Ville Aula

Ville Aula

PhD Researcher

Department of Media and Communications

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Languages
English, Finnish, German, Russian, Swedish
Key Expertise
Data Studies, Science and Technology Studies

About me

Project Title

Data for good – Data and justification in the non-profit sector 

Research Topic

Ville is a PhD researcher who specialises in the questions of politics and technology. His thesis explores the use of data science to tackle social issues, especially in non-profit sector Data for Good initiatives. Ville’s thesis research draws from science and technology studies and political sociology. In addition to his thesis, Ville is interested in the wider role of expertise in policymaking and has published political science research on Finnish politics. On the side of his research, Ville advices Finnish government on matters of policymaking practices and digital government.

Supervisors: Alison Powell, Robin Mansell

Biography

Ville has an interdisciplinary background in social sciences. Ville holds both a Bachelor’s degree (2013) and a Master’s degree (2014) in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Helsinki Ville. In Helsinki he completed the 5-year combined degree in just 4 years and was awarded with a scholarship for research excellence. Ville also holds an MSc in Social Science of the Internet (2018) at University of Oxford. Ville is also a Fulbright Scholar and was a visiting student in University of California, San Diego Department of Political Science in year 2021-2022. Ville has a long-term collaboration with the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, who has commissioned several research reports from Ville on Finnish policymaking and practices of the Parliament of Finland. In 2020 Ville completed a PhD placement in the Digital Regulation Team of the UK Department on Digital, Culture, Media, and Sports. Prior to starting his PhD, Ville worked in government consulting in Finland and has advised numerous ministries, central agencies, and local councils. Ville also teaches classes in the LSE Department of Government.

Expertise Details

Data Studies; Science and Technology Studies; Digital Policy; Public Policy; Public Administration; Political Sociology

Publications

  • Chen, Y. (2012, July). The tendency of media social movement in China: A case study of Wenzhou high- speed train crash. Paper presented at the annual conference of Chinese Communication Society, Taichung, Taiwan.

  • Chen, Y. (2016). Invisible stability maintenance: Framing mass incidents in Chinese market-oriented media. Unpublished master’s thesis, National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan.