A Viksu social scientist in the world of information technology

23.11.2012

Matti Nelimarkka was one of the winners of the 2005 Viksu competition with his work on municipal mergers. In his current job as a researcher, Matti combines two of his interests, computer science and political research. In the future, he would like to pursue continued studies abroad.

“My Viksu success earned me a study place in the Department of Political Science at the University of Helsinki. Through my competition work, I also learned about the proper use of source references, which proved to be helpful in my university studies. It was really great to have my work reviewed by two experts in the field. The next time I received that kind of feedback wasn’t until the evaluation of my Master’s thesis. Above all, however, the most important aspect of the prize was, of course, the cute little Viksu bunny - it still graces my desk,” says Matti.

A social scientist in broken colours

Matti’s competition entry in 2005 dealt with municipal mergers and their impact on the opportunities for local residents to hold influence and on the relative powers of the political parties. “You might be surprised to hear that the municipal reform was already sparking discussion and generating interest at that time. Once I had made up my mind regarding the topic for the competition work, I got started with the implementation of a modelling program, the writing of the study and honing of my linguistic style, and, of course, discussions with my teacher and other students. Peer support from others was extremely helpful, and continues to be a central element of my current research career as well,” he explains.

Following the competition, Matti drew on his interest in social sciences and began his political science studies. While studying, he also performed research and teaching tasks in the area of Information Technology. Matti graduated with a Master's in Social Sciences in spring 2011. His desire to deepen his knowledge and skills in information technology led him to take courses in the Department of Computer Science with the aim of eventually earning a Bachelor of Science degree in this area. Matti is so enthusiastic about the field of IT, that he even spends his free time programming; “It’s good to have inspiring projects on the side!” he states.

So does this Viksu competitor, who has studied in two different disciplines, see himself more as a social scientist or a computer scientist? “Your identity depends a great deal on the community that you are currently involved in. When I am amongst computer scientists, I feel more like a social scientist and vice versa. As an analogy, the concept of broken colours illustrates my point quite well; in other words, I am not completely one colour, but always a bit of a mix,” he explains.

“There are many things about data processing that I feel are important to understand. For instance, the currently prevailing Big Data phenomenon, as well as machine learning and modelling applications are interesting areas that are definitely worth studying. Computer science studies provide you with good tools, also for the development and assessment of interactive systems.”

Exciting and practical research work

At the moment, Matti is working as a researcher at the Helsinki Institute for Information Technology (HIIT), a joint research institute of the University of Helsinki and Aalto University. He is engaged in the Network Society research programme, which is examining the more human-centric aspects of information technology: user interfaces, users and the surrounding society.

“My work involves both more traditional research, in other words, studying the ideas of others and documenting your own ideas, as well as constructive research. For the constructive aspect, our research group is creating data systems that can be tested in real life. The next step is to look at the ways in which our creations have been utilised,” Matti explains.

The things Matti has learned from both disciplines of study have proven to be beneficial to his constructive research work. “In this field, there are not a lot of political scientists, but there are a great many fruitful opportunities to apply certain central concepts of political research to the world of information technology. If I were, for example, pursuing traditional election research or research on political parties or new political movements, I wouldn't necessarily differ all that much from other researchers in that field nor would I be able to utilise my computer science skills.”

What about the research work does Matti find most rewarding and most challenging? “One of the best aspects of my work is its pragmatism and the feeling that something truly useful can be derived from my research results. The research process itself is also very exciting; our aim is to create something innovative and unparalleled, and to bring interesting angles to our research subject,” he says.

“Additionally, our research group has an enormous amount of freedom. We have nearly free reign to suggest and formulate topics for research that we, ourselves, find interesting. For example, I have been involved in integrating different social networks, and researching the activities of Finland’s Parliamentary representatives within different online services. Within these different theme areas, I feel that we have definitely brought different viewpoints to light. There are problems, of course, such as an insecurity about the future, which goes hand-in-hand with this type of academic work; fixed-term employment is quite usual in this field,” states Matti.

Aiming for the doctoral hat and sword

One aspect of Matti’s future plans is, however, perfectly clear: he is attracted to the idea of studying abroad. “I dream of continuing my studies and earning my doctoral hat and sword, and I hope to have a chance to do it abroad on exchange, since I didn’t have a chance to experience that yet during my studies. I have been thinking of applying for doctoral studies somewhere in Europe. I am, perhaps, most interested in Great Britain, Germany and Denmark. So during this autumn and next spring, I will be sending out my applications and then we will just have to wait and see how it goes!”

The content of his doctoral studies is also already in the planning. “Right now, I think that I will focus on studying the support for system designs concerning web participation. Many systems in which people can submit comments and discuss already exist, such as the Helsingin Sanomat or Hommaforum discussion forums. In terms of political research, however, we have surprisingly few models on how such systems are designed or how they could be designed,” Matti explains. “It’s generally assumed that anonymous participation usually leads to a lower quality of online discourse. For me, this brings up an intriguing idea: Are there situations in which anonymity might be a beneficial property of a system?" he considers. “In order to ensure that my aims are not limited to research, however, I also intend on introducing a few furry four-legged creatures to my home!”

Having decided to become a researcher, Matti views the Viksu science competition as highly beneficial in terms of guiding participants towards their career paths. “It is definitely worthwhile to enter the competition! It is also wise to seek out assistance for the work process, either from a teacher or other Viksu competitors. Often, it takes another pair of eyes to help you see things more clearly,” he points out.

Text: Heidi Blomqvist

Photos: Matti Nelimarkka