Aki Manninen appointed as Dean of FBMM – Paula Rossi, Maarit Järvenpää, Janne Järvinen and Jukka Riekki will continue in the coming term

Aki Manninen will start as the new dean of the Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine (FBMM). Of the current deans, Paula Rossi of the Faculty of Humanities, Maarit Järvenpää of the Faculty of Science, Janne Järvinen of the Oulu Business School, and Jukka Riekki of the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering will continue.

Three of the faculties will have a new education dean, as Riikka Mononen will start at the Faculty of Education and Psychology, Marika Iivari at the Oulu Business School, and Jari Hannu at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering. Of the current education deans, Matti Enbuske of the Faculty of Humanities, Saana-Maija Aho of the Faculty of Science, and Petri Kulmala of the Faculty of Medicine will continue.

Aki Manninen (in the main photo), who will start as the dean of the Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, has served as professor of Cell Biology at the University of Oulu since 2019 and as the director of the Disease Networks Research Unit since 2020. In addition, he has coordinated Biocenter Oulu Virus Core Facility for various user groups since 2006. Manninen holds a PhD from the University of Tampere, awarded in 2001, and was granted the title of Adjunct Professor (Docent) in 2010 from the University of Oulu. From 2012 to 2018, he has worked as a junior group leader in the Cell-Extracellular Matrix Research consortium of the Academy of Finland's Centre of Excellence, and from 2017 to 2019 as the degree programme director in the Bachelor's Programme in Biochemistry.

Riikka Mononen, who will start as the education dean at the Faculty of Education and Psychology, has worked as professor of Special Education at the University of Oulu since 2022. She has served as head of the Special and Inclusive Education Research Unit since 2024 and as the degree programme director for Special Education in 2022–2024. Mononen holds a PhD from the University of Helsinki (2015) and was awarded the title of Adjunct Professor (Docent) from the University of Tampere in 2020. From 2021 to 2023, she worked as an assistant professor at the University of Oslo.

Marika Iivari, who will start as the education dean at the Oulu Business School (OBS), has worked as a senior research fellow in the field of business analytics and digital business at the Martti Ahtisaari Institute of the University of Oulu since 2021, and as a degree programme director for master's programmes at Oulu Business School since 2024. Prior to this, she worked in business development at Jutel Ltd. and Fingersoft Ltd. Iivari holds a D.Sc. from the University of Oulu, awarded in 2016, and was granted the title of Adjunct Professor (Docent) from the University of Oulu in 2023.

Jari Hannu, who will start as the education dean at the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, has worked as a university lecturer in the Microelectronics Research Unit of the University of Oulu since 2018 and as the Director of the Degree Programme of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering since 2016. Jari Hannu holds a D.Sc. (Tech.) from the University of Oulu, awarded in 2013, and was granted the title of Adjunct Professor (Docent) from the University of Oulu in 2023. Hannu has been the vice chair of the Education Committee of the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering since 2022.

Deans are responsible for leading the operations of the faculty. They are in charge of managing the faculty’s tasks in an economical, efficient, and effective manner, implementing the university’s strategy, personnel planning, and budgeting within the faculty, as well as overseeing the faculty’s quality management. The dean also chairs the faculty board and appoints the faculty education committee to support the quality and development of education.

Education dean leads the faculty’s educational activities and is responsible for the faculty’s education, its effectiveness, and quality management. The education dean serves as the chair of the faculty’s education committee and acts as the faculty’s vice dean.

The terms of the dean and the education dean of the Faculty of Technology, the dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology, the dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and the education dean of the Faculty of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine have already begun earlier.