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Professor Aditya Johri from the Information Sciences and Technology Department recently returned from an impactful three-week mission to Aalto University in Finland as part of the Fulbright Specialist Program. This initiative, run by the U.S. Department of State, empowers U.S. academics to engage in dynamic, project-based exchanges at institutions worldwide. This was Johri’s second trip to Finland through the Fulbright program.
During his visit, Johri collaborated closely with Miloš Mladenović, the vice dean of research in Aalto's engineering school, and Maija Taka, the academic coordinator for doctoral education. Together, they aimed to enhance the university's doctoral training practices. Like many academic institutions, Aalto University is committed to improving student support during the doctoral process, reducing the time to graduation, and providing professional development opportunities.
"With changes in the nature of the research enterprise – more interdisciplinary and computational – and limited opportunities for future researchers in academia, it has become increasingly important to revisit how we train doctoral students,” said Johri. “We need to prepare them for a career beyond academia and for a context where AI, especially generative AI, is likely to play a transformative role."
Johri co-designed three workshops created to gather feedback from faculty and students and co-develop an improved doctoral feedback and review process. Drawing from his extensive experience and literature, Johri proposed several innovative alternatives. He successfully co-conducted the first workshop, engaging 25 faculty members, with two additional workshops scheduled to follow in the coming months.
Beyond refining doctoral education, Johri shared his deep expertise in engineering education with his hosts. He participated in a pre-conference workshop on engineering education research, mentored at a doctoral consortium during the European engineering education society's annual conference, and presented a co-authored paper with Mladenović. Interestingly, Johri and Mladenović's professional relationship began when Mladenović, then a doctoral student at Virginia Tech, took Johri's class on engineering education.
Johri said, “We had always been in touch and then when I got my first Fulbright to go to Finland, he helped us acclimatize to living there and invited me to give a talk on engineering education. We also collaborated on a conference paper about integrating sustainability throughout the engineering curriculum. When he became a vice dean, one of his mandates was to improve research training of students and we put together the proposal for a Fulbright Specialist visit.”
About the Fulbright Program:
Supported by the U.S. Fulbright program in collaboration with the Fulbright Finland Foundation, Johri's visit marks his second Fulbright journey to Finland and Aalto University. In 2021, he served as a Fulbright-Nokia Distinguished Chair, focusing on the ethics of AI education with his host, Lauri Malmi, a professor in Computer Science.
The Fulbright Specialist Program, a prestigious initiative of the U.S. Department of State, recognizes individuals for their academic and professional achievements and leadership in their field. It aims to foster long-term cooperation between U.S. and international institutions through two- to six-week, project-based exchanges.