Mari Simola

I am the education sociologist and organization researcher with the special interest in education organizations, strategic management and governance, affects and emotions and especially I am interested in theoretic and methodological approaches and change. 

PhD dissertation

The dissertation, Academy of Emotions – Analysis of the development work of higher education, is on about how the intertwining, formal and informal, hidden and visible, practices and policies meet at the development activities of the university teaching at European, national and local levels of organization and policymaking. The special emphasis has been on the affective and emotional dimension of the governance and development work. Theoretically my work draws on sociological governance studies, with links to organization and gender studies, and the affect theories. The dissertation is at its final stage. Besides working on my own dissertation, I have been involved in research projects.

Teaching
My experience on teaching at the University of Helsinki includes planning, teaching and evaluating courses for bachelor and master level students.

• Finnish Education System from the Perspective of Comparative Education Research (Helsinki Summer School, 8.-23. Aug 2018, responsible teacher)
• Kasvatustieteilijän toimintakentät (Course on professional and worklife skills for students in educational sciences; Faculty of Educational Sciences, spring 2017,2018, responsible teacher)
• Qualitative research methods (several courses for Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Educational/Behavioural Sciences in 2011-2013)
• Koulutussosiologia (Sociology of Education; Helsinki University Open University, spring 2010)

Courses in other higher education institutions: 

• Project management
• Change management 
• Human resource development

Besides these courses, I have organized several workshops and seminars in Finland and internationally. The topics have varied from on how to study political and organizational dynamics to how to theorize and reach the emotional aspects of the education and teaching. 

The social involvement and impact of the research (selected)

• Member of the Board of Consortium of Higher Education Researchers in Finland (CHERIF ry), 2012-2015
• Representative of doctoral students in the executive committee of the SEDUCE programme, Sep 2013 - Aug 2014, University of Helsinki,Faculty of Behavioural Sciences
• Elected representative and member of the Academic Affairs Committee at the European Students’ Union, Brussels. 2011-2012
• Member of the evaluation board, the European wide project The Challenges of the Multilingual and Multicultural Learning Space in the International University, 2012-2015

Academic affiliations

• Member of Research Unit  on the Sociology and Politics of Education (KUPOLI, http://blogs.helsinki.fi/kupoli-unit/), a multidisciplinary group of senior and junior researchers. KUPOLI research themes cover a wide variety of issues and approaches on sociology of education, especially problematics of policy, politics, interaction and governance in basic and higher education. The central focus is on crossings and intertwinings of global, regional, national and local levels, including schools and families.
• Nordic Centre of Excellence (NCoE) Justice through education in the Nordic Countries (JustEd), (http://blogs.helsinki.fi/just-ed/) NCoE research is focused around the question: How do systems, cultures and actors in education enable and constrain justice in the context of globalizing Nordic welfare states? 
• Member of The Finnish Doctoral Programme on Education and Learning, Subprogramme on Comparative Research on Educational Policy, Economy and Assessment (2007-2013), and because of the launch of university specific doctoral programmes in 2014, since then a member of Doctoral programme of School, Education, Society and Culture (SEDUCE).