The University of Eastern Finland has appointed eight new Senior University Lecturers and one new Senior Clinical Lecturer, to start in their positions on 1 December 2022. The newly appointed Senior University Lecturers are Mustafa Atalay of the Institute of Biomedicine, Lasse Heikkinen of the Department of Applied Physics, Marja-Leena Hyvärinen of the Language Centre, Helena Kantanen of the Business School, Arja Lyytinen of the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, Kaarina Mönkkönen of the Department of Social Sciences, and Aino Äikäs of the School of Educational Sciences and Psychology. Reijo Sironen of the Institute of Clinical Medicine was appointed as a Senior Clinical Lecturer. The appointments were made by Academic Rector Tapio Määttä.
Mustafa Atalay has been teaching human physiology to pre-clinical students of medicine since the 1990s. As a key teacher in physiology, he has actively developed teaching and always employed the latest, pedagogically relevant teaching and learning methods. Atalay has supervised several academic theses and produced teaching materials. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles in international journals. The medical students’ association Kuolo has recognised Atalay with the Good Teacher Award.
Lasse Heikkinen is in charge of the academic subject applied physics, a pedagogical leader, and the Deputy Head of the Department of Applied Physics, with responsibility for education. He has broad experience in the development of teaching and guidance, and he has held leading roles in the development of teaching. Heikkinen’s skills in educational technology are robust, and he has produced diverse teaching materials in, for example, flipped learning. Heikkinen has actively published articles on, e.g., the development of teaching and learning, and he engages in active collaboration with researchers of educational sciences.
Marja-Leena Hyvärinen has diverse and long-term experience in teaching, and she has conducted several projects addressing the development of teaching. Throughout her career, she has engaged in persistent and working life-oriented efforts to develop teaching in collaboration with the faculties, academic departments and working life representatives. She has developed entirely new courses, study paths and study modules, as well as new practices for teaching, guidance and assessment in collaboration with colleagues at the Language Centre and in the academic departments. She has invested in the development of both virtual and interactive learning environments in a student and learning-oriented manner, reinforcing interaction. Hyvärinen has conducted long-term research related to her own teaching. She has an extensive publication record, and she serves in various expert roles. Hyvärinen was recognised with the Excellent Teaching Practitioner Award in 2021, and in 2015, the business students’ subject association Preemio on the Kuopio Campus also recognised her for her teaching.
Helena Kantanen is an accomplished developer of teaching and guidance. In addition to her own teaching, she has, since 2021, been working as a facilitator of online and blended learning pedagogy at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. Kantanen has been the leader of the Business School’s pedagogical team since 2015. She has also participated in several international projects addressing the development of teaching. Kantanen’s pedagogical training is extensive, and she has been recognised for her teaching on multiple occasions both on the university and departmental levels. Kantanen’s teaching is strongly based on her own and pedagogical research.
Arja Lyytinen is an experienced, scientifically accomplished expert in nutrition and public health. In particular, she has successfully developed teaching in the Master’s Degree Programme in Public Health and been closely involved in the organisation, international networking and education exports of the programme. Lyytinen has supervised several academic theses and doctoral dissertations. She has worked in multiple national and international teaching development projects, also in coordinator and leader roles.
Reijo Sironen has a significant responsibility for basic courses in pathology. He has, for a long time, developed his teaching in a goal-oriented manner. Sironen has completed pedagogical studies, produced teaching materials and developed a virtual learning environment for microscopy samples together with a commercial partner. The medical students’ association Kuolo has recognised Sironen with the Good Teacher Award.
Kaarina Mönkkönen has extensive teaching and guidance experience from multiple levels of education. She has developed, e.g., interdisciplinary courses, simulation education and new learning environments. Besides teaching students of her own subject, social work, she has also taught students of other subjects and other organisations. Mönkkönen’s teaching is strongly research-based and she is involved in several interdisciplinary research projects on learning, and she publishes actively. She has completed multiple trainings on university pedagogy, for which she has been widely recognised.
Marjorita Sormunen is an experienced and accomplished researcher and teacher of health promotion. Her international networks are extensive, and she also leads one international research network. Her pedagogical training is broad, and she has published extensively on pedagogy. The association of students of social sciences and health sciences, Terho, has recognised Sormunen with the Teacher of the Year Award.
Aino Äikäs has long-term experience in various teaching roles at the university, and as an adult educator in various projects and in transnational education. In the subject of special education, she is responsible for several courses and coordinates students’ teaching practice. To develop their content and teaching methods, Äikäs has utilised various learning environments and educational technologies. In the development and implementation of courses and study modules, Äikäs has engaged in multi-professional and multidisciplinary collaboration both within the University of Eastern Finland, as well as with other universities. She has authored publications, textbooks and openly accessible materials on the basis of her research and development activities, thus supporting the development of teaching, guidance and assessment practices.
For further information, please contact:
Academic Rector Tapio Määttä, tapio.maatta(at)uef.fi, tel. +358 50 575 1589