The Doctoral Education Pilot and the Doctoral Schools will be hosting the Doctoral Experience Week (DEW) 2025. Taking place on 2.–5.6. at the University of Helsinki, DEW2025 offers a platform to showcase the research conducted within the Doctoral Education Pilot consortia and in the Doctoral Programmes at the University of Helsinki while fostering connections with industries and the broader society.
The program will include a mix of different events for all pilot researchers, including an opening ceremony and a closing session with inspiring keynote speakers, various forums, and Three Minute Thesis competition. In addition, the University of Helsinki Doctoral School is excited to host PhD Summerfest, the largest PhD celebration in the Nordic countries, on June 3rd. This event welcomes all doctoral researchers, and the party will be held in the Main Building.
Please see a more detailed schedule below!
We will kick-off the week with an opening ceremony in the afternoon organized in the Main Building (Fabianinkatu 33).
13-14 Opening ceremony (Great Hall, Main Building)
14-16 Networking and refreshments (Agora Hall, Main Building)
10-12 Doctoral Programme in Language Studies summer seminar presents: 'Hajautunut puhuja' rikos- ja riita-asioiden sovittelussa, Academy Research Fellow Katariina Harjunpää (Festive Hall, Language Centre)
Tuesday is packed with different activities organized for all doctoral pilot researchers. In addition to these, there are a lot thing happening on campuses!
13.15-14.45 Industry-Academia Innovation Partnerships. Elements of Successful Co-Operation, Pekka Pellinen (Hall 1, Metsätalo, Unioninkatu 40)
15-17 Preliminary rounds of the Three Minute Thesis competition (Kino Engel, Sofiankatu 4)
15-18 PhD Summerfest pre-party: Amazing Pilot Race
18-23 PhD Summerfest (Main Building, Fabianinkatu 33)
15-17 EDUCA & CLIC & SEDUCE Summerfest Pre-party: Brain Well-being in Academic Work (Minerva)
15.30-17 Doctoral Programme in Language Studies summer seminar presents: Sociolinguistic variation in the linguistic landscapes of Helsinki, Associate Professor Sofie Henricson (Festive Hall, Language Centre)
Wednesday highlights include the final of Three Minute Thesis competition and Foresight Forum.
12-17 Pilot Pathways and Foresight Forum: how to prepare myself for (working) life after graduation? (Unioninkadun Juhlahuoneistot, Unioninkatu 33)
17-19 Final round of Three Minute Thesis competition, host Anu Partanen (Unioninkadun Juhlahuoneistot, Unioninkatu 33)
We will end the week on Thursday with a common closing session with inspiring key note speeches, not to forgot networking!
17-21 Closing session (Sonckin Sali, Sofiankatu 4)
12-16 Doctoral Researcher Talk Marathon in Kumpula (Exactum B123)
Anu Partanen is a journalist who has worked extensively in Finland and the United States. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Atlantic, and her book “The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life” compares everyday life in the United States with life in the Nordic region. In Finland she has held many positions ranging from managing editor to columnist, features writer to news reporter, lecturer to on-air commentator. Currently she works as a journalist at a Finnish digital journalism start-up Uusi Juttu.
Pekka Pellinen has extensive work experience in senior roles in international technology companies, Finnish innovation ecosystem stakeholder organizations, and governmental assignments. His current involvement with the Corporate Partnership Group of the University of Helsinki includes consortium building with industrial partners, as well as liaising with key funding organizations such as Business Finland.
Tommi Tenkanen is a theoretical physicist, author, management consultant, and a University of Helsinki alumnus. After his PhD, he has worked as a researcher in top universities in the UK and USA and as a strategy consultant across the globe. He has written three popular science books and was awarded with a State Award for Public Information by the Finnish government in 2022. In his inspiring presentation at DEW 2025, Tommi will talk about the importance of transferable skills and how to carve a versatile career path post-graduation.
Samu Kurki works as a Strategic Project Lead at Bayer Pharma Research & Development. He did his PhD in theoretical physics at the University of Helsinki. Since then, he has held several academic and industry positions, using data science to advance medical research. Samu will talk about his multidisciplinary work at Bayer, bringing together medicine, mathematics, computer science, and more.
Jarkko Immonen works as a career counsellor at the University of Helsinki. He is doing his PhD at the University of Eastern Finland in the research group Social Differences and Inequality in Education and Career Guidance.
Taija Udd is a university instructor in Finnish language and culture. She is involved in planning Finnish language courses and other activities supporting language proficiency for international staff members at the University of Helsinki. Taija's favorite tip for those who are interested in learning Finnish is the website Kielibuusti.fi, which she has contributed to in many ways.
Mikko Lilja, DSc (Technology), is a Professor of Practice in Medical Imaging and Inverse Problems at the University of Helsinki’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Having graduated from Aalto University, Lilja has worked at Planmed Oy, a company manufacturing medical imaging devices and software, as a Head of software and algorithm development.
Picture by Dino Azinur/Planmeca Oy.
Mikael Malmivaara works for the University of Helsinki’s innovation team, primarily with the Helsinki Incubators as the head of communications & community relations helping members of the University of Helsinki community discover new ways of developing their potential. He wishes he was doing a PhD.
Anu Meerwaldt is a Development Manager at SPARK Finland / University of Helsinki, where she supports the early-stage commercialisation of research-based innovations and the professional growth of early-career scientists in the healthtech, medtech, and biotech sectors. She holds a PhD in biomedicine, along with degrees in neuroscience and industrial engineering. In addition, Anu is a co-founder of a medtech company originating from Aalto University.
Pan Yue is a PhD researcher at the University of Helsinki, specializing in the global green transition. She serves as a mentor for Youth4Climate under the UNDP, actively supporting youth-led climate action. Her career spans public diplomacy, international cooperation, and global development. She has helped major tech companies and NGOs expand their presence in Europe and enhance public engagement. She also founded Space In Between to promote global collaboration and drive sustainable development.
Maryna is a Technical and R&D Talent Acquisition Specialist at a global ICT company. She is mainly in charge of hiring STEM competition talents, research interns, and developers; organizing career events, job fairs, and programming hackathons.
Her recruitment expertise is within IT, Telecom, Consumer Electronics hardware, and renewable energy industries. She enjoys helping talents assess their careers, define goals, and land dream roles.
Carlos de la Torre Ortiz is a final-year PhD researcher in Computer Science and tech co-founder, advancing Generative AI and brain-computer interfaces on a bioscience foundation. He has served as fractional Head of AI and CTO for startups, and is a business owner and investor in the hospitality sector. He collaborates with Nova Talent Network in Finland, a merit-access community connecting high-performing professionals worldwide.
Doctoral researcher can get 1 ECTS by completing the following:
This can be registered under transferable skills under the code PHD-352 Optional studies in professional development 2.
If you want these to be registered as a discipline-specific studies course code, please check from your doctoral programme.
In addition to this, doctoral researchers participating in the campus-specific activities and/or Three Minute Thesis competition, can get an additional 1 ECTS (for example under PHD-251 Optional studies in scientific communication and societal impact 1).