Professor Mari Walls is the President of Tampere University. Tampere University was formed in 2019 in a merger between the former Tampere University of Technology and University of Tampere. Tampere University is one of the most multidisciplinary universities in Finland bringing together research and education in technology, health and society. Tampere University is a community of around 22,000 students and over 4000 staff members.
Mari Walls worked previously as the first President and CEO of the Natural Resources Institute Finland. Previously, she has worked, among others, as the Director of the Marine Research Centre in the Finnish Environment Institute, as Professor of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences at the University of Turku, and as Programme Director at the Academy of Finland. She has hold a several positions of trust including serving as a Chairman of the Board of Tampere University of Applied Sciences and of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, as Member of the Board of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Technology Academy Finland Millennium Prize and the University of Oulu.