INVEST Welcomes Marlis Buchmann as Visiting Professor

Marlis Buchmann is one of the most prominent European researchers in the field of sociology. In INVEST, her key responsibilities include giving advice in research, mentoring and research collaboration.

Professor Marlis Buchmann has been appointed Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Turku for the period of May 2022 – April 2024. She is Professor of Sociology and former Director of the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development at the University of Zurich.

Buchmann will work together with INVEST Flagship Professor and PI Marika Jalovaara among others.

– Professor Buchmann’s tasks as a visiting professor include giving advice in research, mentoring and research collaboration. She can also give feedback on funding applications, especially ERC applications, since she has been in the ERC evaluation panels as an evaluator, tells Marika Jalovaara.

Collaboration in inequality and life-course research

Professor Buchmann is one of the most prominent European researchers in the field of sociology, and her career and experience are extensive. Her research topics include sociology of the life course, social change, social stratification and mobility, sociology of work, occupations and labor markets and sociology of culture. In addition, her research interests reach also towards psychology.

– The research topics of Professor Buchmann overlap with INVEST topics, especially in the inequality aspect and life-course research, and there are many collaboration opportunities, says Jalovaara.

– Professor Buchmann has an ambition to support younger generations in their researcher career. Therefore one of the activities in the visiting professorship is to organize a support group for post-doc researchers to discuss and give feedback on research, continues Jalovaara.

Visiting professorships encourage international collaboration

Visiting professors help in bringing together the researchers from both universities. This is particularly important now, since during Covid-19 restrictions on travel, many researchers have missed out on some international aspects of research. With visiting professorships the international aspect can be promoted.

– I’m really looking forward to collaborating with INVEST. INVEST has fascinating research and wonderful people doing research, says Professor Buchmann.

Buchmann visited the University of Turku in September giving a talk and attending a workshop as a mentor. Buchmann is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of FLUX Consortium. The Scientific Advisory Board also had a meeting during Buchmann’s visit.

During the visit Buchmann emphasized the social aspects of the collaboration:
– We had enough time to really enjoy the company of the people. I think that’s important. It’s not just work, it’s also about getting to know people and having great time with them.