Led by Professor Arto O. Salonen, the team of experts explores and finds solutions to a more sustainable future.
The University of Eastern Finland announced the winners of its very first UEF Impact Award in the university’s 15th anniversary celebration held on the Joensuu Campus on 25 February 2025. The award was presented to the Sustainability Transformations Team in recognition of its diverse societal impact in the field of sustainability transformations.
The Sustainability Transformations Team seeks solutions to climate change, biodiversity depletion and sustainable use and management of natural resources. At the University of Eastern Finland, the key people on the team include Professor of Sustainable Well-being Arto O. Salonen, Research Manager, Coordinator of the Sustainability Transformations Doctoral Education Pilot Meri Löyttyniemi, Postdoctoral Researcher Teemu Koskimäki at the Department of Social Sciences, and Project Researcher Hilma Möttönen.
“We have a shared vision for the future: to consolidate the pursuit of a good life with the limited resources of our planet. The strength of our team can be found in the networks we are engaged in. In addition, all members have the opportunity to realise their own, unique potential,” says Professor Arto O. Salonen, describing the team’s mission.
According to the award statement, the Sustainability Transformations Team’s diverse expertise is brought together and translated into an impactful entity, and the team has succeeded in creating novel structures of collaboration that can reform society.
The Sustainability Transformations Team has designed and launched the Doctoral Education Pilot in Sustainability Transformations, SusTra, led by the University of Eastern Finland and bringing together a total of 10 universities and the Finnish Environment Institute. Research conducted within SusTra focuses on, e.g., citizens’ lifestyles, planetary health and well-being, production and consumption, governance and law, and cultural transformations. A total of 64 doctoral researchers are affiliated with the doctoral education pilot.
The Sustainability Transformations Team has also launched the interdisciplinary Sufficiency Solutions for a Resilient, Green, and just Finland project, SISU, which models the macroeconomic impacts of various sufficiency solutions to help people recognise different future scenarios, and the effects and experiences related to them.
The Sustainability Transformations Team was also involved in the preparation of a joint declaration compiled by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters calling on the scientific community and science funding agencies to collaborate in order to accelerate the sustainability transformation. The team also works in close collaboration with the national science panels, and with the Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development, which works under the Prime Minister’s Office.
The team has made several openings to enrich societal debate, introducing an approach that is focused on solutions and hope for the future. A good example of this is the launch of a discussion forum, aptly named as the Coffee Break for a Good Future.
The team is also involved in renewing the University of Eastern Finland’s academic offering by introducing aspects of sustainability into the university’s existing study programmes.
UEF Impact Award will be announced annually from now on
This was the first time the University of Eastern Finland presented a UEF Impact Award. Amounting to 10,000 euros, the award will, from now on, be presented annually to a team that has promoted the university’s impact.
“With this award, we wish to encourage our researchers and teachers to be active in societal interaction and networking. Impact emerges as an increasingly important criterion in university rankings, and, with this award, we wish to shine the limelight on those who set a good example for others to follow,” Rector Tapio Määttä says.
According to Määttä, the award criteria look at impact from a broad perspective, focusing on the impact of research and education, and their promotion. The criteria include, e.g., successful practices and models of interaction, successful and effective structures of collaboration, novel and innovative openings in societal debate, reliance on expertise in public decision-making and debate, and diverse impact.
For further information, please contact
Sustainability Transformations Team: Professor Arto O. Salonen, Department of Social Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, arto.salonen@uef.fi, tel. +358 50 359 0613
UEF Impact Award: Rector Tapio Määttä, University of Eastern Finland, tapio.maatta@uef.fi, tel. +358 50 575 1589
