Juho Hamari

Juho Hamari is a Professor of Gamification at the Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences, Tampere University. He leads the Research Centre of Gameful Realities and the Gamification Group, which carry out multidisciplinary and multimethodological research on gamification, game-based learning, motivational systems and extended realities (VR, AR, XR) toward ecological, economic, and social sustainability. Prof. Hamari has directed major projects under the premier Finnish funding instruments and has been supervising over 25 postdoctoral researchers and 45 doctoral students. Juho has published over 320 internationally peer-reviewed research articles and has accumulated over 60 000 citations. According to Stanford/Elsevier bibliometric analysis, he currently ranks #1 in academic impact in Finland and according to Web of Science, he is among the top 0.1% of researchers internationally in impact.
Juho will be supported in supervision by Daniel Fernández Galeote, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Gamification Group, Research Centre of Gameful Realities. Daniel has a PhD in games and gamification and a background in journalism, game design, and game studies. He has designed playful experiences ranging from AR and VR to live-action role-playing games, and his research explores how play, games, and gamification support engagement with complex sustainability issues. His contribution to supervision includes aspects of ethical gamification design, user experience, and empirical methods.

Juho’s research focuses on the design and impact of interactive systems that incorporate gameful elements to enhance user engagement, motivation, and behavior change. His work investigates how digital environments, such as gamified platforms, virtual reality, persuasive technologies, and quantified-self tools, can be used to support learning, productivity, health, and sustainability. He has made major theoretical and methodological contributions to understanding how users interact with technology, often blending behavioral theory with empirical research. Under his leadership, the Gamification Group has produced foundational insights that are widely used in academic, educational, and commercial contexts. Juho’s research is not only academically rigorous but also socially impactful. It supports the development of human-centered digital solutions that improve experiences in education, healthcare, and public services. His expertise contributes to the integration of behavioral science into technological design and has influenced policy, design standards, and innovation strategies across sectors.