Curriculum Vitae.
Current location
Helsinki, Finland
Current position
Dean, Dubai Future Academy, Dubai Future Foundation
Professor of Futures Research, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Business/University of Turku
Unesco Chair of Learning for Transformation and Planetary Futures. UNESCO/University of Turku
Degrees
17 December 1997, Doctor Of Political Science, University of Helsinki, Department of Social Policy
19 January 1995, Licentiate of Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Social Sciences
19 March 1992, Studies in Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Department of Social Policy. Master of Social Sciences 19.3.1992
20 August 1988, Master of Gardening, Överby Gardening School, Espoo, Finland
Adjunct Professorships
Adjunct Professor in Environmental Policy, Department of Social Policy, University of Helsinki, 2001
Recent positions
Sept 2020-UNESCO Chair Unesco Chair of Learning for Transformation and Planetary Futures. UNESCO/University of Turku
Feb 2020- Dean, Dubai Future Academy at Dubai Future Foundation
May 2016- May 2020, UNESCO Chair in Learning Society and Futures of Education. UNESCO/University of Turku
Jan 2016 – Co-founder, Turku Complex Systems Institute, University of Turku
Nov 2014- Professor of Futures Research, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Business/University of Turku
Aug 2012 - Senior Advisor, Finland Futures Research Centre, University of Turku 1.8.2012-
Jan 2004 – Aug 2012 Professor of Futures Research, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Business/University of Turku
Other important posts and full-time positions
Jan 2011- Aug 2012, Nov 2014- Principal teacher, Master Program for Futures Studies, Turku School of Economics
Dec 2009 - Jan 2011 Senior advisor, Allianz SE
Jan 2009 - Nov 2009 Director, Trend assessment & strategy unit, Allianz SE
Dec 2007 - Dec 2008 Director, strategic research, Allianz SE
Jan 2004 - Aug 2012 Professor in Futures Research, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
Aug 2003 - March 2007 Director, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
Jan 2002 - July 2003 Research Director, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
Jan 1999 - Dec 2001 Director, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
Nov 1996 – July 1999 Coordinator, Finland Futures Research Centre, Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
Sept 1996 - Oct 1996 Lecturer, University of Helsinki, Dept of Social Policy
Jan 1995 - Aug 1996 Research associate, University of Jyväskylä, Faculty of Social Sciences (Jyväskylä, Finland)
Feb 1992- Dec 1994, Researcher, Research Institute for Social Sciences, University of Tampere (Tampere, Finland)
Building curriculum/Teaching experience
Feb 2020- Dubai Future Academy at Dubai Future Foundation. Teaching following courses: Foundations of foresight, Foundations of futures literacy, Strategic foresight, Systems & Long-term thinking, Applying horizon scanning.
Jan 1999- Finland Futures Research Centre at Turku School of Economics/University of Turku. Building master program for futures studies and teaching the following courses in the program: Foundations of futures studies, Strategic foresight, Systems thinking, Scenario building, Master class programs. Countless lectures at Finland Future Academy on various futures-related topics. Teaching foresight classes for MBA students in Business school.
Research and Development Projects
Jan 2018- Dec 2023 Co-director of WISE (Creative adaptation to Wicked Socio-Environmental Disruptions). Academy of Finland.
Nov 2017- Director of the project “Towards a Greener Urban Future”. City of Turku.
Dec 2016 –Dec 2020. Co-director of Bioeconomy and Justice research project. Academy of Finland.
Oct 2016- Chairman, Turku Center Vision2050 project. City of Turku.
Jan 2015 –. Director of the project Bastu, Sixth Wave Entrepreneurship. Sitra and University of Turku.
Jan 2015 – Dec 2016. Director of the project “Human Being and Value in the Sixth Wave (HUVA). How to transfer best practices of the new digital businesses into industrial companies. Funded by TEKES, National Technology Agency of Finland
Dec 2011 – Dec 2013. Director of the project “6th Wave and Systemic Innovations for Finland: Success Factors for the Years 2010-2050 (6th Wave)”, funded by TEKES, National Technology Agency of Finland
Jan 2011 - June 2011. Senior researcher of the project “X-events” funded by various national and international entities
Aug 2010 - March 2011. Evaluator of Finland’s Strategic Climate and Energy Policy, Office of Prime Minister, Finland
Jan 2007- Dec 2010. Director of “Postgraduate school for futures studies”, funded by Academy of Finland/Ministry of education
Aug 2006 - Nov 2007. Co-director of the project “Future of Responsible Communication” funded by Helsingin Sanomat Foundation
May 2005 - March 2007 Director of the project "Managing Creative Knowledge Capital: Exploring innovation capacity and foresight methodologies in building future competitiveness for Finnish companies" funded by TEKES, National Technology Agency of Finland
May 2005 - May 2007. Director of the project “Agora 2020 - Qualitative and Quantitative needs for future environmental education”, funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education.
