Doctoral programmes at the University actively participate in international networks. Our programmes support visits to academic institutions and research centres abroad as a means of early stage researcher growth.
Together with our strategic partners we organize e.g.
These joint activities bring early career researchers together and contribute to the future research community for a better world.
The Early Career Champions is a mentorship programme which brings together doctoral researchers and mentors from the universities of Helsinki and Nairobi.
As part of the strategic partnership between the University of Helsinki and the University of Nairobi, the One Health Early Career Champions program promotes career advancement and international networking of early career researchers from various disciplinary backgrounds, focusing on One Health.
The program will create long-term partnerships, support international activities of students and researchers, and enable multidisciplinary research. In this context, the cooperation with the University of Nairobi focuses especially on health and food security as well as on the development of teacher education.
The term of the first Early Career Champions program was 2021-2022 and included four workshops with different themes, mentoring sessions, monthly seminars and a symposium at the end of the program.
The vision of the Early Career Champions programme is shaped by the complexity and scale of the challenges that we are facing in the world today. Developing entrepreneurial skills, collaborating across borders and working together with multiple stakeholders to solve these global issues can provide exciting, new career opportunities for doctoral candidates of both universities.
The programme is open for doctoral researchers at the University of Helsinki and the University of Nairobi who are focusing on One Health.
If you want to learn more about the programme and see when the call for mentees and mentors is open, please follow the link to the proramme's pages.
Hussein Alburkat, Faculty of Medicine, UH
Sofie Skovfoged Gregersen, Faculty of Arts, UH
Bildad Hawi - Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, UoN
Moses Masika – KAVI-ICR, UoN
Heta Mattila, Faculty of Educational Sciences, UH
Hellen Muringa Mwaura – Centre for Biotechnology & Bioinformatics, UoN
Victor Musyoki – Department of Medical Microbiology, UoN
Samuel Mwangi Njoroge - Centre for Biotechnology & Bioinformatics, UoN
Inka-Tuulevi Pettinen, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UH
Joseph Ogola Ganda – KAVI-ICR, UoN
Dr. Tuomas Aivelo, Helsinki One Health (HOH) and Helsinki Institute of Urban and Regional Studies (Urbaria), UH
Prof. Omu Anzala – KAVI Institute of clinical Research (KAVI-ICR), UoN
Prof. Salome Bukachi –Institute of Anthropology, Gender and African Studies, UoN
Dr. Mar Cabeza, Global Change and Conservation Lab, UH
Dr. Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), UH
Prof. Mikael Fogelholm, Leader of InnoFoodAfrica project, UH
Prof. Annamari Heikinheimo, Group leader of Zoonotic Antimicrobial Resistance, UH
Dr. Essi Korhonen, Viral Zoonosis Research Unit, UH
Dr. Daniel Muli – KAVI-ICR, UoN
Dr. Marianne Mureithi – Department of Medical Microbiology
Prof. Thumbi Mwangi – UoN & Washington State University
Prof. Philip Nyagah – College of Agriculture & Veterinary Sciences, UoN
Prof. Elina Oinas, Leader of WIRE: Will to Relevance - Ideals in Finland-Africa Collaborations in Biomedicine and Gender Studies, UH
Prof. Petri Pellikka, Earth Change Observation Laboratory (ECHOLAB), UH
Associate Prof. Tarja Sironen, Viral Zoonosis Research Unit and Emerging Infections Research Group, UH
Prof. Olli Vapalahti, Helsinki One Health (HOH) and Viral Zoonosis Research Unit, UH
The participants met monthly in monthly seminars where they introduced their research, interests and career paths. The monthly seminars were held in Zoom on the second Tuesday of each month at 1:00-2:30 pm (Helsinki time).
Timetable for the monthly seminars:
9 November 2021
14 December 2021
11 January 2022
8 February 2022
8 March 2022
12 April 2022
13 May 2022
14 June 2022
9 August 2022
13 September 2022
14 October 2022
Early Career Champions had four workshops with different themes during its term.
The first of the four workshops was held on Monday, 11 October, 2021. The workshop concentrated on different aspects of career planning. Participants from Nairobi and Helsinki heard talks from Mar Cabeza (University of Helsinki), Salome Bukachi (University of Nairobi) and Tarja Sironen (University of Helsinki) about their career paths. Whereas, Sanna Grannas and Jarkko Immonen from the University of Helsinki’s Career Services gave advice on job applications and interviews.
The second workshop was on Wednesday 16 February, 2022. The theme of the workshop was entrepreneurship and hybrid careers.
The third workshop was on Tuesday 24 May 2022.
The fourth workshop was on Wednesday 7 September 2022.
At the end of Early Career Champions program, a One Health symposium was held in December 2022 in Nairobi.