Dr. Jussi Välimaa is Professor in Educational Studies and Director of the Finnish Institute for Educational Research at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Being trained as a historian and a social scientist professor, Välimaa has expertise in social and historical studies on higher education and education. His research profile is shaped by academic interest in the relationship between higher education and society. Dr. Välimaa also has studied the internal dynamics of higher education institutions from cultural, historical and sociological perspectives. Dr. Välimaa’s latest book is ‘A History of Finnish Higher Education from the Middle Ages to the Twenty-first Century’ (Springer, in press).

Dr. Välimaa’s keynote speech discusses theoretical perspectives, methodological choices and the challenges of research design in the field of higher education research.

The evening workshop: ”Success and failure in academia, and how to embrace the latter”  – Taina Saarinen and Melina Aarnikoivu

Academia and the early-research career phase in particular is full of moments of big and small successes. However, it also entails numerous failures; rejected grant applications, rejected articles, problems with data collection or analysis, delayed article or thesis submissions, and so forth. But are these really ”failures”, or just minor setbacks? Or could they be an integral part of being a researcher, although not recognised as such? Why do we assume that an academic career is or should be a linear progression – and do those kinds of careers even exist? In this year’s Higher Education Summer School evening workshop, Taina Saarinen and Melina Aarnikoivu discuss and share all their academic ”failures” that they have encountered. They also want to encourage the participants of this hands-on workshop to rethink their own ”failures” as more or less a natural part of being a researcher and be more merciful towards themselves and their work.

Taina Saarinen holds a PhD in applied linguistics, while identifying as a higher education researcher. She has published on higher education assessment, quality policies, internationalization and language policies. She is currently preparing a monograph for Palgrave on the neo-nationalist turn in Finnish higher education. Her current academic survival story is available as a Twitter thread.

Melina Aarnikoivu (MA) is a doctoral student at the Centre for Applied Language Studies (CALS), University of Jyväskylä. Her dissertation is a nexus analysis of becoming a scholar and its purpose is to study and ultimately to understand the path of becoming a professional researcher. The emergent issues include the international mobility and work / life balance of doctoral students and the construction of their academic identity. She is also part of the research group miGroup and the co-lead editor of the ECHER blog.

The call for papers has ended.

Participants of the summer school (18-20 persons) will be accepted based on relevance of the abstract to higher education research and the topic of the summer school as well as the quality of it. The abstract (max 1000 words) should comprise out of short description of theoretical background, data, methods as well as expected results. The abstracts should also explicitly address at least one of the above mentioned themes related to the topic of this year’s Summer School.

If you have any questions regarding the registration form or summer school in general, please contact Hanna Vuohelainen (hanna.e.i.vuohelainen@jyu.fi).

Important dates:

The participants are asked to submit the full papers by July 31^st 2019.

Your paper and presentation may refer to your entire dissertation or to one part of it, for example one article. The paper should make a clear connection to the summer school theme. The length of the paper should be approximately 3000-4000 words. 

The participants are asked to submit their full papers by July 31st, 2019 via email to hanna.e.i.vuohelainen (at) jyu.fi and terhi.p.nokkala (at) jyu.fi.

Please note therefore, that in addition to presenting your own work, you will be expected to comment on another student paper. You will be expected to send the comments to the author of the paper in question in written format after the summer school. We also strongly encourage you to read other papers than the one you assigned to comment.

The preliminary programme of the summer school:

Accommodation and fees

Participating in the Summer School is free of charge. Accommodation is offered free of charge for one night in two person room in hotel Alba (address: Ahlmaninkatu 4, 40100 Jyväskylä), close to the summer school venues. 

Venues 

Main venue: Ruusupuisto (RUU / Ruusupuisto -building), address: Alvar Aallon katu 9, 40600 Jyväskylä

Keynote lecture and introduction: RUU E214 Onni, 2nd floor

Groups:

• Track A students: Ruu 314E Isa, 3rd floor,
• Track B students: RUU E 308 Aino, 3rd floor

Evening seminar: Puutarhurintalo / Gardener’s house (J-Building, Seminaarinmäki)

• See campus map
• See google maps with all summer school venues

Credits

PhD students may receive credits for presenting a paper in the summer school. However, each student must negotiate this with their supervisor in advance. Recommended credit amount for participation is 3 ECTS credits.

Restaurants/cafés 

• Ruusupuisto Restaurant Uno
• Other restaurants and cafés in Jyväskylä 

Travelling to and in Jyväskylä

• By bus
• By train
• Jyväskylä Region public transport

The Summer School on Higher Education Research provides PhD students (and early-career researchers) an opportunity to present and receive feedback on their research, participate in a workshop related to higher education research, and meet senior researchers and other PhD students from the field of higher education research. The language of the summer school is English.

The students’ papers are commented on by senior researchers, as well as by student peers. Each student is obligated to give a detailed feedback on the paper of one other student participating in the summer school. The summer school offers a possibility to discuss one’s own research and ideas in a friendly, relaxed, and encouraging atmosphere.