The awards were presented to Heidi Linnanmäki, Immi Kovanen, Julia Lempola, Pinja Räisänen and Veera Korhonen.
The University of Eastern Finland has, for the first time, granted the Sustainable and Responsible Future thesis awards. Each award is worth 2,000 euros, and five Master’s theses were recognised at the university’s Sustainability and Equality Days on 17–18 March 2026.
The award recipients are:
- Heidi Linnanmäki, Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, thesis topic: Maalahopuiden ominaisuuksien automaattinen tunnistaminen drooniaineistoista.
- Immi Kovanen, School of Medicine, thesis topic: Including nutrition in the life cycle assessment of milk and plant-based drinks.
- Julia Lempola, Department of Geographical and Historical Studies, thesis topic: The relationship between environmental and AI policies in the sociotechnical narratives of Finnish organisations.
- Pinja Räisänen, Law School, thesis topic: Ympäristökysymysten huomioiminen EU:n yrityskauppavalvonnassa.
- Veera Korhonen, Department of Social Sciences, thesis topic: Towards a Sufficiency Society? – Finns’ Willingness to Accept Cuts in Economy and Living Standards for Environmental reasons in 2000–2020.
To be eligible for the award, the Master’s level thesis thesis had to be completed and evaluated in 2025 with a minimum grade of 4, or pass (medicine/dentistry). The thesis must address a theme related to sustainability or responsibility from the perspective of its academic discipline and represent a laudable contribution in terms of approach, content, applicability, or impact.
These university-level thesis awards are open to all academic disciplines. The funding model is also unique: for several years, the University of Eastern Finland has collected a so-called internal flight tax based on emissions from work-related travel. Instead of purchasing commercial carbon offsets, the funds are allocated internally to support, among other things, research and education related to sustainability and responsibility.
