The University of Helsinki has been a part of the history of my family for generations. When my grandfather, Antero Manninen, announced his retirement after 49 years of faithful service, the then Rector, straight-talking Ernst Palmén, let loose with the traditional Finnish swearword “Perkele!” Thus it was self-evident to all that I too would end up a researcher at the University. Since it is impossible for a young man at that age to follow expectations, I rebelled by enrolling at the Helsinki School of Economics. I managed to get halfway through my studies before I understood that would not provide me with a secure future. I switched over to the University, where I had already been taking classes in Latin and Ancient Greek on the side. So I have a risk-averse nature.

In those days the United Kingdom was seen as a model nation, where a classical education would qualify you for a career in banking, administration, and diplomacy. Although some voices claimed that was the very reason for the fall of the British Empire. Be that as it may, in the University I dabbled in administration in addition to research and teaching. In 1998–99 I organised the first ever evaluation of research in the University of Helsinki, which gave me the chance to visit every department together with a team of international evaluators. After that, I drafted the plan that in 2001 led to the establishment of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, an interdisciplinary institute for humanities and social sciences. The support of Rector Kari Raivio and my own Faculty was crucial for success, as not all the Faculties were equally convinced of the merit of the idea.

All this mucking about in the world of economics and administration finally led to my appointment as Secretary General of the Finnish Cultural Foundation. By amusing coincidence, my predecessor, Paavo Hohti, had come from the same department, even if a classical education was not a requirement. Since then administration has been my job and research my hobby.