Taru Siekkinen

Taru Siekkinen

Senior Researcher
Unit
Finnish Institute for Educational Research
Room number
Mobile
+358408054275
Postal address
Alvar Aallon katu 9
Fields of science
516 Educational sciences
5141 Sociology
512 Business and Management

Biography

I am a higher education researcher working as a senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of Educational Research (FIER), in the Higher Education Research Group (HIEST). I defended my dissertation "The changing relationship between the academic profession and universities in Finnish higher education" in 2019, from the field of adult education. I have master's degree from sociology, I have been working at FIER since 2012. My docentship is from the field of higher education management and administration (Tampere University)

I am the chair of the Consortium of Higher Education Researchers in Finland (CHERIF), a board member of Higher Education Researchers in Europe (CHER), and an external member of the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. I am also a member of the editorial board of Tiedepolitiikka-journal. 

My research topics and interests are quite broad and interdisciplinary, relating to academic profession, academic careers and academic work, universities, their HR policies and the changing environment. I am also interested in university-private sector cooperation, and in aspects of gender equality and eco-sociality. 

Research interests

My research interests as a higher education researcher have mainly focused on the academic profession, academic work and academic careers, which includes many research themes at a concrete level.

I have been interested in how the academic profession has been affected by organisational and societal changes, mainly related to demands for greater efficiency and impact in research and teaching. I have studied recruitment in universities, where the new tenure track recruitment and career model has been my focus (book to be published in August 2024: Pekkola & Siekkinen: Tenure Tracks in European Universities: Managing Careers in Academia). Related to this, I have studied performance-based management in universities and its impact on academic work. In addition, I have focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in the context of academic careers; who has the opportunity to pursue a career in academia and what hinders/supports the career progression of different groups, including marginalised ones, in academia.

I am also interested in hybridity in higher education, i.e. how different values and logics, including those from the private sector, emerge in universities at different levels and what impact this has on academic work. In relation to academic leadership, I have studied how it has changed and how it reflects changes at the organisational and societal level.

A current research topic is crisis leadership in higher education. In this research project, we are looking at crisis preparedness in universities and universities of applied sciences, and the perceptions of middle and top management about past, present and future crises. In the project, the wellbeing in academic work is being also studied.

In addition, one of my research interest has been related to the university-industry collaboration; how research platformes have been created in universities and are they supporting collaboration of different sectors.

Publications

Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Tenure Tracks in European Universities : Managing Careers in Academia
Pekkola, Elias
Siekkinen, Taru
Arnhold, Nina
Pietilä, Maria
Püttmann, Vitus
Sursock, Andrée
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Tenure Tracks in European Universities : Managing Careers in Academia
Siekkinen, Taru
Pekkola, Elias
Pietilä, Maria
Mikkonen, Marjukka
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Tenure Tracks in European Universities : Managing Careers in Academia
Pekkola, Elias
Siekkinen, Taru
Mikkonen, Marjukka
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Raportteja ja työpapereita / Koulutuksen tutkimuslaitos
Perkins, Marc
Saarinen, Taina
Siekkinen, Taru
Pekkola, Elias
Laine, Kati
Minkkinen, Laura
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Tertiary Education and Management
Kallio, Tomi
Siekkinen, Taru
Pekkola, Elias
Kivistö, Jussi
Nokkala, Terhi
Kuoppakangas, Päivikki
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Tiedepolitiikka
Siekkinen, Taru
Juusola, Henna
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Tenure Tracks in European Universities : Managing Careers in Academia
Siekkinen, Taru
Kujala, Emmi-Niina
Pekkola, Elias
Kivistö, Jussi
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Pekkola, Elias
Siekkinen, Taru
Publication
2024
Available through Open Access

Tertiary Education and Management
Helin, Jouni
Koerselman, Kristian
Nokkala, Terhi
Siekkinen, Taru
Tohmo, Timo
Viinikainen, Jutta
Välimaa, Jussi
Publication
2023
Available through Open Access

The Impact of Covid-19 on the Institutional Fabric of Higher Education : Old Patterns, New Dynamics, and Changing Rules?
Pekkola, Elias
Siekkinen, Taru
Peltola, Motolani
Laihonen, Harri
Kujala, Emmi-Niina