The research communities of the University of Lapland emphasise shared knowledge

The University of Lapland has three core areas of research where multidisciplinary collaboration is advanced in three research communities. The themes of each core area have been studied for a long time, but the research communities are in different stages in terms of organisation.

The core areas of research were defined last year as part of the university strategy and research development plan. Three persons were appointed to lead the research communities of the core areas, and they started the work at the beginning of this year.

The Arctic Change and Adaptation research community is led by Professor Pigga Keskitalo, the Sustainable Naturecultures community by Outi Rantala, and the Design and Services community by Jonna Häkkilä.

Vice-Rector for Research Sari Lindblom points out that the research community leaders’ task is to advance the operation of the communities, to lead them in the framework of our quantitative objectives and the quality and impact of our research, and to acquire external funding.

“The research communities cooperate closely with one another and the faculties. Furthermore, they network extensively and enhance international cooperation,” notes Lindblom. 

Three doctoral researcher positions and one Tenure Track position are opened in each community this year.

SuMu is a genuinely multidisciplinary and open research community

The Sustainable Naturecultures research community was officially founded in the Faculty of Social Sciences in 2022, and it goes by the name SuMu according to English abbreviation of its longer name (Sustainable Naturecultures and Multispecies Futures). According to Professor Outi Rantala, SuMu is rooted in the multidisciplinary environmental research carried out at the University of Lapland.

“Building the community requires not only time and patience, but also passion and confidence in the world that we study,” notes Rantala.

The aim is to study and understand planetary change from a northern perspective and to suggest solutions to the changes through research and art.

SuMu gathers researchers across the social sciences, humanities, Sámi and Indigenous studies, and practice-based research and arts who are engaged with naturecultures, Indigenous societies, multispecies relations, and the politics of natural resources.

“We are a multidisciplinary community united by an interest to study interaction between people and the environment. Our researchers share a desire to implement ethical agencies. It is essential to recognise and acknowledge the friendship between researchers and species as a way of knowing together.”

Rantala hopes that the SuMu community continues to foster collective decision making, the diversity of knowing, and the openness of the community.

The Arctic Change and Adaptation research community invites us to build the future together

The Arctic Change and Adaptation research community combines the long-term Arctic research expertise of the faculties and the Arctic Centre. The community aims to strengthen multidisciplinary collaboration and to create new research initiatives in a rapidly changing Arctic operating environment.

According to Professor Pigga Keskitalo, the community emphasises, for instance, an ethical approach, communality, questions of justice and governance, and consideration of the perspectives of indigenous peoples and local communities.

“We set out to strengthen the status of the University of Lapland as a national and international operator in Arctic research, collaborating openly with other universities, communities, and stakeholders. Meanwhile, we advance socially significant research that is genuinely attached to life in the Arctic regions,” Keskitalo notes.

The research community examines how changes in the climate, ecosystems, and biodiversity reflect on livelihoods, governance, rights, regulation, education, cultural practices, and people’s daily lives in the Arctic regions.

“Multidisciplinarity also means sensitivity to various forms of knowledge: scientific research, communal knowledge, and experiential understanding.”

Keskitalo invites researchers, research groups, and partners of collaboration to take part in the activities of the research community.

“This work is done together. I hope that we will create new research initiatives, spirited discussions, and encounters between disciplines and universities. I see the community as an open invitation to joint thinking and responsible building of an Arctic future.”

The Design and Services research community has an inclusive and experimental research approach

According to Jonna Häkkilä, the research carried out in the Design and Services community is methodology- and future-oriented and experimental. It applies the inclusive research methods of design and service design to various phenomena and topics, such as cultural heritage, health, and well-being.

As the leader of the research community, Häkkilä aims to build communality and to support excellence. Häkkilä points out that international networking and publishing are strongly related to the pursuance of excellence in research.

At the core of the community are two distinguished research groups of the Faculty of Art and Design: The User Experience team led by Häkkilä and the Service Design team led by Professor Satu Miettinen, the faculty Dean.

“The aim is to create a more extensive research community and to network across faculty and unit boundaries. I intend to facilitate non-formal meetings where people can discuss issues and get to know one another. I believe that this also creates new forms of collaboration and new projects. Our research community is a receptive one, and we can be approached without any hesitation,” Häkkilä notes.

Design and service research often calls for research infrastructure, and Häkkilä indeed speaks highly of the studios, workshops, and other facilities of the Faculty of Art and Design.

“We want to hold on to curiosity and the joy of working together. We can do truly inspiring things together.”