In the term 2022–2025, the same individuals will continue to serve as the dean and vice-deans of the Faculty of Pharmacy as in the current term. Minor changes have been made to the vice-deans’ duties on the basis of developments in the field of pharmacy and the surrounding society, as well as the strategic goals of the University of Helsinki and the Faculty of Pharmacy stretching to 2030.
For instance, the responsibilities of Jari Yli-Kauhaluoma, who has been serving as the vice-dean for research, will now include the Faculty’s continuously growing innovation activities in addition to the development of research activities, doctoral education and research infrastructures.
“The innovation environment on Viikki Campus and the Pharma-HUB project of the Faculty of Pharmacy play a key part in this development,” Dean Jouni Hirvonen emphasises.
Mia Sivén, the vice-dean for academic affairs, will now have responsibility for the Faculty's digitalisation development alongside her responsibilities related to teaching and education. Besides difficulties and continually growing challenges, the coronavirus period and remote instruction have engendered opportunities to introduce and develop novel teaching methods and techniques. For example, the significance of digitalisation in laboratory instruction is constantly growing.
Yvonne Holm, the vice-dean in charge of public engagement and bilingual affairs, will add sustainable development to her responsibilities in the new term. The Faculty’s involvement in the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science HELSUS as well as fundraising for and the launching of the world's first professorship in pharmacy focused on sustainable development constitute an important and growing part of the Faculty’s and the University’s responsibility theme and related efforts.
“The changes in all of these positions reflect changes to focus areas, and trends both in society as well as at Viikki Campus and the Faculty,” Hirvonen notes.
The division directors for the term 2022–2025 have also been appointed. Professor (fixed-term) Leena Peltonen will continue as director of the Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Technology, and Professor Päivi Tammela will continue as director of the Division of Pharmaceutical Biosciences. After the retirement of Professor Raimo Tuominen, who has served the Faculty commendably for a long time, Professor Mikko Airavaara will assume the directorship of the Division of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy from the beginning of 2022.