Twenty-six newly appointed professors of the University of Helsinki will give their inaugural lectures on Wednesday, 4 December 2024, starting at 14.30. The lectures take place in the University’s Main Building (Fabianinkatu 33, cloakroom: Aleksanterinkatu 5) and the public can watch the lectures also via live stream. The lectures serve as popular introductions to the professors’ fields of science and current research issues.
The inauguration ceremony will begin at 17.00 in the Great Hall. The programme includes a speech by Chancellor Kaarle Hämeri, musical performances and introductions of the new professors. In addition, the inauguration ceremony will feature an inaugural lecture by Professor of Sustainability Science Annukka Vainio.
For the event programme and livestream links, please see the programme below. Each lecture lasts roughly 20 minutes, with breaks in between to allow for the audience to move from one lecture venue to another. Before each lecture, the dean or vice-dean of the relevant faculty will briefly introduce the professor. More information about the facilities and accessibility of the Main Building.
Join us in welcoming the University of Helsinki’s new professors and learning about the cutting-edge research being conducted in different disciplines.
Fabianinkatu 33, 2nd floor
At 14.30 RAILI HILDEN
Language didactics | Faculty of Educational Sciences
Kielididaktiikka ja muutoksen mainingit
At 15.00 JANNE VARJO
Sociology of education | Faculty of Educational Sciences
’Kansallinen’ ja ’paikallinen’ suomalaisessa koulutuspolitiikassa
At 15.30 TIMO MYÖHÄNEN
Pharmacology | Faculty of Medicine
Missä mennään hermorappeumasairauksien lääkekehityksessä?
Fabianinkatu 33, 3rd floor
At 14.30 ILONA HONGISTO
Audiovisual culture | Faculty of Arts
Audiovisuaalisuus pinnan alla: meri, tieto ja taide
At 15.00 SUSANNA VÄLIMÄKI
Art studies | Faculty of Arts
Sairaus ja kuolema Kaija Saariahon viimeisessä sävellyksessä
At 15.30 MIKKO TOLONEN
Digital humanities | Faculty of Arts
Tekoäly ja aatehistorian tutkimus
At 16.00 PIA OLSSON
Ethnology | Faculty of Arts
Pienen yhteiskunnallinen merkitys
Fabianinkatu 33, 3rd floor
At 14.30 FEDERICO BIANCHI
Cryosphere-atmosphere interactions | Faculty of Science
The role of aerosols in a changing climate: on the hunt for the pre-industrial atmosphere
At 15.00 ANNALEA LOHILA
Biogeochemical Cycles | Faculty of Science
Suot ilmaston muokkaajina
At 15.30 PETTERI NURMI
Computer Science (distributed systems and networking with emphasis on Internet of Things) | Faculty of Science
Sensing for Science
At 16.00 MARKKU VAINIO
Physical Chemistry | Faculty of Science
Kuinka laserin avulla voidaan kammata esiin tietoa aineen koostumuksesta
Fabianinkatu 33, 3rd floor
At 14.30 PETRI ALA-LAURILA
Neurobiology | Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Aivotutkimusta näön rajoilla
At 15.00 KIRSI MIKKONEN
Food Sciences | Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry
Food for thought and thought for food
At 15.30 ANETTE ALÉN
Civil and Commercial Law | Faculty of Law
From Battles to Balance and Back
Fabianinkatu 33, 3rd floor
At 14.30 HISAYO KATSUI
Disability studies | Faculty of Social Sciences
Miksi vammaistutkimus? / Why disability studies?
*The lecture will have interpretation in sign language and speech-to-text interpreting.
