Miika Samuli Vähämaa
Vantaa
Summary
Resourceful professional in public relations, known for high productivity and efficient task completion. Specialize in crisis management, media relations, and strategic communication planning. Excel in teamwork, adaptability, and problem-solving to navigate complexities of public perceptions and messaging. Committed to fostering positive relationships between organizations and their publics through clear, effective communication strategies.
Overview
21
21
years of professional experience
Work History
University Teacher
University of Helsinki
01.2007 - Current
- Company Overview: Politics, Media and Communication Faculty of Social Science and Open University
- Courses taught e.g.: Introduction to Communication; Analyzing Communication; The Public Sphere and Democracy; Political Communication
- Politics, Media and Communication Faculty of Social Science and Open University
Editor and Science Journalist
Helsingin Sanomat, Kemia, Lääkärilehti
Helsinki
01.2004 - Current
- Regular contributor to noteworthy Finnish publications covering diverse scientific topics.
- Contributed innovative ideas and solutions to enhance team performance and outcomes.
- Utilized various software and tools to streamline processes and optimize performance.
- Provided support and guidance to colleagues to maintain a collaborative work environment.
- Conferred with authors regarding changes in content, style or publication.
University Lecturer
University of Helsinki
Helsinki
01.2018 - 03.2023
- Company Overview: Politics, Media and Communication Faculty of Social Science and Open University
- Currently teach: The Public Sphere and Democracy; Political Communication
- Politics, Media and Communication Faculty of Social Science and Open University
CEO
DRAI Oy
Helsinki
02.2020 - 01.2023
- As Communication Director and CEO, I develop and consult on complex textual analysis tools to ingest massive amounts of multilingual, traditional, and online media data.
- The end product is a set of mathematically and sociologically salient narratives, factors.
- Factors are reduced to least amount based on abduction and Bayesian probability analysis
- This allows us to quickly make sense of large amounts of text data.
- Spearheaded internal initiatives designed to foster collaboration among staff members.
- Assessed financial performance of the organization on a regular basis and identified areas for improvement.
Research Director
Kreab Oy
Helsinki
10.2019 - 01.2020
- Generated detailed reports and presented findings to relevant stakeholders.
- Supported planning, design, preparation, initiation, and execution of study and evaluation protocols.
Senior Research Advisor
Iloom Oy
Helsinki
08.2018 - 12.2019
- Advising the R&D team of LDA and network analysis to structure and visualize natural language data
- Collaborated with other professionals to expand experiment scope and utilize more resources.
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Helsinki
10.2018 - 12.2019
- Company Overview: Politics, Media and Communication Faculty of Social Science and Open University
- In this cross-national research project, I apply topic modelling on comparative and longitudinal data concerning journalism
- Politics, Media and Communication Faculty of Social Science and Open University
Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Aalborg
Aalborg
01.2017 - 08.2017
- Company Overview: Research Centre for Cultural Psychology, Denmark
- Collaborated with professor Luca Tateo e.g
- Wrote for the book Thinking about Oneself - The Place and Value of Reflection in Philosophy and Psychology
- Searched pertinent scientific literature to support efforts with empirical data.
- Reviewed journal articles for publication in scientific journals.
- Developed exemplary rapport with personnel and stakeholders by demonstrating compassion and scientific expertise.
- Designed research protocols to perform instrumentation relative to research procedures.
Project Leader
Innolink Research Oy
Tampere
01.2014 - 06.2014
- Research project leader for large-scale corporation studies
- Collaborated with engineers and project managers regarding design parameters for client projects.
- Identified project dependencies and coordinated activities to avoid delays.
Research Advisor
Aalto University
Helsinki
01.2013 - 08.2013
- Media Concepts Research Group (MCRG)
- Organized meetings between faculty members and external partners.
- Built strong student rapport by driving classroom and online discussions and providing academic advisement.
- Collaborated with other subject and grade-level teachers to build complementary educational frameworks for students.
- Reviewed documents submitted by researchers for accuracy and completeness.
- Coordinated workshops and seminars focused on best practices in research methodology.
- Identified emerging areas of interest related to the organization's mission statement.
