LUT Summer School Teachers

Michael Child is a associate professor (Sustainability Science, LUT School of Energy Systems). Research interests include achieving sustainability targets over the long term. This will mean that individuals, companies, organizations and industries need to both measure and manage various aspects of sustainability. While greenhouse gas emissions may remain at the forefront, other environmental, social and economic factors also need to be regarded. The role of handprint is also emerging as a key factor that can accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable world. As various organizations move towards sustainability targets, the efforts needed will become more specific and could possibly involve more holistic and ambitious transformation of operations. How this can be done while minimizing disruption and maximizing opportunity to various societal stakeholders remains a fundamental challenge that requires increasing efforts to find sustainable solutions. 

Maria Elo is an Associate Professor at University of Southern Denmark, Professor at Belt and Road Institute of International Business at Shanghai University, Senior research fellow at University of Turku and Adjunct Professor at Åbo Akademi University.

Maria works on international business, -entrepreneurship and -migration with topics such as internationalization, sustainability, diversity, resources of skilled migrants and returnees, migrant and diaspora entrepreneurship, transnational and family businesses, diaspora networks, diaspora investment and remittances. She has published books and articles, for example, in Journal of World Business, Journal of International Business Policy, Industrial Marketing Management, Regional Studies, Journal of International Entrepreneurship, and International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business.

Course: Critical issues in International Business and Entrepreneurship - Anticipating global challenges managerially and entrepreneurially

Goncalo Pinto Mendes is Post-doctoral researcher (Electrical Engineering, LUT School of Energy Systems). Research interests include transition to carbon-neutral world, energy engineering and power technology as well as electrical and electronic engineering.

Read more about publications: Goncalo Pinto Mendes - Post-doctoral researcher - LUT University

Pasi Heikuurinen is a professor (Business Studies, LUT Business School) and organizational scholar with transdisciplinary expertise on questions concerning the economy, technology, and culture for sustainability. His approach to teaching and research, as well as to societal interaction, draws on philosophies of experience, process thought, and systems theory.

He works as a professor of Sustainable Business at LUT University (2023–) and acts as Chair of the Finnish Society for Environmental Social Science (2022–). He holds adjunct professorship in the fields of Sustainable Economy (University of Helsinki) and Sustainability and Organizations (Aalto University). He is the co-founder of Sustainable Change Research Network (SUCH) and Process Studies on Sustainable Economy Research Group (PROSE).

Read more about research information and publications: Pasi Heikkurinen - Full professor (tenured) - LUT University

Prof. Perez Vega holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Mexico (1997-2002) and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom (2004-2010). He worked as a process engineer at Lexmark International company (2008-2010), Mexico, where he was responsible for coatings formulation, electrostatic spray coating, cleanroom operations, drying operations, and volatile organic contaminants control and abatement.

He was also appointed as a visiting professor for two years at the University of McGill, Montreal (2019-2020). His research areas include the design, implementation, and holistic evaluation of sustainable process systems (food, bioprocessing, and pharmaceutical), considering critical aspects such as the sustainable development goals (SDGs). 

Read more about research interests and researcher information: Samuel Perez Vega - Assistant Professor (Tenure Track) - LUT University