ExpREES Decision making
The decision-making body of the Russian and Eastern European Studies (REES) network responsible for ExpREESs studies is the executive board which meets three to four times per year.

All member universities of the network are represented in the executive board. Administration of ExpREES is managed by the head of ExpREES and network coordinator.

Since its foundation in 1998, ExpREES (former Master's School in Russian and Eastern European Studies) has had more than 700 students. Our annual intake is approximately 40 students.
Executive Board

Executive board

REES network/ExpREES has an executive board which represents the 12 universities of the network + students’ representative.

Hanken School of Economics
Professor Mats Ehrnrooth firstname.lastname@hanken.fi
Professor Benjamin Maury firstname.lastname@hanken.fi

Aalto University
Postdoctoral reseacher Daria Kautto firstname.lastname@aalto.fi
Academy Reseach Fellow Päivi Karhunen firstname.lastname@aalto.fi

University of Helsinki
Research coordinator Meri Kulmala firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi
Professor Tomi Huttunen firstname.lastname@helsinki.fi

University of Eastern Finland
Professor Jarmo Kortelainen firstname.lastname@uef.fi
Assistant Professor Heta Hurskainen firstname.lastname@uef.fi

University of Jyväskylä
Professor Mika Lähteenmäki firstname.lastname@juy.fi
Professor Markku Lonkila firstname.lastname@juy.fi

University of Lapland
Professor Soili Nystén-Haarala firstname.lastname@ulapland.fi
PhD candidate Olga Pushina opushina at ulapland.fi

Lappeenranta University of Technology
Professor Juha Väätänen firstname.lastname@lut.fi
Postdoctoral reseacher Daria Podmetina firstname.lastname@lut.fi

University of Oulu
Research Professor Kari Strand firstname.lastname@oulu.fi
Professor Riitta Keiski firstname.lastname@oulu.fi

Tampere University
Professor Sanna Turoma firstname.lastname@tuni.fi
Assistant professor Nelli Piattoeva firstname.lastname@tuni.fi

University of Turku
University lecturer Tamara Budanova firstname.lastname@utu.fi
Postdoctoral researcher Pia Koivunen firstname.lastname@utu.fi

University of Vaasa
Lecturer Mika Kärkkäinen firstname.lastname@uva.fi

Åbo Akademi
Professor Mikko Lagerspetz firstname.lastname@abo.fi
Professor Martina Björklund firstname.lastname@abo.fi

Student representative:

Maria Roivas etunimi.sukunimi@tuni.fi

Aleksanteri Institute

Director of the Institute Markku Kangaspuro, Chair of the Executive Board

University Lecturer in Russian and Eurasian Studies, Head of ExpREES, Sirke Mäkinen, Referendary of the Executive Board

ExpREES Coordinator Hanna Peltonen, Secretary of the Executive Board
Student Contact Persons / ExpREES ambassadors

It is important that the ExpREES programme is visible at all its member universities, For this reason in 2007 we invited students to take part in the marketing and developing of the ExpREES. ExpREES ambassadors make up an important part of ExpREES activities. ExpREES ambassadors

  • act as a contact person to prospective and current ExpREES students at their home university.
  • help with the marketing efforts of the ExpREES programme especially during the application period in the spring semester (February-early April) and with the gathering of course information from their home university for the ExpREES study guide (May-June).
  • participate in developing ExpREES studies by giving feedback from student’s point of view. Workshops to develop ExpREES are organized once or twice a year with the ExpREES staff. 

Student Contact Persons 2023-2024:

  • Anna Kananen, Maria Filippenkova ja Alexander Malinen / University of Helsinki
  • Inka Piisilä / University of Lapland
  • Maarit Kiiskilä, Suvi Pukki, Juho Pitkänen, Reetta Tuominen, Anna Pitkänen ja Elisa Airasvirta / Tampere University

ExpREES ambassador, is a position of trust. It offers a lot of benefits and also some fun. It is an opportunity to learn about the administrative side of the ExpREES and to get experience on nationwide network cooperation. You may also mention it as a merit in your CV! 

At the end of the spring semester many of ExpREES ambassadors graduate, which means that the above list isn’t necessarily up-to-date. New student contact persons will be mainly recruited in the ExpREES summer school in August, but you can also contact our coordinator directly, if you are interested in working as a student contact person.
Call for ExpREES course proposals in the academic year 2023-2024

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS - EXPREES COURSE FUNDING 2023–2024

The Programme in Expertise in Russian and Eastern European Studies (ExpREES) offers Master’s level courses in different fields of Humanities and Social Sciences with the focus on Eurasia and Eastern Europe. The courses are given in the universities of the REES network. We hereby open the call for applications for
course funding in the academic year 2023–2024. You may apply for funding for a course which is part of the curriculum of a degree programme in any of the REES network universities. Funding will be allocated to the given degree programme, not to the teacher responsible for the course. In order to apply for funding for your course proposal, please fill in the e- form at https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/119938/lomakkeet.html and submit it by 14 February 2023, at the latest.

