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Areas of expertise
Biography
Kirsi works as senior advisor at the University development services, and she is responsible for the coordination of the implementation of the Entrepreneurial University model at the University of Turku. Additionally, Kirsi is a post-doctoral researcher at entrepreneurship research group in the Turku School of Economics focused on studying academic entrepreneurship. Currently, Kirsi's work is focused on assessment and development of university’s entrepreneurial and innovation capacity. The University of Turku is the first university in Finland to achieve ACEEU (Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities) accreditation. Kirsi was responsible for the accreditation process at the University of Turku.
Kirsi has some 20 years of experience in developing and managing various national and international development projects in entrepreneurship.
Kirsi acquired a doctor’s degree in Entrepreneurship from the Turku School of Economics in 2017 (thesis title: Exploring agency in entrepreneurship development – A narrative approach).
Teaching
As part of the implementation of the Strategy of the University of Turku, Kirsi is responsible for systematization and development support for entrepreneurship education at the different university faculties. Kirsi has received public recognition for her work for the development of entrepreneurship education. In 2021, Kirsi was nominated as the Entrepreneurship Agent in Southwest Finland. The recognition was given by the YES National Entrepreneurship Education Network in Finland together with the YES Southwest Finland.
Research
Kirsi’s research interests include entrepreneurship education, academic entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial university and agency. Kirsi has presented her work in several international conferences, served as a peer reviewer and published her work in academic publications. Kirsi is the chair of the Scientific Association for Entrepreneurship Education in 2022 and 2023. The Association promotes multidisciplinary research and practice of entrepreneurship and enterprise education.
Kirsi has been responsible for academic conferences and she has also received recognition of her research. For example, in 2021, Kirsi was the Chair of Entrepreneurial Learning Ecosystems Forum, which was part of the international RENT (Research in Entrepreneurship and Small Business) Conference. Furthermore, author team led by Kirsi was awarded the Best paper award at the YKTT National Entrepreneurship Conference in Helsinki in 2019 for their research paper.