Paula Siitonen

Background

About Paula Siitonen

Dr. Paula Siitonen (PhD ecology, MSc geography) is a scientist, educator, facilitator, and entrepreneur. She helps to improve the well-being of human and nature. Paula’s research centers on the development and use of participatory systems and decision analytic methods, creative cooperation, and the dynamics of species in complex environments. Paula teaches creativity, creative cooperation, teamwork, communication, facilitation, participation, dispute resolution and decision and systems analysis at bachelor's, master's, doctoral, executive education, and life-wide learning levels. She has developed and instructed courses on participatory methods and facilitation skills, creative teamwork, creative cooperation, dance and theatre in communicating sustainability, conflict management, sustainable communication in multicultural work environments and participatory methods in sustainable management of natural resources. As a research scientist and senior research scientist at the Finnish Environment Institute, she led, as a principal researcher, projects including method for the assessment of forest biodiversity and ecological principals and practical tools of landscape ecological forest planning with funding from ministries, private sector and other funding agencies. She was a member and chair of the executive group of the Developing dispersion model of bioaerosols funded by TEKES. After defending her PhD at the University of Helsinki she developed participatory systems and decision analytic (systems intelligent) methods in the System Analysis Laboratory of the Helsinki University of Technology. She led as a PI, Sustainable network of reserves in the Atlantic Forests of Northeast Brazil research funded by the Academy of Finland. Paula was a visiting researcher, project specialist and a part-time teacher in the Creative Sustainability Program at Aalto University Department of Design and prior that in the Sustainable Global Technologies programme. She teaches e.g. at the U of Helsinki, the U of Eastern Finland and at the U of Turku EMBA. Alongside academia, she works globally as a facilitator, educator, and consultant. She is a founder and co-founder of two companies. In addition to Finland, she has worked e.g. in Brazil, East and South Africa, Thailand, Moldovia and West Balkans. Paula is interested in the small local actions to facilitate interventions and self-enriching dynamics in complex environments. She explores new ways to enhance creativity and sustainability at the innovative interface of science, art and practice.