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Professor Eila Lindfors, Doctor of Education, has led multiple research and development projects related to safety culture. As a result of these projects her research teams have published multiple pieces of peer-reviewed research publications and have developed definitions and models for examining safety culture specifically in school settings. ‘The Professor’, as she is fondly called by her students, has acted as the chair of The Developing Network of Safety Culture in Schools (OPTUKE-network) since its founding in 2010. The OPTUKE-network has contributed to the development of safety culture in schools by organizing two national and one international research symposia on the subject.
Brita Somerkoski conducts research related to early childhood education, school safety, curricula, digital safety games, marginalization and learning results. Brita’s doctoral dissertation was on the subject of children’s illicit use of fire. In the ONNI-project Brita is involved with the research activities and working with the project stakeholders. She is also on the project management team.
Matti Waitinen is a Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Education, Master of Security and a non-fiction author. Waitinen has 15 years of work experience as a class teacher in comprehensive education and as a school principal, in addition to which he has worked in adult education since 1991 and as the principal of the Helsinki Rescue School during 2001 – 2022. Waitinen defended his doctoral dissertation on factors influencing schools’ safety culture at the University of Helsinki in 2011. The same year he was awarded as the Fireman of the Year. Waitinen has a wealth of experience of safety in educational institutions from early childhood education to higher education. In the project Waitinen is responsible for the further training of the partaking schools’ staff and for collaborating with authorities and project stakeholders. Waitinen is also on the project management team.
Tuomo Myllö has worked in comprehensive education as a classroom teacher and principal for 25 years. Myllö has experience in safety in educational institutions ranging from planning to practical training of staff, in addition to which he acts as a specialist consultant for various kinds of institutional safety teams. In the project Myllö is responsible for the intervention and development work conducted at schools and for agreements signed with schools. He is also on the project management team.
Helga Rajala has been a classroom teacher and a special class teacher for 30 years in the Greater Helsinki area. In the project, Rajala acts as the Swedish speaking mentor for schools. She answers questions related to the project in Swedish.
Julia Kokki graduated as a Master of Arts in the summer of 2022. Before joining the ONNI-project, Kokki has worked in digital linguistics’ projects. Her main professional skills and interests cover language use, interaction and communication. In her Master’s thesis Kokki has analyzed corporate communication in social media. In the ONNI-project, Kokki works as a project specialist and is responsible for communication-related tasks and for assisting with the project research.
Miika Leino (Master of Education) works as a project specialist in the project. He is also a university teacher of craft, design and technology education at the University of Turku Department of Teacher Education (Rauma campus). In the project, Leino conducts research on schools’ safety incident notices.
Jussi-Pekka Peltola graduates as a subject teacher of crafts, design and technology and classroom teacher in the spring of 2022. In the ONNI-project he works as a research assistant and project researcher.
Leena Kiviranta, Master of Education, is a doctoral researcher at the University of Turku as of spring 2024. Her research interests include outdoor learning and crafts, design and technology education. In the ONNI [Success in School Safety] project she conducts qualitative research as a project researcher.
Emilia Luukka (Master of Arts) is the project coordinator in the ONNI-project. Luukka is an English and Spanish teacher by profession and is finishing her doctoral dissertation at Tampere University on literature in language education. While working on her dissertation, she has taught English and Spanish to multilingual learners of different ages from primary school to adult learners. In addition, she has conducted various projects for scientific associations as well as academic trade unions. Luukka answers all practical questions related to the project.
Arttu Korkeaniemi will start as a doctoral researcher at the University of Turku in the fall of 2022. His research interests cover school safety and craft, design and technology education. In the ONNI-project he conducts qualitative research as a project researcher.
Marleena Pälijärvi will graduate in the spring of 2022 as a Master of Education, specializing in early childhood education. In the ONNI-project she works as a research assistant.
Anu Orvasto-Helin is a student of Education at the Rauma campus of the Department of Teacher Education. In the ONNI-project she works as a research assistant.
Juuso Virta is close to finishing his Bachelor’s degree in crafts, design and technology education, with interdisciplinary studies as a minor subject. Virta works as a part-time research assistant in the ONNI-project, focusing on the analysis of the research data. Safety education has been an integral part of his life since his early childhood, particularly through volunteer firebrigade activities. Currently, he spends his limited spare time volunteering with the Rauma firebrigade and in various functions of the Rescue Association of Western Finland, LSPeL.