Professor Tapio Varis is an expert in media and e-learning solutions. He held the Chair of Professional Education, focusing on global learning environments at the Research Centre for Vocational Education of the University of Tampere (Finland), and served as the UNESCO Chair in Global E-Learning. Varis has been a member of various bodies such as the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, the European Commission Media Literacy Expert Group, and the Digital Literacy Expert Group. Currently, he serves as the acting President of the Global University System (GUS) and holds the position of Media Scholar at the Universities of Helsinki and Lapland, as well as the University of Art and Design in Helsinki.

Throughout his career, Varis has held notable positions including Rector of the University for Peace (Costa Rica) and Director of the Tampere Peace Research Institute. He has also been a Visiting Professor in various parts of the world and authored approximately 200 scientific articles.