President and vice presidents 2025-2026

Key objectives

University of cultures and generations in a changing society

Researchers with different generational experiences and cultural backgrounds from both Finland and abroad study, teach, and conduct research at universities. Based on my experience, everyday interactions can sometimes be challenging. It is important that we are able to turn differences into strengths. Universities do well when the people who constitute the university community feel well.

A positive and open atmosphere is an important factor for the attractiveness of a university career. Simply moaning and groaning about money, facilities, and short-term work will not get us far. The Acatiimi magazine plays an important role in creating the university atmosphere.

The Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers should be THE university sector union that is asked to provide opinions on university policy. The challenges of the near future include the collective negotiations in the spring and the next parliamentary elections. We cannot be asked to do the impossible with stagnant resourcing. Fixed-term employment relationships should be an exception at universities, as they are in the business world.

Relevant work experience

I began my career towards the end of the 1990s as a doctoral researcher and continued in research after my thesis. I have been a university lecturer in political science since 2013 and also the Head of Division since 2015.

Key positions of trust and advocacy

• I have been a board member and active member of TURTLE for about 17 years.
• I have been a JUKO shop steward for roughly ten years, the last four of which the chief shop steward at the University of Turku. I was also involved with Akava’s regional committee for a few years. Akava has granted me two Medals of Merit.
• Positions of trust: I was a member of the University of Turku Collegiate Council for ca. 10 years. In addition, I have been a part of numerous working groups and councils as a student, personnel, and personnel group representative. I was a board member of the Finnish Political Science Association for 20 years and Vice Chair for a few years.

Links to candidate’s channels

I am active on social media currently only to document some of my hobbies.

Youtube 

Key objectives

The Union must discuss and clarify its positions on, for example, labour market policies, social security, immigration, and other legislation that directly impacts our members. We must also take a closer look at the compatibility of our advocacy and university policy goals in terms of, for example, doctoral education numbers. As a Union, we have achieved objectives, but some things change slowly. Universities still have a lot of fixed-term contracts and diverse practices as concern employment contracts, salaries, decision-making, and management. Trying to influence them must remain at the core of our operations and we need to think of new ways to do so. As a Union, we also need to be open and inclusive towards our membership, both in terms of our decision-making and participation in our activities.

Relevant work experience

• 2011–2013 Research assistant, University of Helsinki
• 2013–2017 Doctoral researcher, University of Helsinki
• 2018–2021 Post-doc researcher, University of Helsinki
• 2021–2022 University teacher, University of Jyväskylä

Key positions of trust and advocacy

• On the local level, I have been a board member of the Helsinki University Association of Researchers and Teachers as both chairperson (2019–2022) and treasurer (2022–2023). At the University of Helsinki, I have also been a shop steward (2019–2020) and deputy chief shop steward (2021) for JUKO. At FUURT, I have been a Board member (2019–2020) and deputy member (2021–2022). I was also part of the early career researchers committee, where I was responsible for the early career researcher survey and the reporting thereof, among other things.
• Within the organisational field, I have been, for example, a board member and secretary of the Finnish Mathematics and Science Education Research Association. I have also been involved in political campaigning as a campaign manager in both municipal and parliamentary elections.

Key objectives

Because of my field of research, I have an extensive knowledge base of the driving forces steering higher education policy from the global level to the institutional dimension. I have been an active member of the Board of the Finnish Union of Researchers and Teachers this term, where I have volunteered to do more than my share of work in, for example, editing and writing opinions and statements.

FUURT’s role as a higher education policy actor should be more visible and incisive, particularly in external communication. The Union should continue its good negotiation partnership with other higher education policy actors, while also clearly defending the interests of the membership without excessively seeking a consensus. The Union’s most important task is to safeguard the interests of its members, and this should be communicated clearly to both the negotiation partners and the Union membership. We need to assume a key role in higher education policy discussions and ensure that whenever the media talks about higher education and science policy, we are asked to comment.

Relevant work experience

• I work as a researcher for the Kone Foundation project Democracy in Finnish Universities: University Autonomy and the Crisis of Representative Democracy (UNIDEMO) and for the Academy of Finland project Transnational Knowledge Networks in Higher Education Policymaking (KNETS).
• On the international level I am involved in the “Higher Education Autonomy in Europe: Supranational, National and Institutional Trends (HEAE-SNIT) by the Centre for Research in Higher Education Policies (CIPES) and in the EU-funded CA22121 – Rising nationalisms, shifting geopolitics and the future of European higher education/research openness (OPEN) researcher network.

Key positions of trust and advocacy

• FUURT Union Board 2024
• TATTE board 2022–2024
• City of Tampere Culture and Leisure Committee 2024–2025
• Tampere University Faculty Council, Faculty of Education and Culture, 2023–2026
• Executive Board, Student Union of Tampere University, 2018
• Executive Board, Teacher Student Union of Finland, 2016–2017
• Akava’s Student Council 2016–2017
• OAJ’s education policy working group 2016–2017