Minna van Gerven

Minna van Gerven is a Professor of Social Policy at Tampere University since 2022. She holds affiliations within the Research Faculty of Social Sciences' Unit of Social Research. Previously, she served as Professor of Social and Public Policy at the University of Helsinki (2020-2021), Assistant Professor of Sociology of Governance at the University of Twente (2009-2020), and held postdoctoral and doctoral roles at Dutch institutions.

Education:

• PhD in Sociology, Tilburg University (2008)
• MSc in Social Policy, University of Tampere (2001)

Research Focus: Minna specializes in comparative social policy, welfare state transformations, and digitalization's impact on social systems. Her work bridges sociology, political science, and technology studies, addressing topics like activation policies, family/youth services, aging, and EU social policy. Recent research combines institutional analysis with socio-technical systems and policy implementation dynamics.

Teaching & Projects:

• Supervises master theses in Social Policy
• Teaches courses including 'Nordic Welfare Societies' and 'Social Policy Classics'
• Leads the VN POLKU project on employment pathways in Finland's welfare system (2020-2022)

Methodological Expertise: Mixed methods, comparative analysis, qualitative methodologies, and experimental approaches.

Labs/Teams: Engaged with interdisciplinary research networks on digital welfare states and collaborative governance.