At 15.00 FRANKLIN OBENG-ODOOM
Global Development Studies | Faculty of Social Sciences
Property and Power
At 15.30 JOHANNA SUMIALA
Communication | Faculty of Social Sciences
Elävät kuolleet mediassa
Fabianinkatu 33, 3rd floor
At 14.30 SILVIO CRUSCHINA
Italian language | Faculty of Arts
The languages of Italy: Navigating linguistic diversity between national and regional languages
At 15.00 PEKKA POSIO
Ibero-Romance languages | Faculty of Arts
Kieli ja sukupuoli Meksikossa ja Espanjassa
At 15.30 CAMILLA LINDHOLM
Scandinavian languages | Faculty of Arts
Språkforskaren och marginalen
At 16.00 ROMAN YANGARBER
Linguistic inequalities and translation technology | Faculty of Arts
TBA
Fabianinkatu 33, 4th floor
At 14.30 KRIS CLARKE
Social Work | Faculty of Social Sciences
Abolitionist perspectives on social work through the lens of the AIDS epidemic
At 15.00 JOEL HIETANEN
Sociotechnical change of consumer society | Faculty of Social Sciences
From creative consumer culture to Terminal Marketing
At 15.30 SALLA SARIOLA
Sociology | Faculty of Social Sciences
Microbes – what does sociology have to do with them?
At 16.00 JAAKKO KUORIKOSKI
Practical philosophy | Faculty of Social Sciences
Vaikuttava yhteiskuntatiede
At 17.00, Great Hall, 2nd floor (Aleksanterinkatu 5/Unioninkatu 34)
SPEECH
Kaarle Hämeri
INAUGURAL LECTURE
Annukka Vainio: Globaalien ympäristöongelmien ratkaiseminen edellyttää laaja-alaisia käyttäytymismuutoksia
Sustainability Science (Behavioural Change toward Sustainability Transformations) | Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry
INTRODUCTIONS OF THE NEW PROFESSORS
MUSIC
After the ceremony, the reception, including refreshments, will be held on the second floor of the Main Building.
Please leave your coats and large bags in the cloakroom on the first floor of the Main Building (Entrance Hall Aleksi, Aleksanterinkatu 5). Accessible entrance to the Great Hall is available from the courtyard of the Main Building through the archway at Yliopistonkatu 2. More information about the facilities and accessibility of the Main Building.
New professors
New professors giving their inaugural lectures wear a black suit and bring with them their doctoral hats if they have defended their theses at a Finnish university. Members of the clergy may wear clerical dress. Professors who defended their doctoral thesis abroad may wear the doctoral gown of their home university.
Audience
The dress code for the audience is casual. In the evening session, the audience attire is expected to suit the solemn nature of the event.
More information: helsinkiunievents@helsinki.fi.
Faculty of Arts:
Leena Kolehmainen, Professor of Germanic Philology | Anu Lahtinen, Professor of Finnish and Nordic History | Anneli Luhtala, Professor of Latin language | Marja Vierros, Professor of Classical Philology | Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen, Professor of Indigenous Studies
Faculty of Educational Sciences:
Riikka Räisänen, Professor of Craft Science and Craft Pedagogy
Faculty of Medicine:
Jari Lahti, Professor of Clinical psychology, mental health, and mental health interventions | Sirkku Peltonen, Professor of Dermatology and Allergology | Pipsa Saharinen, Professor of Biochemistry | Maritta Välimäki, Professor of Development of Healthcare Services
Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry:
Timo Hytönen, Professor of Molecular and Translational Plant Biology | Edward Webb, Professor of Global Forests and Land Use
Faculty of Science:
Pia Bäcklund, Professor of Regional and Urban Inequalities | Gregor Hillers, Professor of Earthquake Seismology | Antti Honkela, Professor of Data Science (Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence) | Katrianne Lehtipalo, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and Physics | Mika Mäntylä, Professor of Computer Science (Software Development Methods) | Simon Puglisi, Professor of Data Science (Knowledge Discovery in Big Data) | Laura Ruotsalainen, Professor of Computer Science (Spatiotemporal Data Analysis for Sustainability Science)
Faculty of Law:
Dorota Gozdecka, Professor of Law | Dan Helenius, Professor of Criminal and Procedural Law
Faculty of Social Sciences:
Minna van Gerven, Professor of Social Policy | Johanna Kantola, Professor of European Societies and Politics | Timo Harrikari, Professor of Social Work| Michiru Nagatsu, Professor of Philosophy of Social Science and Sustainability