Mikko Niemelä appointed as a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.

Professor Mikko Niemelä has been invited to become a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. Membership, granted to distinguished scholars, is for life.

Niemelä, who serves as Professor of Sociology at the University of Turku and as Research Professor at Kela, examines in his research the structures and institutions of social policy and their effects on life chances, inequality and well-being.

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters is a broad-based learned society founded in 1908 with the principal aim of promoting scientific research, acting as a bond between those engaged in advanced research and supporting the better utilisation of high-quality research in decision-making. The Academy invites scholars who have distinguished themselves in their fields to become members, making membership a highly regarded achievement in an academic career. The number of members is limited: at any given time, there can be no more than 333 members under the age of 65.

Niemelä also serves as Administrative Academic Director of the INVEST Research Flagship Centre. Other members of the Academy from INVEST include Professor and Vice Director of INVEST Christina Salmivalli (since 2020), Professor and Director of INVEST Jani Erola (since 2021), and Professor André Sourander, who leads INVEST’s activities at the Research Centre for Child Psychiatry (since 2023).