April 2005 - Dec 2005. Director of the project “Social dimensions as future resources”. Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Sept 2003 – Dec 2005 Director of project “Ecological Efficiency Now and in the Future - ETU project”. TEKES, National Technology Agency of Finland
May 2002 – Sept 2003 Director of the project “Cultural Competence as a Component of National Competitiveness (KULTA)”, funded by SITRA
July, 2001 - June 2004 Director of project “Collisions of Nature and Culture in Transport Policy” (TRAPO). Academy of Finland
Aug 2002 - Dec 2003 Director of the project Social structure; Terra 2000 –EU DG research, Academy of Finland
Sept 2001 - Dec 2002 Technical coordinator of the project “Future of the Food Industry” - ETU 2030 –project, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry
Jan 2001- Dec 2003 Director of the project (Finnish part) of the TERRA2000 – The Future of European Environment -EU project, funded by European Commission.
Jan 2001- Sept 2002 Director of the project (Finnish part) of the “Ecostat – Future Tools for Environmental Statistics” EU project. European Commission.
Sept 2000 - Dec 2002 Director of the project “Eco-information society: the criteria and operational possibilities” (E-knowledge) -project. Environmental Cluster research programme of the Finnish Ministry of Environment
March 2000 - July 2000 Post-doctoral researcher in the Research Council on Environment and Natural Resources, Academy of Finland
Nov 1999 - Dec 2002 Group leader of the project “Climate Change and Decision Making in International and National Level (ClLIDEC). Academy of Finland/the Finnish Global Change Research Programme FIGARE
Aug 1999 - June 2001 Director of the project “Municipalities' Environmental Barometer. An indicator system for a successful environmental policy in Finland’s municipalities and regions –project”, Environmental Cluster Research Programme/Ministry of Environment/The Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities
Jan 1998 - Dec 1998 Leading Consultant for Finnish Academic Biodiversity Research Programme (FIBRE) in the project “Attitudes and Interaction between Decision-makers and Researchers” (SOVELLA). Academy of Finland
Nov 1996 - June 1999 Coordinator of the project “Citizenship and Ecomodernization in the Information Society. Futures Approach.”. Funded by the Academy of Finland (Programme for the Research of Information).
Several hundred speaking engagements and consulting projects with Finnish and international organizations
Supervised Doctoral and Licentiate Thesis; Assessments for Professorships
Currently supervising several students at post-graduate program of futures studies, University of Turku
Supervisor and kustos: Sofi Kurki ”Foresight and Transformation. Observing Pioneers in Our Changing Societies”. University of Turku. Aug 20, 2020
Examiner to doctoral dissertation: Olli Ruokolainen “Suunniteltu luovuus? Kulttuuritoiminnot ja strateginen aluekehittäminen” , October 14, 2016
Opponent to doctoral dissertation: Petro Poutanen “Complexity and Collaboration in Creative Group Work”, University of Helsinki, August 17, 2016
Examiner to doctoral dissertation: Petro Poutanen “Complexity and Collaboration in Creative Group Work”, University of Helsinki, March 14, 2016
Examiner to doctoral dissertation: Pekka Harju-Autti “Global cross-national indicator on Environmental Awareness and Environmental Worldviews in individuals, Organizations and Political Parties”, University of Oulu, Sept 18, 2015
Opponent to doctoral dissertation: Roger Pineda, “Technology in culture – a theoretical discourse on convergence in human-technology interaction” University of Jyväskylä. Aug 29, 2014
Statement of qualification / Dr. Lauri Hetemäki, for the partime position of Professor for forestry foresight at Eastern University of Finland. Statement dated December 11, 2011
External Examiner of Doctoral Dissertation manuscript: Ela Krawczyk, Dublin Institute of Technology. Request by Professor John Ratcliffe on April 20, 2005. Dissertation date: March 31, 2006
Statement of qualification / Adjunct Professor: Dr. Eva Heiskanen, for the position of Adjunct Professor at Helsinki School of Economics, department of Management and Organisations, in the specified field of Science and Technology Research, Environment and Consumer Research. Letter dated February 7, 2005
Inspector of Licenciate manuscript: Marko Ahteensuu: "Ennaltavarautumisen periaate ja sen tulkinnat: käsitteellisiä kysymyksiä". Letter dated 10.1.2005
