Carola Maria wide
Red Scholar
Communication connects worlds and that’s what I teach.
As a university teacher of English at Hanken School of Economics in Finland, I help students develop the skills to communicate confidently in global business environments. My courses range from Business Communication and Academic Writing to Narrative Business Presentations, Fictions of Business, and Intercultural Communication. One of the most exciting courses I lead is the Intercultural Communication-COIL, which includes the initiative ENGAGE.EU COIL: Bridging Borders, a collaborative effort with the University of Mannheim, Blanquerna Ramon Llull University, and UT Capitole, where students experience real-time intercultural exchange.
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My work brings together communication, culture, and technology to prepare future professionals for multilingual and multicultural business settings. I am passionate about creating learning experiences that foster intercultural competence and build relationships across borders.
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Currently, my research focuses on intercultural learning and relationships. I am actively involved in two funded projects under the ENGAGE.EU alliance. The first, COIL Bridging Borders, began with incubator seed funding in 2024 and evolved into a joint course offered in spring 2025. We are now analyzing its impact with label funding and will present our findings at the Exploring Multilingualism Conference in Dublin in January 2026. The second project, ENGAGE Culture! in partnership with the University of Mannheim and Norwegian School of Economics, is developing a modular online course on intercultural competence to empower students as engaged world citizens ready to address major societal challenges.
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I also go by the name Red Scholar, a nod to my PhD research on the Kristevan feminine in contemporary visual and written Little Red Riding Hood narratives. That work sparked my fascination with storytelling and its power to shape communication across cultures—a passion that continues to influence my teaching and research today.
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For me, communication is more than a skill. It’s a bridge. My goal is to help students cross that bridge with clarity, creativity, and confidence, ready to thrive in diverse professional contexts.​
Education:
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä, Finland (2024)
Master of Arts, University of Vaasa, Finland (2014)
Yoga Teacher 200 RYT- certified, MA, USA (2006)
Associate of Fine Arts, Anne Arundel Community College, MD, USA (2003)
Awards:
Label funding, Bridging Borders Intercultural Collaborations lab_BB-ICL, ENGAGE.EU (2025-26)
Scholarship, Exploring Multilingualism Conference, Svenska kulturfonden (2025-26)
Seed funding, ENGAGE Culture!, ENGAGE.EU (2025-26)
Seed funding, COIL Bridging Borders, ENGAGE.EU 2024-25)
6-month grant, South Ostrobothnia Regional Fund (2023)
5-month scholarship, University of Jyväskylä (2017)
4-month scholarship, Finnish Concordia Foundation (2016).
6-month scholarship, Svensk-Österbottniska samfundet r.f. (2015).
Travel grant, The Kristeva Circle 2017 Meeting, University of Pittsburgh, USA (2017) awarded by the University of Jyväskylä (2017).
Travel grant, Feminist Philosophy symposium: Time and History, Umeå University, Sweden. awarded by the Nordic Summer University (2016).