Stories from alumni and students
Student Zachary Burda wants to develop robots that make people's everyday lives easier
Zachary studies automation and robotics and he has admired Aalto's modern and entrepreneur-friendly outlook since he was in upper secondary school
Alumna Tuuli Hakkarainen: To know your strengths, you need to get to know yourself first
Unlike most of her fellow students, School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna Tuuli Hakkarainen chose an academic career path. She defended her dissertation in December 2020, and in her doctoral thesis she examined expertise sharing within multinational corporations.
School of Business student story: Rainer Kravets
Student of the BScBA Program, Rainer Kravets interviews sustainability managers from successful Nordic businesses in his podcast. Studying in English gave him the confidence to start the podcast: “Without developing my language and communication skills, I would not have been able to do it.”
Alumna Elina Lamponen: Internships and other jobs during your studies are a good way to try out different things
School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna Elina Lamponen gives current students a valuable piece of advice regarding working during studies: “Try to get a job at a smaller company. The company might not seem as prestigious as bigger companies, but the duties are usually more varied, and you get to see and do more and get responsibility early on.”
School of Business student story: Osama Hamoud
Osama Hamoud, a 3rd year student of the Bachelor's Program in International Business never thought he could stay away from home for too long: “Despite being thousands of kilometres away from Cairo, Mikkeli still feels like home thanks to our amazing community.”
Alumna Tiina Palmunen: Presentation, cooperation and teamwork skills are crucial in working life
Our alumna Tiina Palmunen became interested in Kesko’s trainee program when she met with an HR representative of that company at Aalto Summer Job Day. At her current position as HR Specialist at Employee Responsibility at Kesko, she works with diversity and inclusion matters.
Alumnus Pekka Lehtinen: Network as much as you can during the studies and after, widen your perspective
School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumnus Pekka Lehtinen has had a long career and he continues to value the skills he gathered during studies: ”Teamwork and the skill to think outside the box have brought the biggest insights into my career.”
School of Business student story: Ni Nguyen
Studying in the Bachelor's Program in International Business has made Ni Nguyen more confident: “Public speaking used to be my biggest fear but now, the shaking voice and tensed facial muscles during presentations have vanished.”
School of Business student story: Kaisar Bilal
For Kaisar Bilal, a 2nd year student, studying in the Bachelor's Program in International Business has been an eye-opening experience: "Mikkeli community has taught me that studying is indeed fun and manageable."
Tuomas Sandholm applies game theory in his companies and encourages everyone to study AI
Sandholm, the Alumnus of the Year at Aalto University School of Science 2019, was recently named among the 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs of the year in the United States
Alumna Mari Sederholm: In life and business it is all about teamwork and continuous learning
School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumna Mari Sederholm has had a long career in the pharmaceutical industry. Business studies helped her to pursue her dream career: “You will learn general skills that are useful in life no matter what you will do in your career and in which ever field.”
School of Business Alumni Advisory Board member's story: Alexei Koveshnikov
Alexei Koveshnikov, who is our alumnus and Associate Professor in Management and Organization at the School of Business, became also a member of our School’s Alumni Advisory Board in fall 2020. He encourages students to obtain meta-skills and meta-competences, which are invaluable in today’s business life.
‘The atmosphere at Aalto is comfortable and you can do things at your own pace’
Thong Tran, the first graduate with a major in Data Science, shares his experiences on studying at Aalto University
Studies opened the doors to the world of programming for Veera Ihalainen
With Digital Systems and Design as her major, Veera has particularly liked the project courses and programming, even though she does not have a background in coding
School of Business student story: Veikka Partanen
Veikka Partanen, a 2nd year student of the Bachelor's Program in International Business and a part-time entrepreneur, has learned how to balance between school and his business: “My time in Mikkeli has taught me that anything is possible if you have the passion for it.”
Alumnus Niko Marjomaa: International Business Program prepares you for the real business world
School of Business, Mikkeli Campus alumnus Niko Marjomaa found a way to combine the fields of business and security: “Through my experiences I saw the opportunities to think about security little bit differently than the majority in the industry.”
A glimpse of the future through lenses of today
With the coronavirus pandemic still impacting our lives in different areas, Aalto created an opportunity to know future perspectives through its alumni community's lenses.
Alumna Minna Kuusisto: The most beneficial aspects of my studies were the continuous challenging of oneself and learning to learn
Our Economics alumna Minna Kuusisto, who works as an Economist at Finnfund, has gained experience from banking, sustainable business consulting and development financing in her career, among other things. “My advice is: be curious and network with those people whose career paths you find interesting, already during your study time. Almost everybody will be delighted by a coffee or lunch invitation”.
Parallel paths: Designer and materials scientist conjure up glimmering colours out of wood
Designer Noora Yau and materials scientist Konrad Klockars have used wood to conjure up a colour, which is transparent yet glows like a copepod in shallow water. The pair’s good chemistry and open attitude towards asking silly questions is a great help in their work.
Alumnus Ville Vahteri: The opportunity cost of becoming an entrepreneur as a student is often at its lowest level
Our alumnus Ville Vahteri, who studied marketing at the School of Business, was actively involved in organizing the startup event Slush throughout his studies. Emboldened by the experience, he co-founded Bou, a brand company, together with his Slush colleagues.
