M.M. (Melina) Aarnikoivu, Dr

I’m a PhD in applied linguistics, specialising in higher education research and teaching. Within the past 10 years, I’ve worked in Finnish, Swedish, Russian, and Dutch higher education institutions while living most of that time in the Greater Geneva area. In 2022, I moved to Groningen. In my career, I’ve had several different roles, including the one of a researcher, teacher, and communication specialist. Recently, I've increasingly focused on activities related to academic writing and researcher development. My goal is to create inclusive and supportive research communities where doctoral researchers can thrive without sacrificing their mental health and well-being.

Selected work experience:

Coordinator (PhD Academy) — Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen (current role)

Skills Teacher — University of Groningen Language Centre
Groningen, Autumn 2023

Project Leader — Department of Educational Work, University of Borås
Borås (hybrid), 2022-2023

Coordinator and Blog Editor — ECHER - the early-career higher education researchers' network
2017 - 2023
https://www.echer.org/

Postdoctoral Researcher — Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä (hybrid), 2020 – 2023

Senior Editor & Copyeditor — Journal of Praxis in Higher Education (JPHE)
2019 – 2023
https://journals.hb.se/jphe

Visiting Professor — School of Advanced Studies, University of Tyumen
Tyumen (hybrid), 2020 - 2021

Doctoral Researcher (grant) — Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä (hybrid), 2015 - 2020

Education:

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Applied Linguistics
Centre for Applied Language Studies, University of Jyväskylä, 2020

Bachelor and Master of Arts (BA & MA)
University of Jyväskylä, 2012
Major: English
Minors: Swedish, Slovak, Political Science

Languages:

Full working proficiency: Finnish, English
Limited working proficiency: Swedish, Dutch
Others: German, French, Slovak, Russian

Grants:

• The Wihuri Foundation postdoctoral grant
• Emil Aaltonen Foundation's grant for an early-career researcher, (twice)
• Ellen and Artturi Nyyssönen Foundation's dissertation grant
• Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, several small grants for doctoral work and travel
• JYTTE (Association for teachers and researchers of the University of Jyväskylä); two travel grants

Other selected research activities:

“Look, a squirrel!” Non-focus in qualitative research
An invited doctoral research seminar for the Kulkieko research seminar
March 8th, 2023, University of Eastern Finland

Aftershocks of the COVID-19 pandemic in Finland and Ireland
An invited presentation in a seminar organised by the Cultures, Academic Values in Education (CAVE) Research Centre
December 7th, 2022, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Academic writing workshop for doctoral researchers
Invited series of writing workshops, organised together with Dr. Jelena Brankovic
October 2-5, 2022, University of Rijeka, Croatia

Who are early-career researchers? Interdisciplinarity, communities, and support
Invited presentation at “Careers in Higher Education (Research)” Seminar
June 17th, 2022, University of Tampere, Finland

Blogging for Non-academic Audiences
Invited online workshop
March 11th, 2022, University of Melbourne, Australia

“Boosting your academic writing” online workshops
Organising two online workshops: “Value in Academic Writing” and “Giving and receiving peer feedback”
For doctoral researchers at the University of Jyväskylä (December 2020 and February 2021); Doctoral researchers in higher education research at Lancaster University (May 2021 and November 2021

What does it mean to write effectively? Key elements of good academic writing
Invited online workshop in #ChinaHE20 conference, organised together with Dr. Jelena Brankovic
8th of December 2020, University of Manchester

Academic Writing in STEM
Invited talk on academic writing for early-career researchers of the ALPHA research group
September 19th, 2019, CERN, Meyrin, Switzerland

ECHER Academic Writing Clinic:
Workshop on academic writing, organised together with Jelena Brankovic, Daniel Kontowski, and Vitus Püttmann
27th of August, 2019, University of Kassel, Germany

 Referee work in academic journals

• AFinLA;
• Alberta Journal of Educational Research;
• Discover Education
• Higher Education;
• Higher Education Policy;
• Internationalisation of Higher Education – Policy and Practice
• Journal of Applied Language Studies (Apples)
• Linguistics and Education
• Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research;
• Studies in Higher Education