Julia Korkman

Julia Korkman is a Professor of Practice at Åbo Akademi University, affiliated with the Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and Law, Department of Law. Her work integrates psychology and law, focusing on legal psychology, forensic interviewing, and asylum procedures. She is actively engaged in research, policy development, and public scholarship.

Her research interests center on evidence-based practices in legal decision-making, particularly in asylum and child protection contexts. She investigates how psychological principles can improve interviewing techniques, reduce bias, and enhance credibility assessments. Her work spans asylum claim evaluations, queer asylum, child forensic interviewing, and cross-cultural psychological assessment.

The recent publications show a strong trend toward applied legal psychology, with a focus on training programs for officials, multi-stakeholder experiences in asylum interviews, and guidelines for forensic practice. The work is interdisciplinary, combining criminology, psychology, law, and human rights, with increasing attention to marginalized populations and procedural justice.

Julia Korkman has received several notable awards:

• Academic Excellence Award (2012)
• The Fackboksrådet Best Non-Fiction Book Award for Muistin varassa (The Power of Memory) (2023)
• Svenska kulturfondens pris för nyskapande, modiga och extraordinära insatser (2023)
• Swedish Literature Society Award (2023)

She has been involved in research grants and projects, notably as Co-Investigator in the project Distributing Knowledge in Legal Psychology (2020–2022), which aimed to enhance evidence-based practices among Finnish asylum officials. While formal advisees are not listed, her collaborative publications and leadership in research suggest mentoring and supervisory roles. She contributes to policy through expert guidelines, such as those by the European Association of Psychology and Law.

Julia Korkman is actively involved in a research network focused on legal psychology, collaborating with scholars across Finland and Europe. Her work is disseminated through academic publications, public engagement, and science communication, particularly through her award-winning book on memory.