I work as professor of educational sciences at the University of Turku, Department of Education, Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning and Education (CELE). I am head of CELE and also deputy head for research at the Department of Education. I am also the director of KEVEKO (Doctoral programme on Educational Policy, Lifelong Learning and Comparative Education Research). I hold the title of docent in adult education at the University of Helsinki. 

I defended my doctoral dissertation at the University of Helsinki in 2010 in the field of adult education. In 2010-2011 I worked as a coordinator of doctoral studies and in 2012-2013 as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki. In 2014-2022 I worked as a senior researcher at the University of Eastern Finland, School of Educational Sciences and Psychology. And in 2022-2024 I worked as associate professor at the Deaprtment of Education, University of Turku.

I was the chair of The Finnish Society for Research on Adult Education between 2020-2025 and a member of ESREA presidium between 2023-2025.

My research interests include adult and higher education, employability, academic entrepreneurship, narrative research and social differences related to age, gender and class. I have been involved in two consortium research projects funded by the Academy of Finland: ‘Academic Entrepreneurship as a Social Process’ (ACE, 2016–2020) and ‘Higher Education Graduates’ Employability and Social Positioning in the Labour Market’ (HighEmploy, 2018–2022). I was the PI and the leader of the HighEmploy project. I also led the research project on 'Lean thinking in knowledge work and employees' experiences of meaningful work' (2023-2025) funded by the Finnish Work Environment Fund. I have published in the fields of adult and higher education including three books: Huiputuksen moraalijärjestys (Moral order of top-performativity) in 2019; New movements in academic entrepreneurship in 2021 and Rethinking graduate employability in context: Discourse, policy and practice in 2023. 

My interest areas in teaching include adult and higher education and narrative and discursive research methods. I supervise master's theses and PhD research.