Ayu has over 15 years of experience across industry, international organizations, and academia.

She obtained her PhD in International (Development) Studies from the University of Tokyo, Japan, in 2016, Master of Arts in International Business and Development Studies from Sophia University, Japan, in 2011, and Bachelor of Business (Honours) from Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, in 2007.

She was a visiting scholar at the Australian National University (2019) and the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (2022); as well as visiting lecturer at Turku University of Applied Sciences (2017), University of Helsinki Ruralia Institute (2023), and University of Namibia (2025).

She has previously worked with Unilever, McKinsey & Company, and Millward Brown (Kantar Group), serving major clients such as Fonterra, Reckitt Benckiser, Danone (Kraft), Procter & Gamble, as well as governments and financial institutions (2005-2008). She then transitioned to academia as a research analyst at the National University of Singapore (2009).

During her PhD, she worked as a consultant for the World Bank Group, contributing to the Doing Business report and collaborating with the International Finance Corporation to improve investment promotion and facilitation by the Indonesian government. She also assisted in harmonizing governance and policies to scale small and medium-sized enterprises in Indonesia (2013-2015).

Ayu has been a project researcher at Turku University of Applied Sciences (2017-2019), working on developing the competence of professionals working with migrant youth in Europe (PAPYRUS project: https://papyrus-project.org/)  and a research consultant with the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) (2018-2022).

She is a trained development economist, with a research interest lies at the intersection of microeconomics and sustainable development to achieve Agenda 2030. In her dissertation, she united these strands of approaches to explore the role of social networks in sustainable technology diffusion and adoption in Indonesia and Ethiopia through a randomized controlled trial.

She has been working primarily on the following research projects:

(1) Heterogenous effects on gender and migrants on sustainable production and consumption in Finland and Indonesia (funded by Maj and Tor Nessling Foundation, 2020-2023)

(2) Good and bad palm oil: Food security, paradigm shift and stakeholder negotiations in Indonesia and the EU (funded by KONE Foundation, 2023-2027)

(3) Market information and climate-smart practices of Indonesian aquaculture communities: Exploring the effects of an Online Community of Practices (international collaboration with JIRCAS, the University of Tokyo, and Hitotsubashi University, funded by Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences, 2020-2023)

(4) Community-driven tree planting for sustainable forestry in Namibia (led by the University of Turku Biodiversity unit, funded by the Ministry of Education and Culture Global Pilot seed funding, 2024).  

(5) Strengthening social resilience and security of supply in global stakeholder collaboration (funded by Foundation for Economic Education, 2025-2026)

(6) Carbon Garden – towards enhanced understanding of the interactions between trees, the environment, and society (led by the University of Turku Biodiversity unit, funded by Turku University Foundation/Turun Yliopistosäätiö, 2025-2027)

Courses she is presently teaching:

TME2 Globalisation and Corporate Responsibility (Spring 2020 - present) --5 ECTS (Responsible teacher)

TMSe2 Climate Change and Trade in the Global South (Fall 2020 - present) --6 ECTS (Responsible teacher)

PASI5236 / PASI5237 Urban Southeast Asia (Fall 2023 - present) --1+2+2 ECTS (Responsible teacher)

TM9 Political Economy of Latin America and the Carribean (Spring 2025) --1 ECTS (co-instructor, main teacher: Prof Lucas Ronconi)

TMS9 Labour Market Institutions in Low and Middle Income Countries (Spring 2025) --1 ECTS (co-instructor, main teacher: Prof Lucas Ronconi)