The Research and Teaching Acts of the Year celebrated at the Anniversary Celebration

Professor Sami Vähämaa from the School of Accounting and Finance received the Research Act of the Year Award for his paper which examines how local societal beliefs and attitudes influence the extent to which companies engage in environmentally responsible or irresponsible practices. Vähämaa, together with Associate Professor Mansoor Afzal from Hanken School of Economics and Professor Gonul Colak from the University of Sussex, analysed the impact of local climate change denialism on U.S. companies’ environmental responsibility, sustainability efforts and environmental actions.

– It is a great honour to receive the Research Act of the Year Award from my own university. The award also motivates me to further advance the long-standing research work in this area, Vähämaa says.

– Our findings show that the climate change attitudes of the surrounding society influence how companies act in relation to the environment. Companies located in counties with higher levels of climate change denial perform worse on nearly all indicators of environmental responsibility.

According to Vähämaa, the research provides important insights for corporate decision-making and for understanding how societal context shapes business behaviour.

– When designing, for example, climate policy measures, it is important to recognise that the views and beliefs of the surrounding community and individuals can significantly influence the decisions companies make. Corporate decision-making is, in one way or another, connected to broader societal values and norms.

The Teaching Act of the Year enabled practical teaching and international networking for students

University of Vaasa’s Professor of Practise Elina Melgin, Professor Rebekah Rousi and Researcher Hanna Hietikko received the Teaching Act of the Year award for the course Luova tapahtumatuotanto ja markkinointiviestintä (Creative Event Production and Marketing Communication). The course, carried out in spring 2025, was organized as a work-life-oriented special course tailored for communication bachelor’s students.

The basic idea of the course was to produce content for the Wasa Future Festival programme in co-operation with the event founder Sture Udd. Background lectures were held during the course, and students were able to experiment with different methods and choose areas of specialization, with Elina Melgin focusing on management and impact, Rebekah Rousi on planning an international exhibition of science and art, and Hanna Hietikko on media.

- Based on feedback from journalist mentors, the students came up with a populism panel, an overconsumption discussion panel, and a live newsroom where the audience and journalists could freely meet and discuss the practice of journalism, says Hietikko.

The international Butterfly exhibition of science and art became a major event, drawing thousands of people to the newly opened catacombs of the old Bocks brewery. Various events in the exhibition’s accompanying programme were targeted at different audiences, including children. Students had the opportunity to collaborate not only with audiences but also with international artists and the curator group.

The projects of the work-life-oriented course were made possible by local foundations and by Australia’s Deakin University together with the University of Vaasa.

- The Teaching Act of the Year actually belongs to about 30 people, because the projects implemented for the Wasa Future Festival and ideas with students were a magnificent showcase of international cooperation. Everything went brilliantly. The atmosphere was energetic. We received praise from audiences, the media, and the ministers who visited the event, say Melgin and Rousi.

- We are fortunate that the University of Vaasa is open-minded. Courses like this, which give rise to practical projects involving art, science, and media, are important for teaching and research. But they are also important for generating new ideas and international networks, the teachers emphasize.

Image

Celebrating excellence in teaching and inspirational supervision

The Student Union of the University of Vaasa awards the Good Teacher prize annually to a successful teacher who has inspired students at the University of Vaasa. This year, the award was given to University Teacher Otto Ellonen. The selection emphasises the teacher’s ability to make effective use of digital tools in remote and hybrid teaching. In addition, attention was given to the ability to develop contact teaching in an engaging and pedagogically excellent manner, as well as to inspiring and innovative teaching methods regardless of the form or location of teaching.

An honourable mention was awarded to University Teacher Mirjam Särs. The honourable mention is granted to a teacher who promotes learning by providing constructive and developmental feedback. The selection highlighted the teachers’ ability to give individualised feedback and to receive feedback for the purpose of improving their own teaching.

This year, the Student Union also presented the Good Supervisor award to University Lecturer Laura Perttola. The theme of the award is motivating and excellent supervision of bachelor’s, master’s, or diploma theses. The selection focused on the supervisor’s ability to support the student throughout the process.

Image