Pro Gradu Award to Natalia Edelmann
Each year, the Finnish Centre for Pensions grants a Pro Gradu Award to a distinguished Master’s thesis. This year, the award was granted to a thesis from the Tampere University on rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system. The author of the winning thesis, Natalia Edelmann, has a clear vision: she wants to prevent discontinued rehabilitations.
In her Master’s thesis, Natalia Edelmann uses statistical methods to investigate factors that affect the success of rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system.
The subject of the thesis is current and challenging, and it has been carefully anchored in the social and scientific discussion.
Edelmann skilfully utilised extensive data in her thesis. The results of the work can be used in the development of the rehabilitation process.
“We are delighted to have received so many excellent nominees for the Pro Gradu Award. Each of them had their own merits. Edelmann’s thesis is special because it is so topical and its subject is significant,” explains Susan Kuivalainen, Head of Research at the Finnish Centre for Pensions.
Analyst wants to reduce number of discontinued rehabilitations
Edelmann, who works at Elo Mutual Pensions Insurance Company, found and interest in rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension scheme through her work.
She used to work as a pension handler, but after finishing her studies, she was hired on a permanent basis as an analyst at Elo and is greatly enjoying her work.
She wants to use the thesis to improve the rehabilitation process and make it more functional and efficient. Edelmann is particularly interested in reducing the number of discontinued rehabilitations.
“Rehabilitation within the earnings-related pension system is efficient, but there is always room for improvement. I am interested in finding out the reasons for discontinued rehabilitations and how they could be prevented,” she says.
Interesting and high-quality nominees for the award
The Finnish Centre for Pensions received a total of six nominees for the Pro Gradu Award. The themes of the theses varied from rehabilitation to partial old-age pension and competition between earnings-related pension companies.
The theses were reviewed by director Mikael Forss (Dr. Pol. Sc.), who retired from Kela in 2018. He found all nominated theses interesting and well written.
The Pro Gradu Award of the Finnish Centre for Pensions is granted to a thesis on a topic of interest to pension provision, accepted at a Finnish university in the previous calendar year. The discipline is not limited.
The award is 2,000 euros.
Natalia Edelmann’s Masters’ thesis (in Finnish) in Tampere University Institutional Repository