Helena Kantanen

Helena Kantanen is a Senior Lecturer in Innovation Management at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF), based in the Department of Business Administration under the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. She holds a Docent title in Organizational Communication from the University of Tampere and a PhD in Organizational Communication and Public Relations from the University of Jyväskylä (2007). Her research focuses on appreciative organizational development, communication in virtual communities, pedagogical innovation in business education, and strategic communication. She has led UEF's Flipped Classroom initiative and currently heads the Pedagogical Development Team at the Business School.

Key roles include teaching marketing, organizational communication, change management, and qualitative research methods. She received the UEF Excellent Teaching Practitioner Award (2017) and contributed to advancing online/blended learning as part of the Digital Pedagogy Facilitator team (2021–2022). Active in research groups like Innovation Management (INNO) and the Business Education Research Hub, her work bridges theory and practice in education and organizational communication.

Her scholarly contributions span over 25 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, addressing topics such as pandemic communication challenges, peer-led online teaching, and student engagement in business education. She also co-edits publications on exceptional communication practices and digital pedagogy resources like the Digiopettajan starttipaketti.