Mika Nieminen

Mika Nieminen

MY BACKGROUND:

I am social scientist by my background and have a PhD in sociology, specialized in science and technology studies. I have been working over 20 years with themes, which relate to research and innovation organizations, policy and systems. I have also participated in numerous development projects aimed at policy and organization development in RTOs, ministries and other organizations. My current research interests cover especially systemic innovations and transformations, development of impact assessment methods and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) related questions. I have participated in several EU funded RRI projects (currently NewHoRRIzon, Co-Change and TetRRIS) gaining interesting perspectives and learnings to the responsibility related challenges. Now I am also working in a major Finnish project on AI ethics funded by the Strategic Research Council of Finland.

WHY AM I INTERESTED IN RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH AND INNOVATION:

It is my conviction that balanced social, environmental and economic sustainability is a necessity for the future development of our societies. This wide sustainability together with social acceptability and desirability of research and innovations is a key starting point for making our societies future proof, sustainable, and meaningful. Besides this necessity, I consider RRI very interesting practical and theoretical question in which various aspects of our social life and interaction with our environment intertwine with each other into systemic challenges.

WHAT DO I HOPE TO LEARN / CONTRIBUTE AS COUNTRY CORRESPONDENT:

For my small part, I hope to be able to contribute to the discussion and solutions of the uptake of responsibility related aspects as everyday practice in European research and innovation.