Office Space

FIER, the building where I work.

Inside the building...that is copper!

Trying out my office chair.

I even have a nameplate! This is official.

My host institution for the Fulbright grant is the Finnish Institute of Educational Research (FIER) located in the University of Jyväskylä. I work specifically with the Change in Networks, Higher Education and Knowledge Societies (CINHEKS) project team. Monday I met with Jussi Välimaa (a.k.a. the "gentle giant") who will serve as my adviser during my time in Finland. The meeting went very well, we spoke about the specifics of my research and how I plan to operationalize it. He gave me some suggestions of literature, contact names, and he even picked up the phone to call Aalto University. You see in the U.S. we have a human subjects (IRB) approval process that we must go through when conducting qualitative research. So, before I even begin interviewing I need a letter from each Finnish university granting me permission to conduct research in their university. This is especially difficult because the Finnish research system does not have such protocol and they simply do not understand why I need a letter. I am confident I will eventually get the letters I need, especially because I have a few big higher education researchers on my side (such as Jussi). It is all bureaucracy, but I must adhere to the U.S. research policies....so here I sit waiting, waiting, waiting for letters before beginning my research.

The good news is that I have an office! Woohoo, this came as a surprise to me because I just assumed I would get typical PhD digs--an office share. Nope! They gave me me an entire office.