I am University Lecturer and Academic Director of the Master’s Degree Programme in East Asian Studies at the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS). Before joining the University of Turku I was a researcher and lecturer at the Department of East Asian Studies of the University of Vienna. Between 2018 and 2021, I was a Co-Researcher at the Korean Studies unit of the University of Frankfurt (AKS-2018-INC-2230006). Since 2019, I have been part of a multidisciplinary research collaboration coordinated by California State University, Sacramento and funded by AKS and the AAS Northeast Asia Council. I am a member of the Scientific Advisory Board (wissenschaftlicher Beirat) of the German Association for Asian Studies. I have a doctoral degree in East Asian Economy and Society and a M.A. degree in Political Science. I spent more than five years of my professional career in Korea. I managed various capacity building projects in North Korea and also facilitated three EU-DPRK Economic Workshops in North Korea. I am also a Education Programme Associate with the non-profit initiative Global Humanitarian Engagement. 

My current research concerns development assistance and institutions, questions of ownership in aid relationships as well as North Korea's socioeconomic transformation. 

My teaching includes courses on Korean contemporary history and the politics, society and economy of North and South Korea, as well as project management. In 2018, 2019 and 2020, I was awarded CEAS Teacher of the Year by Taotao Student Club.