Principal Investigator and Researcher
University of Helsinki
01.2007 - 06.2010
- Company Overview: Department of Communication, Communication Research Center CRC, Helsinki, Finland
- Principal Investigator: Finnish television broadcasting in 2010; Media ́s experiences of the governmental communications
- Researcher: Mapping the Communication and Media Research in Finland; Comparing Political Communication Cultures in Western Europe
- Department of Communication, Communication Research Center CRC, Helsinki, Finland
TV News Journalist
YLE24 Finnish Broadcasting Company
Helsinki
01.2005 - 08.2005
- Developed stories, planned the day´s coverage and created/edited own news stories as a part of the national news broadcast
Education
Ph.D. - social psychology
University of Helsinki
Finland09.2015
Master of Social Sciences - Communication
University of Helsinki
Finland06.2006
Skills
- Data analysis
- Content editing
- Research methodology
- Technical writing
- Statistical software
- Digital journalism
- Collaborative projects
- Media relations
- Public speaking
- Narrative construction
- Project management
- Cross-functional teamwork
- Effective communication
- Social media engagement
- Audience engagement
- Investigations expertise
- Content creation
- Report editing
- Digital analytics tools
- Human interest content
- Deadline management
Affiliations
- 2019 - present, Member of the Board of Trustees, ASLA-Fulbright Alumni Association
- 2008 - present, Member of the Finnish Association of Science Editors and Journalists
Research Grants
- 10/01/18 - 12/31/19, Postdoc grant by the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation, €46,500
- 01/01/12 - 03/31/12, Finnish Cultural Exchange Foundation Villa Karo stipend, €6,000
- 08/01/10 - 07/31/11, Fulbright ASLA Graduate Research Grant, €15,000
- 05/01/09 - 06/28/10, Distinguished Young Scholar Dissertation Grant, €19,000
- 01/01/06 - 07/31/06, NORDPLUS stipend, €5,000
Conference Organization
Media Industry and Media Studies, 10/01/19, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation, Helsinki, Finland, Initiator and event organizer, Chair of the research panel, 100
Expertise Duties
- 09/01/19, Invited expert reviewer, Editorial Review Board of Rowman & Littlefield International
- 12/01/12 - present, Peer-reviewer, Human Arenas, Social Epistemology, Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education
- 05/01/08 - 02/01/09, Member of the Board, Publicity Research Consortium, Finnish Immigration Services
- 04/01/08, Invited expert research reviewer, Ministry of the Interior
Personal Information
- Date of Birth: 12/01/80
- Nationality: Finnish
Awards
Excellency in Teaching Statistics Award, 05/01/13, Media Concepts Research Group (MCRG), Aalto University
Publications
- Suomalainen televisiotarjonta 2010, Vähämaa, M., Härmälä, K., Matikainen, J., 2011, Liikenne- ja viestintäministeriö
- Joukkoviestimien kokemuksia valtionhallinnon viestinnästä, Vähämaa, M., 2008, University Press
Recommendations
- Kai Kaasalainen, CEO, Tamro Oy, +35840 589 8246
- Miika Mäkitalo, CEO, Happy or Not, +35845 205 3253
Mentoring Experience
- Senior Research Advisor, Iloom Oy, 08/01/18, 12/31/19, Advised R&D team on natural language data.
- Project Leader, Innolink Research Oy, 02/01/14, 06/18/14, Led large-scale corporation studies.
- Research Advisor, Aalto University, 01/01/13, 08/30/13, Worked with Media Concepts Research Group.
Languages
Finnish
First Language
Swedish
Advanced (C1)
C1
German
Intermediate (B1)
B1
Latvian
Elementary (A2)
A2
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
CEO
DRAI Oy
02.2020 - 01.2023
Research Director
Kreab Oy
10.2019 - 01.2020
Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Helsinki
10.2018 - 12.2019
Senior Research Advisor
Iloom Oy
08.2018 - 12.2019
University Lecturer
University of Helsinki
01.2018 - 03.2023
Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher
University of Aalborg
01.2017 - 08.2017
Project Leader
Innolink Research Oy
01.2014 - 06.2014
Research Advisor
Aalto University
01.2013 - 08.2013
University Teacher
University of Helsinki
01.2007 - Current
Principal Investigator and Researcher
University of Helsinki
01.2007 - 06.2010
TV News Journalist
YLE24 Finnish Broadcasting Company
01.2005 - 08.2005
Editor and Science Journalist
Helsingin Sanomat, Kemia, Lääkärilehti
01.2004 - Current
Ph.D. - social psychology
University of Helsinki
Master of Social Sciences - Communication
University of Helsinki
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