A Pilot PhD Course Focused on Multimodal Methods with an Interdisciplinary Mindset

The nature of human behaviour in business and learning contexts is becoming increasingly complex due to technological advancements, such as emerging human-AI collaborations. This growing complexity underscores the need for an interdisciplinary research mindset and methods, creating demand for a new PhD course focused on multimodal methods in education and business research.

The course was developed through collaboration among several faculties of the University of Oulu: the Faculty of Education and Psychology, the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering, Oulu Business School, and LeaF Research Infrastructure. The organising team—Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen, Jonna Malmberg, Tapio Seppänen, Antti Siipo, and Mohsin Abdur Rehman—designed the comprehensive programme, which featured 19 sessions. The five-day course was coordinated by the Oulu Business School’s teaching team, Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen and Mohsin Abdur Rehman.

The course introduced students to multimodality by integrating various modalities (e.g., physiological data, eye-tracking, heart rate, electrodermal activity (EDA), and video/audio data) to better understand social interactions in business and learning contexts, including both human-human and human-technology interactions.

It provided students from diverse fields with a unique opportunity to collaborate in interdisciplinary teams. Through group work and lectures led by 12 experienced instructors, participants gained a deeper understanding of multimodal methods and research from multiple perspectives.

“Attending the course strengthened my methodological understanding and opened my eyes to the possibilities interdisciplinary research can offer. The lectures and teaching sessions were brilliant, but I gained the most from our reflective morning coffees and learning tasks. It was inspiring to hear about others’ work. The course was very well organised, and I would warmly recommend it to all doctoral researchers interested in understanding and applying multimodal methods in their research,” says doctoral researcher Julia Autio, reflecting on her experience.

A highlight of the course was a presentation by renowned marketing scholar Professor Richard Bagozzi, a role model for lifelong learning with over 50 years of academic experience. He offered both scientific and personal insights into multimodal research, defining it as “an interdisciplinary approach that melds together multiple theories and methods to generate knowledge and explain phenomena.”

By mastering multimodal methods, researchers can develop a unique interdisciplinary mindset—a competitive advantage in the modern academic world.

Following positive feedback from this pilot course, future objectives could include integrating the course into the Finnish Doctoral Program in Business Studies (KATAJA). Additional opportunities may involve designing course offerings that enhance interdisciplinary skills and leverage research infrastructures like LeaF.

“We need to encourage our rising stars to take advantage of the unique opportunities provided by research infrastructures such as LeaF. Multimodal methods and an interdisciplinary mindset represent promising directions for renewing and advancing the field of business,” says Adjunct Professor Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen from Oulu Business School.

The course was funded by the Foundation for Economic Education and the Human Sciences Doctoral Programme (HS-DP), as part of the Human Sciences doctoral training activities in 2024. A call for proposals for HS-DP doctoral training activities in 2025 is currently open, closing on 12 January 2025.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to organizing and conducting this course. Your dedication and collaborative spirit made it a resounding success.

Organizing team:

• Dr. Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen, Postdoctoral Researcher, Adjunct Professor (University of Turku), Department of Marketing, Management and International Business, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, Finland
• Dr. Jonna Malmberg, Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Sciences and Teacher Education, Learning and Educational Technology Unit (LET), University of Oulu, Finland
• Dr. Tapio Seppänen, Professor, University of Oulu, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering
• Mohsin Abdur Rehman, Doctoral Researcher, Department of Marketing, Management and International Business, Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, Finland.
• Antti Siipo, Project Researcher, Leaf Research Infrastructure, University of Oulu, Finland.

Course teachers:

• Dr. Azzurra Morreale, Associate Professor, LUT University, Finland
• Dr. Héctor Pijeira-Díaz, Assistant Professor, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
• Dr. Magnus Söderlund, Professor, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
• Dr. Annmarie Ryan, Associate Professor, University of Limerick, Ireland
• Dr. Richard Bagozzi, Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, United States
• Dr. Eeva-Liisa Oikarinen, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Oulu, Oulu Business School
• MBA Mohsin Abdur Rehman, Doctoral Researcher, University of Oulu, Oulu Business School
• Antti Siipo, Project Researcher, Leaf Research Infrastructure, University of Oulu
• M.Sc. Egle Gedmiene, Doctoral Researcher, University of Oulu, Faculty of Education and Psychology
• Dr. Jonna Malmberg, Assistant Professor, University of Oulu, Faculty of Education and Psychology
• Dr. Andy Nguyen, Assistant Professor, University of Oulu, Faculty of Education and Psychology
• Dr. Justin Edwards, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Oulu, Faculty of Education and Psychology
• Dr. Tapio Seppänen, Professor, University of Oulu, Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering