Jani Erola in the corridore.

Pioneering researcher of inequality Jani Erola chosen as Professor of the Year

The Finnish Union of University Professors has chosen Jani Erola, Professor of Sociology at the University of Turku in Finland, as Professor of the Year for 2026.  The Union states that Erola is a respected researcher of social sciences both in Finland and internationally. His work is also an excellent example of how high-quality scientific research can have an impact on society.

“Professor Jani Erola is a respected researcher of social sciences both in Finland and internationally.  He has extensive knowledge of social inequality, the factors affecting it and the heritability of inequality,” says Teija Laitinen, Chair of the Finnish Union of University Professors, justifying the selection of the Professor of the Year.

“Erola’s work is an excellent example of how high-quality scientific research can have an impact on society,” she continues.

The Finnish Union of University Professors describes Erola as an active participant in the scientific field and in the public sphere, and also notes that Erola has promoted sociology as a discipline.

“This is a great honour, especially as it comes from a multidisciplinary community of professors”, says Erola.

But what inspires Erola in his research work?

“There are things I would like to understand, know, and explain better,” says Erola.

Since 2019, Erola has led the INVEST Research Flagship Centre, which operates under the University of Turku and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. The Centre examines the state of the welfare state and inequality in Finland. The Finnish Union of University Professors also notes that a significant multidisciplinary cluster of research projects has grown around INVEST.

Class differences and their intergenerational nature at the heart of research

“In his 2010 edited volume “Classless Finland?” Erola discussed social statuses and how they relate to other forms of inequality in Finland in the 2000s. According to Erola, economic inequality is not so much due to the disadvantage of the working class as to the increased well-off of the upper class.

Erola’s interest in social classes sparked already back in upper secondary school. Erola recalls how, when writing his first essays in upper secondary school, he came across a history book that dealt with the social structure of ancient Rome.

“It was my first encounter with social differences. It made me think. I was left wondering what class differences mean in society today. I came to realise that these topics interest me, and I want to learn more about class differences.” says Erola.

In fact, he believes it is important for every researcher to find their own niche. For him, it has been class differences and, as a continuation of that, the intergenerational nature of those differences and other social inequalities. His doctoral dissertation already provided a glimpse into his research on intergenerationality, but it was after completing his dissertation that he became particularly interested in the intergenerational mechanisms, social change and structures associated with class differences.

Academy Professorship opens new research directions

“The moment when you have the research material in your hands, preliminary analyses have been done, you look at the results and try to understand why the things are the way they are. And then comes the most wonderful moment when you realise how it all comes together. It is a great feeling, and even better when you share that realisation with the group of people who have been working on the matter together,” says Jani Erola, Professor of the Year 2026, describing the highlights of research work.

During 2020s, Erola has researched and engaged in public debate on the impact of early childhood education and care on an individual’s level of education and social mobility. The beginning of 2026 will bring new perspectives. Erola’s six-year term as Academy Professor and the funding from the Research Council of Finland enables the opening of new research directions. Erola intends to study the rise in the level of education and its gendered changes, the polarisation of the labour market, and the changes brought about by digitalisation, especially artificial intelligence, to social mobility.

Erola has been a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters since 2021 and holds several international positions of trust and is involved in significant multinational projects. In 2014, the European Research Council awarded him the prestigious Consolidator Grant to study the heritability of social status. Erola coordinated the recently completed EU-funded Mapineq project, which analysed educational, socio-economic and health inequalities at different stages of the life cycle.

The choice was announced at a public event of the Union Statements from the Scientific Core in Oulu on Thursday, 15 January 2026.  The award amount for the Professor of the Year is €20,000.