Plenary Speakers

Leena Nissilä
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Leena Nissilä is Adjunct Professor (Docent) of Finnish Language and holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Before her appointment as Director of the Institute for the Languages of Finland, she served as Director of the Language Centre at the University of Helsinki, Head of Unit at the Finnish National Agency for Education, and in various other roles, including researcher and teacher.
Taina Saarinen
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Taina Saarinen is Research Professor and director at the Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä. Her main research interests are language policies and ideologies in higher education. Recently, she has moved towards multilayered education, migration and language polices. In projects funded by the Research Council of Finland and its Strategic Research Council, she is currently leading research on the futures of education and education policy.



Maritta Riekki
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Maritta Riekki (Ph.D.) is a University Lecturer in French and Foreign Language Didactics at the University of Oulu. She has extensive experience teaching French, German, and English at all levels of education, from primary school to university. Her research focuses on the multifaceted nature of change in language pedagogy, the professional development of future language teachers, and teachers’ work motivation and well-being.
Minna Uitto
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Minna Uitto (Ph.D. in Education) works as Professor of Subject Teacher Education at the Faculty of Education and Psychology at the University of Oulu. Her research focuses on teacher education and the teaching profession, particularly the various relationships and emotional dimensions of the work of teachers. Her responsibilities include pedagogical studies in subject teacher education and intermediate studies in university pedagogy. By training, she is both a primary school teacher and a teacher of English.
The programme will be updated on this page later.