LECI Seminar on May 23: Adult learning for wicked problems - mapping Nordic models for learning and professional development

You are warmly invited to our Learning, Culture and Interventions (LECI) expert group research seminar on Friday 23th of May 2025, at 10.15-11.45. The seminar will be held in a hybrid format and can be attended in person at Siltavuorenpenger 5A, room K108 (Minerva building) or remotely via Teams.

 In this seminar, professor Anu Kajamaa (Faculty of Education and Psychology, University of Oulu), doctoral researcher Sakari Hyrkkö (Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki) and researchers from Stockholm University (SWE) and University College Absalon (DEN) will present their work related to the Nordplus project “Adult learning for wicked problems – mapping Nordic models for learning and professional development”

Abstract: The complex, systemic and multilevel, or “wicked”, problems of today’s working life require professionals to engage in collaborative learning that spans professional and organizational boundaries. Our Nordplus project maps new ground in adult learning and professional development by collecting, comparing, and combining knowledge and experiences of Nordic approaches to collective/collaborative learning, namely the participatory work development method Change Laboratory (CL) (Virkkunen & Newnham, 2013; Kajamaa & Hyrkkö, 2022) and the Nordic traditions of collaborative learning represented by Study Circles (SC) (Avby, 2016) and Learning Circles (LC) (Aakjaer & Wegener, 2023). These models have been employed to facilitate multi-professional learning in various settings. Our project puts the models in dialogue and seeks new conceptual and methodological openings that could provide novel opportunities for adult learning and professional development.

Project team:

Marie Aakjaer, University College Absalon, Denmark

Maja Lotz, University College Absalon, Denmark

Gunilla Avby, Stockholm University, Sweden

Aron Schoug, Stockholm University, Sweden

Anu Kajamaa, University of Oulu, Finland

Sakari Hyrkkö, University of Helsinki, Finland