At the University of Helsinki I have followed the classical path of researching the history of philosophy and political thought shown by scholars such as Matti Viikari, Simo Knuuttila and Juha Sihvola. This includes certain concrete steps: like many of my study mates, I became interested in philosophy and political thinking at the beginning of my studies.

Whereas the path of the history of philosophy and political thought has been trodden at the University of Helsinki since the 17th century, digital humanities are a relatively new phenomenon both in a university context and for me personally.

I believe in a traditional university institution: the seminar. Witnessing the intellectual growth of talented students and contributing to it are the best things university teaching can offer a teacher. I also want to do my part in passing on the tradition of humanities research to the students, just like…

I entered the field of open science as something of an outsider, but I quickly got to grips with it through research communities such as Open Knowledge Finland (ry). A factor in open science which strengthens team spirit is the occasional flash of pure joy at being able to practise it, and the belief in the new.

In the spring of 2015, I was appointed acting professor of digital material research. This also opened the door to my participation in the institutional development of digital humanities, inter alia by planning teaching in digital humanities...

The arrival of digital humanities in my own research field has also changed methods of communication. Lately, one of the most central communication media has become the IRC channel, which I last used as a teenager.

It is no secret that a humanities scholar must always engage in a dialogue with uncertainty. For world-class scholars, however specialised or broad their field of research, the threat of having to resort to handouts from Kela corrodes the soul.