Tampere University conferred 13 honorary doctors
The title of Honorary Doctor is the highest recognition that a university can award. Tampere University’s seven faculties had invited persons from Finland and abroad to accept honorary doctorates in recognition of excellence in fields represented at the University and other exceptional scientific, artistic or social merits.
Honorary doctors conferred at the Conferment Ceremony on 7 June 2025:
Faculty of Built Environment
Alan C. McKinnon
Professor of Logistics, Kühne Logistics University, Germany
In recognition of the development of research and education of sustainable logistics and supply chain management
Faculty of Education and Culture
Anita Lehikoinen
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education and Culture (2013−2025)
In recognition of long-term work as a promoter and advocate of Finnish Bildung, education and higher education and science policy
Jane Wilkinson
Professor of Educational Leadership, Monash University, Australia
In recognition of international research in the field of multicultural education, especially refugee education and leadership
Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
Pierangelo Metrangolo
Professor of Chemistry, Politecnico di Milano, Italy
In recognition of contributions to the research fields of supramolecular chemistry and halogen chemistry as well as long-standing interdisciplinary collaboration on photoactive and self-assembled materials
Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
Luca Benini
Professor of Electronics, University of Bologna, Italy, and ETH Zürich, Switzerland
In recognition of contributions to research and innovation in the field of low-energy open-source computing architectures
Mia Consalvo
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Game Studies & Design, Communication Studies, Concordia University, Canada
In recognition of significant contributions to research and education in the fields of game studies, Internet studies and gender studies
Esko Roine
Actor
In recognition of merit and life’s work in the field of Finnish theatre arts
Faculty of Management and Business
Jan Bebbington
Professor, Director of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business, Lancaster University, United Kingdom
In recognition of pioneering research in sustainability accounting and advancing sustainable practices in businesses and organizations
Ari Kaperi
Board professional, former long-time member of Nordea Group’s Executive Management Team and Country Senior Executive in Finland
In recognition of long-term leadership in the financial sector and significant contributions to the advancement of business and responsibility
Kalervo Kummola
Mayor of Tampere (2023-2025), CEO of various companies, Member of Parliament (1999–2003), Vice President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (2003–2021)
In recognition of significant contribution to Finnish and international sports management and the advancement of sports culture
Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology
Wei Zhang
Professor of Cancer Biology, Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest University, United States
In recognition of achievements in the field of genome-wide cancer biology
Faculty of Social Sciences
Eila Häihälä
Counsellor of Health (Finnish honorary title), nursing teacher and assistant principal of Tampere College of Nursing (1987–1999)
In recognition of pioneering work in palliative care in Finland
Richard M. Ryan
Professor, Institute for Positive Psychology & Education, Australian Catholic University, Australia, and Distinguished Professor, College of Education, Ewha Womans University, South Korea
In recognition of a lifetime of work advancing the understanding of human motivation and well-being through the development of the Self-Determination Theory, which has become highly influential across many fields that seek to understand how to foster human flourishing
