University of Lapland | Törhönen still demands the annulment of the decision to reject his dissertation

Film director Lauri Törhönen applies for an appeal against the evaluation decision made by the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lapland from the University's Appeal Board. Törhönen demands the annulment of the decision to reject his dissertation.

According to the university, the exact processing time for the processing of Törhönen's appeal is not yet known.

Törhönen's dissertation was rejected at the University of Lapland in December. Törhönen applied for a correction to the decision, which was rejected by the University of Lapland on January 18. Törhönen has had the opportunity to appeal the rectification decision from the appeal board of the University of Lapland within 14 days.

The dissertation deals with the work processes of a Finnish film director. Rejection of a dissertation by the faculty council is exceptional.

The university of Lapland announced at the beginning of January, that an investigation will be started into the suspected violation of good scientific practice (HTK) related to Törhönen's dissertation work. Two notices of suspected infringement had been filed regarding Törhönen's dissertation process.

In the announcements, suspicions were raised about the negligence of the author of the dissertation, supervisors and preliminary examiners, as well as the obstruction of the preliminary examiners. After the announcements, the University of Lapland started a preliminary inquiry into the matter.

According to the university, the investigation must be carried out within three months of the assignment, after which the university's rector decides whether a violation has occurred.

According to the guidelines of the Research Ethics Advisory Board, the group must have knowledge of the relevant scientific field, jurisprudence, HTK guidelines and the HTK process, as well as other necessary expertise.