What is the Persona Team about?
“Data-Driven Personas for Sustainable Growth” (Persona Team, for short!) is a research team (or “lab”, in American terms) at the University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland. We study data-driven personas in a range of applications from computer systems to marketing and sustainability. We’re a cross-disciplinary and fun team that appreciates HARD WORK. The roots of the team are at the Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) where Jim, Joni, and Soon worked on data-driven personas since early 2017. Over the years, we’ve published more than a 100 peer-reviewed research articles on personas and a textbook on data-driven personas. The Persona Team has been under the university of Vaasa since 2024.
For Academic Collaborators
We are open for collaboration with academic and non-academic groups and individuals. Personas represent real groups of people to help decision-makers make informed decisions. Data-driven personas are based on real data about people. Our team studies computational approaches to persona creation, evaluation, and application using state-of-the-art techniques, such as Generative AI. Our team members come from various backgrounds (e.g., marketing, computer science, engineering) and study personas in multiple contexts, including sustainable business growth. We can help teams, individuals, and organizations create and validate their personas.
For Aspiring Doctoral Students
We welcome applications from students in any major (but with an emphasis on business and computer science fields). Our team is built around a strong collaborative attitude and support for newcomers to be integrated into our on-going research. We expect a strong work ethic and willingness to work for a common cause (see a description of the “persona” of our team members!). In return, we provide:
- Hands-on opportunity to learn professional research skills (e.g., user studies, experiments, statistical analysis) in collaboration with more experienced researchers.
- Flexible work arrangements, including part-time studies.
See our current topical areas and subteams. Send an email to Dr. Joni Salminen (jonisalm@uwasa.fi) if you are interested in joining our team as a PhD candidate! (edit: as of October 2026, we currently do not have funded positions available. Open for collaboration, though!)
For Industry Collaborators
We are open to research collaboration and consultation that delivers real-world impact. Our team can help you better understand your customers, users, or stakeholders, and make informed decisions based on this understanding. Personas can be used in many settings, including marketing, advertising, retail, e-commerce, education, public health, technology and software development, among others.
We can help with designing data collection activities, carrying out persona generation, and training you to leverage personas in practical decision-making. We can also model a whole industry ecosystem as personas, which can be useful for simulating the impact of strategic decisions. Reach out to Joni Salminen (jonisalm@uwasa.fi) if you are interested in learning more!
We thank the organizations that are providing or have provided support to make Persona Team’s work possible:
