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I am a global and imperial historian with a long relationship to the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. I enrolled to the university in 1992 with an intention to pursue a career as a history teacher, but eventually worked as a trained teacher only a relatively short period of time. I graduated in 1998 and got job as a temporary a primary school teacher in Suonenjoki, Northern Savo, but returned to Jyväskylä already a year later to conduct postgraduate studies at what was then the Department of History.

Since then I have been fortunate to work and experience Academia from multiple perspectives – as a doctoral student, postdoctoral researcher and university lecturer. I have got something positive with me from each position. As a doctoral student I enjoyed the strong sense of fraternity among doctoral students, as a postdoc I had a change to conduct research in several universities and research institutions abroad and learned the importance of open-mindedness in Academia and as a lecturer I feel privileged to teach and tutor students as exited about history as I am.

My research interests cover history of forestry, history of mining, environment and Indigenous Peoples. My latest book is Paper and the British Empire: The Quest for Imperial Raw Materials, 1861–1960 (2021) In addition, I am a co-editor of a Finnish Colonial Encounters: From Anti-Imperialism, Cultural Colonialism and Complicity (2021). Currently I am writing a book on colonialism and economic development in the mineral-rich region of Central Africa known as the Cobberbelt. As a part of this research, I am currently a Guest Professor at Osaka University, Global History Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI).

I like to spent my free time repairing vintage hifi, doing handyman jobs at our cabin and engaging in local history projects at my home region in Savo.