Alumni Profiles

Alumni Profiles
Veronica Kontopoulou

Veronica Kontopoulou

Media and Democracy

Graduated in 2023

Bachelor´s degree in journalism and studied on the Media and Democracy track at the University of Helsinki. She specialized in journalistic objectivity/impartiality, post-foundational discourse analysis, power and hegemony.

Veronica is currently working part time as a journalist at YLE and is looking forward to new opportunities.

Her thesis is entitled:

Objectively too far? A critical evaluation of the BBC’s discourse on journalistic objectivity

Adam Oliver Smith

Adam Oliver Smith

Media and Democracy track

Graduated 2022

Adam Oliver Smith holds a BA in English and History. At the University of Helsinki, he studied on the Media and Democracy track, focusing particularly on Algorithmic propaganda, IGO communications, and market violence.

After graduation, Adam briefly continued the work that he had done during his degree studies as a journalist at Yle, Finland's national broadcaster. Almost immediately after graduation, however, he was hired full-time by Miltton, one of the largest communications consultancies in the Nordics. At Miltton he works in corporate communications, specialising in crisis communication, public affairs, public relations, financial market communications, and media training.

Adam's thesis title was:

The Necropolitics of TRIPS: Neoliberal Disease and Slow Death in a Pandemic

Johan Wahlsten

Johan Wahlsten

Global Political Economy track

Graduated 2022

Johan Wahlsten holds a BA in Political History with a specialisation in International History. At the University of Helsinki he studied on the Global Political Economy track, with a special interest in political economy; international financial and monetary policy; economic relations and their domestic and global political implications.

After graduation, Johan has been employed as a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Social Sciences. His doctoral research focuses on the International Monetary Fund's post-2008 financial crisis capital flow policies.  

His thesis was entitled:

The Politics of Economic Expertise: Economics, the State, and the Neoliberalization of Finnish Social Democracy

Nuura Naboulsi

Nuura Naboulsi

Global Political Economy study track

Graduated 2022

Nuura Naboulsi holds a BSc in Development Studies with a major in Political Science from Lund University and a Master’s degree in Global Politics and Communication from University of Helsinki. Naboulsi has completed internships at the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland and Save the Children, and has worked as a research assistant at University of Helsinki. Naboulsi has also gained professional experience in diversity work and creative projects, and has been selected for EDUFI traineeship at The Finnish Institute in the Middle East in Beirut.

Her Master’s Thesis was entitled: 

The Moral Political Economy of Technology and Well-being : The Case of Finland in 2020s

Jani Liukkonen

Jani Liukkonen

Global Political Economy

Graduated in 2021

Jani Liukkonen holds a BA in International Relations and he studied on the Global Political Economy track at the University of Helsinki. During his studies he focused on macroeconomy, finance, and politics. He currently works at Nordea.

 

His thesis is entitled:

An analysis of the European Central Bank presidents- How has the ECB monetary policy changed and what role have the presidents played in shaping the future of the Eurozone?

Vanessa Garcia Torres

Vanessa Garcia Torres

Governance and Organisations

Graduated 2021

Vanessa Garcia Torres holds a BA in Communication from the University of Lima, Peru and a Master’s degree from the Governance and Organisations track in the Global Politics and Communication programme at the University of Helsinki. In her studies, she was particularly interested in corporate communications, sustainability, anticorruption, and ethics.

Following her graduation from the University of Helsinki, Vanessa returned to Peru to work at the University of Lima as a teacher at the Communication Faculty. After one semester of being a teacher, she was invited to be the head of the Social Responsibility area at the Sustainability Center at the University of Lima. Today, she works full time at the University of Lima in both positions.

Her Master´s Thesis was entitled:

Institutional Change and Transparency Practices in the National Audit Office of Peru

Siiri Fagerlund

Siiri Fagerlund

Media and Democracy

Graduated 2019

Siiri Fagerlund holds a Bachelor´s degree in media. She completed her Master´s degree in Helsinki University where she studied on the Media and Democracy track. During her studies she specialised in social media, feminism, and communication. She currently works as the Chief Marketing Officer at CHAOS Architects.

Her thesis is entitled:

"Really? She is an abuser?" : A feminist categorical-content analysis on Asia Argento vs. Jimmy Bennet case on Facebook

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