Associate Professor Sofia Sjö has been elected as the new Research Manager at the Donner Institute for Research into Religion and Culture. She starts her work on the first of November 2024.

Sofia Sjö has been employed at the Donner Institute since 2021 as a research librarian and has served as acting research manager at the institute in the autumn of 2024.

The research manager acts as the institute’s director, leads the institute’s activities and conducts his or her own research.

– We are very pleased to welcome Sofia Sjö as research manager. Sofia is highly qualified in the institute’s profile area and has a deep understanding of the institute after previous experience in a leading role. In addition to ensuring continuity, we are convinced that Sofia has excellent merits to further develop the institute in a research world that is constantly changing, says Kim Groop, Chairman of the Board of of the Donner Institute.

Sofia Sjö is an associate professor (docent) in the study of religion at Åbo Akademi University and has previously worked as a project researcher and research leader at Åbo Akademi University. Her research has particularly focused on religion, media and popular culture.

– For me, the job as research manager combines two areas that are close to my heart: research and research support. The Donner Institute exists to enable research on religion and culture, something we do in many different ways. I look forward to being able to continue to develop our activities together with my colleagues at the institute, says Sofia Sjö.

Sofia Sjö succeeds Associate Professor Ruth Illman as Research Manager at the Donner Institute.

Further information:

Kim Groop
Phone: 050 409 6441
E-mail: kim.groop@abo.fi

Sofia Sjö
Tel: 050 362 3269
E-mail: sofia.sjo@stiftelsenabo.fi

The Donner Institute for Research into Religion and Culture is a private research institute connected to the Åbo Akademi University Foundation. We gather researchers, students and cultural agents and provide a meeting point for research on religion and culture in Finland and in the Nordic countries. We work to strengthen the visibility of research and create spaces where new knowledge can be born.