Professor Pasi Sahlberg

Professor Pasi Sahlberg is a globally recognized voice on the future of education, with a focus on student agency, teacher professionalism, and equitable outcomes for all. Across a career spanning Finland, the United States, Australia, and international development, he has worked as a teacher, policymaker, researcher, author, and advisor to governments and education institutions around the world.

Professor Sahlberg began his work in education teaching mathematics and physics in Finland before moving into national education reform, academia, and global policy leadership. He has held senior positions in Finland’s education agencies, the World Bank in Washington, DC, and the European Commission in Torino. He has held several tenured professorial and visiting professorial roles, including at Harvard University and the Education University of Hong Kong. His work has contributed to international understanding of how education systems can better advance excellence and equity through relational trust, student agency, teacher professionalism, and collaboration across education systems.

Professor Sahlberg is widely known for his books Finnish Lessons, Let the Children Play, and In Teachers We Trust, which have influenced teachers, policymakers, and system leaders around the world. His contributions have been recognized with several international honours, including the Grawemeyer Award in the United States, the Lego Prize in Denmark, the Robert Owen Award in Scotland, and the Global Educator Award in Malaysia. Through his scholarship, advisory work, and public engagement, Professor Sahlberg continues to shape global conversations about education systems that help all young people learn, flourish, and build better futures. He is Professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Melbourne, where his research focuses on equity in education, international education policy, and leading future learning.