Inspector of the doctoral manuscript: Marja Toivonen, “Expertise as Business: ” Long-term development and future prospects of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). Autumn 2004
Supervisor of the doctoral dissertation: Petri Tapio, “The Limits to Traffic Volume Growth. The Content and Procedure of Administrative Futures Studies on Finnish Transport CO2 Policy”. Winter 2002
Supervisor of the doctoral dissertation: Juhani Tirkkonen, “Ilmastopolitiikka ja ekologinen modernisaatio” Autumn 2000
Advisor of the doctoral dissertation: Sirkka Heinonen, "Prometheus Revisited - Human Interaction with Nature through Technology in Seneca". Autumn 2000
Advisor of the doctoral dissertation: Marja-Liisa Viherä, “Ihminen tietoyhteiskunnassa – kansalaisten viestintävalmiudet kansalaisyhteiskunnan mahdollistajana” [People and information society. The citizens’ communication skills and the opening of new prospects for the civil society]. Winter 1999
Inspector of the Doctoral Manuscript: Juha Kaskinen, “From Turku to St. Petersburg as Fast as You Can. Road Planning of E18 Road as Practise of Environmental Impact Assessment”. Autumn 1998
The opponent of the Doctoral Dissertation: Juha Kaskinen, “From Turku to St. Petersburg as Fast as You Can. Road Planning of E18 Road as Practise of Environmental Impact Assessment”.5.12.1998
Most important visits
Academic dean, Dubai Future Foundation, 2020-
Visiting fellow, University of California Santa Barbara, 2019
Visiting professor, University of Technology Sydney, 2017-2018
Visiting Scholar, Institute for the Future, Palo Alto USA 2012- 2013
Visiting Lecturer, St Gallen University, Switzerland 2010-2011
Visiting senior scientific executive, Allianz Economic Research & Strategy unit, Munich, Germany 2007-2010
Visiting lecturer, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland 2005-2007
Visiting scholar, Maastricht University Netherlands 2001
Academic and high expert positions
Member of IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Finnish working Group, 2018-
Member of LUOTSI, the strategic committee for foresight in the Prime Minister's Office, 2016-2020
Member of the editorial board, Global Challenges -journal 2016-
Member, Scientific advisory committee, National Audit Office of Finland, 2015-
Advisory board member, European commission Recreate project, 2013-2018
Member of the expert board, European commission FP7 evaluation project 2013-2014
Member of the advisory board, World Resources Forum 2009-
Chairman, Runar Bäckström foundation 2009-
Chairman, Walter Ahlström Foundation, 2008-
Chairman, Woima-foundation, 2006-
Vice member of the board, Turku School of Economics, 2004-2007
Member of the executive committee of Club of Rome 2004-2008
Member of the board: Foundation for Advancing the Research of Cultural Policy / University of Jyväskylä for the period of Jan 1, 2006 - Dec 31, 2008.
Vice-Chairman of the advisory board of the European Futurists Conference held in Lucerne, Switzerland (2007-).
Vice Chairman of the Board of Finnish Consumer Agency & Ombudsman Jan 2004 –Oct 2007.
Member of the Club of Rome 2002-
2004 - Member of the Helsinki Process follow-up group / Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
2002-2004 Member of the board. International Sociological Association, Research Committee for Society and Environment.
Chairman of Finnish preparation committee, nominated by Finnish Committee for Sustainable Development, for Rio 10+, follow up summit meeting in Johannesburg, In September 2002.
Member of the National Consumer Administration Board, Ministry of Trade and Industry, 1.11.2000-31.10.2004
Invited guest editor of Futures-journal for the special theme issue of “Information Society and Sustainable Development”, 1999
Invited guest editor of International Sociology –journal for the special theme issue “Futures Studies and Sociology”, 1999
Nominee of the Finnish IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) author for IPCC Third Assessment Report (TAR 2000), 1999
Member of the Sustainable Development committee appointed by Government, 1.2.1998- 31.12 2003
Member of the Finnish WWF report committee, 1998-2001
Consultant for the Environment and Natural Resources committee appointed by Parliament, Winter 1997-1998
Awards and honorariums
Lauri Jäntti Foundation: Award for notable non-fiction book of the year 2015.
Emerald Literary Network: The most outstanding article of the year, 2009
International Aurelio Peccei –prize by L’eta Verde organisation, based in Rome, 2001