In the academic year 2023–2024, the REES network may fund courses tailor-made for the purposes of the ExpREES with up to 50,000 euros in total. Funding may also be allocated to teaching fees of summer schools organized in English.

Target group and form and content of teaching

The ExpREES enrolls students from all 12 member universities of the REES network. In order to facilitate the participation in the courses funded by the ExpREES for as many ExpREES students as possible, we will give preference in the allocation of funding to courses that provide an opportunity for distance learning (hybrid or online). In the application form we would ask you to specify how the course may be taken by using the distance learning option.

We encourage to organise courses with a multi-disciplinary approach as well as courses organized around one theme but addressing different regions/countries of Eurasia or Eastern Europe. In particular, we encourage applicants to propose courses that focus on Ukraine, Central Asia, South Caucasus or Eastern Central  Europe or South-Western Europe, in addition to Russia. A comparative approach is also welcome.  We encourage cooperation in course planning between different universities of the network. Universities may apply for funding for courses which have been planned in cooperation and will be offered in the teaching programmes of the given universities. A university will act as a coordinator and apply for funding for the co-hosted course.

The courses to be funded should fulfill the following criteria

Curriculum
• The course must be offered free of charge and it should be part of the curriculum and teaching programme 2023-2024 of a degree programme of any one (or more) member university of the REES network. Funding will be allocated to a degree programme/department/faculty hosting the course, not to a teacher responsible for the course. If the host university takes part in the funding of the course, this will be regarded as an advantage when making decisions on the allocation of the ExpREES funding.
 

The extent and level of the course

  • The extent of the course is, as a rule, 5 ECTS. However, please follow the instructions of the host university.
  • The course should be offered at the Master’s level (i.e. advanced courses).
  • In the course description, please give the following information: the content of the course (the lecture outline and the names of teachers, the amount of contact hours, teaching/learning methods, language of instruction), expected learning outcomes and assessment methods.

Funding/Reimbursement

  • The maximum amount of funding allocated to a course is 2,500 euros.
  • The costs to be reimbursed may include teaching fees (payments for unsalaried teachers, researchers working with a scholarship, visiting teachers, teaching which is not part of the work plan; please note that according to the recommendation by the Ministry of Education and Culture, teaching fees cannot be paid to teachers affiliated with Russian universities), teaching materials and organization of exams, social security fees, travel and accommodation expenses, and rents of teaching premises. It would be beneficial for the application if the host university agrees to participate in covering part of the costs. Please note that if your university charges the VAT, it must be taken into account in the budget (i.e. it will decrease the amount of funding available e.g. for teaching fees).
  • The costs will be reimbursed in accordance with real expenses. Therefore, a report of accountancy must be attached in the invoice. Detailed instructions will be given in the funding decision.

A joint application by the university – please contact a member of the REES board

When planning to apply for ExpREES course funding, we would recommend to contact a member or deputy member of the Board of the REES network at your university, please see https://www.helsinki.fi/en/aleksanteri-institute/education/master-level/exprees/exprees-decision-making#section-84187. The course funding proposals of one university may be gathered together and submitted as a joint funding application. From the members of Board you may learn about a potential joint
application of the given university. When gathering and submitting a joint application, you will avoid proposing overlapping topics. In addition, discussing the topics among the researchers specializing in REES may also support the research interests of each host university.

The sum applied for the courses of the joint application may be defined as a total sum in the e-form. However, the applicant must differentiate the costs of each course in an attachment (regarding the differentiation, please see the budget section in the e-form). If you submit a joint application, please tick the correct box in the appropriate section of the e-form. Individual and joint applications will be processed on equal criteria.

Please note before submitting the course proposal and after receiving a positive funding decision

  • Before submitting the application, the applicant should make sure that all teachers of the course give their consent e.g. to the recording of the course, or offering the course online.
  • The applicant together with the host university must plan the schedule and book the teaching premises for the course. An agreement on the level of  teaching fees should also be reached with the host university.
  • The applicant/other person responsible for the course should submit a more detailed outline of the course and other updated information to the ExpREES Study Guide by the deadline given in the funding decision.
  • Student feedback should be gathered from all the courses funded by the ExpREES. The teacher responsible
  • for the course should write a summary based on the student feedback (instructions will be sent together with the funding decision).

Announcing the decision

The funding decision will be made by the Board of the REES network. The applicants will receive the funding decision by 21 March 2023.