UEF Global Development Day 2025

UEF Global Development Day 2025: From Knowledge to Impact: Co-Innovation for Global Development

Time and venue: 11 December 2025, 10:00-12:00 (EEST), UEF Kuopio Campus, Snellmania Building SN200.

The event will also be streamed on Teams (online from 10:00-12:00).

This engaging two-hour event showcases how collaborative innovation can lead to practical solutions in global development. The programme features an inspiring keynote, a discussion with experts from diverse fields exploring how multistakeholder partnerships can transform research to real-world impact, and the finals of the UEF Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, where emerging doctoral researchers will present their work. The event brings together academia, policy, and practice to encourage dialogue and advance sustainable development.

Programme

9:30 Coffee and tea and networking

10:00 Opening and Welcome. Roseanna Avento, Global Development Manager & Sami Tanskanen, Project Coordinator.

Performance by the Nepalese Association in Kuopio

10:10 Opening Address. Professor Jussi Pihlajamäki, Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation, University of Eastern Finland.

10:15 Keynote Address. Dr. Priya Nagaraj, Chief Executive Office of Pune Knowledge Cluster, India.

10:30-11:05 Panel Discussion: Research and co-innovation with impact.

• Ville Haatainen, Vice-President Sales for Europe, Eurasia and Africa, Normet Group
• Hille Janhonen-Abruquah, Professor, School of Applied Education Sciences and Teacher Education, University of Eastern Finland
• Maxwell Fundi, Director, Edutab Africa
• Mika Välitalo, Advisor, Innovation and Development, Fingo

Moderator: Sami Tanskanen, Project Coordinator

11:05-11:10 Five Minute Exercise Break

11:10-11:50 UEF Three Minute Thesis Competition 2025 Finals

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition is an academic contest where doctoral researchers present their research in just three minutes, using a single static slide and no props or animations. The goal is to communicate their research clearly and engagingly to a non-specialist audience. The competition originated at the University of Queensland, Australia, in 2008 and is now held globally, to promote research visibility and improve science communication skills of doctoral researchers. The UEF Three Minute Thesis Finalists 2025 are:

• Christian Muragijimana: Climate change, culture and health
• Ida Herdieckerhoff: Participatory mapping for wildfire adaptations: lessons from Tanzania
• Benwillies Onchonga: COVID-19 impact on people with inflammatory rheumatic diseases in Nairobi, Kenya
• Henna Rinta-Kiikka: Measuring smoke: reducing household air pollution, protecting health and climate
• Lais Oliveira Leite: Empowering Future Teachers in Brazil: Exploring Key Drivers of Professional Agency in Teacher Education

The jury are Dr Arja Lyytinen, Professor Blas Mola, Dr Teppo Eskelinen, Professor Sari Havu-Nuutinen, Dr Minna Hendolin, from UEF, and Kaisa Kurki from the Finnish University Partnership for International Development (UniPID).

During the event, the following awards will be given: people’s choice award, UEF Sanord 3MT candidate, runner-up and winner.

Performance by the Nepalese Association in Kuopio

11:50 Closing remarks. Professor Jussi Pihlajamäki, Vice Rector for Research and Innovation.

12:00 Event ends.

Registration by 4th December 2025: https://go.uef.fi/UEFGDday