Jani Kaasinen

Generalist would be the word to describe me. I have always done lot's of different things and my path seems to be full of turns and twists. When I was young I hobbied classical music and played violin. Solo, in quartet and in orchestra, theory and so on. I loved doing farm work with tractor with my grandfather or cut down timber and make firewood. I enjoy disassemble old cars and put them back together from sheet metal work to electricity, painting and motors. I love reading and learning about society and world itself from all perspectives. I like different kind of music from classical to heavy metal and I have always been interested in technology. I know basics of coding and what fuzzy logics is about. I got along very well with different kind of people when growing up whether they were rockabilly dudes, classical music enthusiasts or 90's techno fans... I have restored and built flats and houses from ground up and worked in sales in big beverage company when I was in university. When I wanted to learn how to think analytically and challenge myself, I got myself a Ph.D. And this is just a part of what I am, what I like and what I know. As a teenager this all seemed confusing. Why can't I focus on one thing like other kids or find my referance group? What is wrong with me? Later on I have realized that wide range of interests are essential part of who I am. My strength is ability to see the big picture. This is because I can look things from various aspects reflecting to my wide range of hobbies and interests. David Eppsteins book Range helped me to see my "wondering through everything" as an asset. Well, it took over four decades, but so what? Currently I work as a development director in welfare services in Joensuu city. Support services for early education and general education, various wellbeing aspects of citizens and youth services are in my field of responsibility. Working closely with education export and building municipalitys role in education business. Practising project and research co-operation with regional schools and academys. Wide range of developing tasks in municipality, participation and preventive wellbeing. Strong educational background with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Heritage building and Technology education from University of Eastern Finland. Experienced former Senior Lecturer in technology education in the higher education industry and former class room teacher and crafts teacher in elementary school. Sports, like weight lifting and aerobic training, keeps up the physical wellbeing.