A conversation with Elja Arjas (Helsinki, November 2021 and March 2022)

Statistics as an independent scientific discipline is relatively young in Finland. Its active history stretches back roughly a century, with the past 50 years signifying a period of growth. Few other academics such as Elja Arjas, now professor emeritus at University of Helsinki, have played a prominent role in establishing statistics in Finland. This conversation tries to illuminate how this came to happen and what was needed to push statistics as a discipline to a firmer ground. We do not have a looking glass at our disposal but will nevertheless also try make some predictions about the future.