Brown Bag seminar: Science and friendship

On Thursday, February 12 at 6:00 p.m. we celebrate Valentine’s Day in Restaurant Tuba in the spirit of science. Join the seminar to hear about and discuss friendship and love in the light of research. This open-to-all Brown Bag seminar is part of the Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture year program, and it will be held in Finnish. The speakers in this seminar are University Researcher Mika Niemelä from the Research Unit of Population Health, Professor of Biodiversity Education Pauliina Rautio from the Research Unit of General Education, and Postdoctoral Researcher Iida Kauhanen from the Research Unit of Global Education and Gender Studies.

University Researcher Niemelä studies the well-being of children, young people, and families, and in the seminar, he will speak about friendship and social relationships as well as the communities in which they are formed.

In her presentation, Professor Rautio reflects on the rich, emotional, and meaningful relationships between humans and other animals. Questions of power and hierarchy intertwine in these relationships in ways that differ from friendships between humans. How can we grasp the special nature of these relationships?

Postdoctoral Researcher Kauhanen will present a research monologue titled Viisi hetkeä. Tarinoita rakkaudesta, arjen kohtaamisista ja tutkimuksen tekemisestä. In it, she speaks about love, spaces and their accessibility, racism, and the practice of research.

The Valentine’s Day seminar will take place on Thursday, February 12 from 6:00 to 7:15 p.m. at Restaurant Tuba (Mannenkatu 2). Register for the seminar here, as seating is available only for 70 attendees. The event is open to everyone, and drinks and light refreshments will be available for purchase during the seminar. Please note that the seminar presentations will be in Finnish!

The aim of the Brown Bag Seminars is to showcase University of Oulu’s research and to encourage interdisciplinary knowledge-sharing and networking amongst our researchers. During the Oulu2026 Culture Capital Year some of the seminars are organized in venues in the city center and we especially invite all the citizens along to discuss, learn and get excited about science!

Note UniOGS Doctoral Researchers: You can add Brown Bag Seminars in your personal learning plan and once you have attended 10 Brown Bag Seminars, you can get 0,5 credits of doctoral studies.