Heidi Westerlund is Professor at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland, where she is responsible for the music education doctoral studies. Her research interests include music teacher education, higher music education, collaborative learning, cultural diversity and democracy in music education. She has published over 140 articles and book chapters and has served as the Editor-in-chief of the Finnish Journal of Music Education since 2007.  She is the co-editor of Collaborative Learning in Higher Music Education (2013, Ashgate),  Music, Education, and Religion: Intersections and Entanglements (2019, Indiana University Press), Visions for Intercultural Music Teacher Education (2020, Springer), The Politics of Diversity in Music Education (2021, Springer), and Expanding Professionalism in Music and Higher Music Education–A Changing Game (2021, Routledge). She is currently the lead-PI of Music Education, Professionalism, and Eco-Politics (EcoPolitics, 2021-25) funded by the Academy of Finland and the Co-PI in Music for Social Impact: Practitioners' Contexts, Work, and Beliefs (2020-22), led by J. Sloboda and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK. In 2022, she is acting as the Chair of Center for Educational Research and Academic Development in the Arts (CERADA) of the University of the Arts Helsinki.