Kari Liuhto started his academic career at Turku School of Economics in 1991. He shifted to Lappeenranta University of Technology in 1997 where he was nominated as a professor. Six years later Liuhto was invited to be the professor of Russian trade and the director of the Pan-European Institute at Turku School of Economics. Since 2011 he has also been the director of the Centrum Balticum foundation. During his career, Liuhto has acted as the responsible leader of several projects related to East-Europe and Baltic Sea region. These projects have been funded, among others, by the Prime Minister’s Office of Finland, the Parliament of Finland, several Finnish ministries, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the World Bank and the United Nations.