Elias Pekkola also used the data collected for the already published article Policy entrepreneurs in the global education complex: The case of Finnish education experts working in international organisations and a third publication is under revision.
Research funding: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
Research group: Elias Pekkola and Íris Santos
Collaboration with: Rediet Abebe, Emmi-Niina Kujala, Jussi Kivistö and Hanna Ilola