Marjaana Kangas and Heidi Sinevaara-Niskanen from the Faculty of Education have been appointed as Arctic Six Chairs, whose task is to promote research collaboration within the Arctic Six alliance.

The Arctic Six is an alliance of Nordic universities to advance and share knowledge, education and innovations for the development of the region. The Arctic Six has appointed 21 new Chairs for the period 2026–2028. The new Chairs will continue to foster collaboration in research across the Nordic Arctic.

Playfulness as a key human resource amid rapidly advancing change

Senior University Lecturer Marjaana Kangas has focused in her research on learning and teaching, particularly from the viewpoint of playfulness, creativity, and agency.

Together with her international research network and the Playful Minds research group, Kangas broadly studies issues related to play, learning, and future-oriented thinking. The research is focused, among other things, on how playful learning, AI, and digital environments, as well as practices connected to nature and active outdoor play, can support learning, sense of community, and well-being.

– In recent years, I have examined playful learning in both educational and professional contexts. I am fascinated by the idea that playfulness can be seen as a keyway to learn, to build sense of community, and to solve complex problems, Kangas reflects.

As Arctic Six Chair, her goal is to bring together Nordic researchers and experts to develop new perspectives on learning and well-being in Arctic environments.

– The goal is to strengthen international cooperation and build a multidisciplinary research agenda in which playfulness is seen as a key human resource amid rapidly advancing environmental, technological, and societal changes, says Kangas.

Examining links between resilience, power, and politics

University Lecturer Heidi Sinevaara-Niskanen studies social sustainability, power, and resilience, particularly in Arctic politics.

– In recent years, I have focused on the ways in which power is exercised through hope – a concept that bears great resemblance to resilience. My research has, for example, touched upon Arctic sustainability debates and the relations between Indigenous peoples and states, Sinevaara-Niskanen explains.

As Arctic Six Chair, her goal is to bring together Arctic resilience researchers and increase the international visibility of critical Arctic research even further.

– Resilience is intertwined with the Arctic in many ways, and “Arctic resilience” is anticipated to have an even bigger role in the future. It is therefore important to understand what we are talking about when we talk about resilience. We have already started this line of work in the POWERS network that I have established with Nordic colleagues. We are pleased that the Arctic Six alliance provides a platform to continue investigating the links between Arctic resilience, power, and politics and to raise the profile of Arctic resilience research.

Heidi Sinevaara-Niskanen and Marjaana Kangas agree that their research themes and objectives as Arctic Six Chairs complement each other.

More information

Arctic Six news piece (22.5.2026): New Arctic Six Chairs Appointed