Plenarists

We are honored to present our plenary speakers, who are renowned experts in their fields and will provide valuable insights and perspectives on the key themes of our conference. 

Alex Wood picture

Wed 23 August at 10:15 (UTC+3)

The politics of platforms: power, precarity and protest

Alex J. Wood

Dr, Senior Lecturer, Work, Employment, Organisation and Public Policy Group, University of Bristol, UK
Research Associate, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK

Alex J. Wood is an economic sociologist who specialises in employment relations. Wood is a Senior Lecturer in the Future of Work at the University of Bristol in the ‘Work, Employment, Organisation and Public Policy Group’. In addition, he is a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute and a member of the iLabour project.

Read more on Dr Wood’s expertise and research interests.

Virginia Doellgast picture

Wed 23 August at 15:00 (UTC+3)

Democratizing technological change at work: Collective responses to digitalization and AI

Virginia Doellgast 

Anne Evans Estabrook Professor of Employment Relations and Dispute Resolution, ILR School, Cornell University, US
Senior Research Fellow, Wirtschafts-und Sozial-wissenschaftliches Institut (WSI), Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, DE

Virginia Doellgast is Professor of Comparative Employment Relations in the ILR School at Cornell University. Her research examines the relationship between labor market and collective bargaining institutions, inequality, and job quality, with a focus on the US and Europe.

Read more on Professor Doellgast’s expertise and research interests. 

Valeria Pulignano

Thu 24 August at 10:30 (UTC+3)

Theorizing adaptations to precarious work in an era of digital transformation

Valeria Pulignano 

Professor, KU Leuven
Senior Research Fellow IRRU, Warwick University and Francqui Stichting Research Professor
PI of the ERC-funded ResPecTMe research project

Valeria Pulignano is Professor in Sociology at the Centre for Sociological Research (CESO), KU Leuven. She has published extensively on topics related to the sociology of work, comparative European industrial (employment) relations, labour markets and inequality, working conditions, job quality and workers’ voice.

Read more on Professor Pulignano’s expertise and research interests.

Valeria Pulignano

Fri 25 August at 10:30 (UTC+3)

Managing migrant gig workers at scale – A para-algorithmic approach to platform power

Niels van Doorn 

Associate Professor of New Media and Digital Culture in the Department of Media Studies, University of Amsterdam, NL
Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded Platform Labor research project (2018-2023)

Niels van Doorn is an Associate Professor of New Media and Digital Culture in the Department of Media Studies, University of Amsterdam, and the Principal Investigator of the ERC-funded Platform Labor research project (2018-2023). He holds a PhD in Communication Science (2010) from the University of Amsterdam. His current research topics cover themes such as digital platforms, the gig economy, the politics of platformization, and precarious circumstances in the digital economy.

Read more on Associate Professor van Doorn’s Platform Labor project and research output.

Contact Information

email: work2023(a)utu.fi

Chair, Professor
Anne Kovalainen
anne.kovalainen(a)utu.fi

Coordinator
Marja Rautajoki
marja.i.rautajoki(a)utu.fi

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