The interdisciplinary vision of the future that inspired the formation of Aalto University has arrived. This has profound implications for undergraduate education, says the university’s President, Tuula Teeri. Students must be equipped to re-invent themselves, she tells Science|Business
Five years after Aalto University was formed from leading institutions of economics, technology, and art and design, its pioneering first President, Tuula Teeri, is convinced that Europe’s competitiveness hangs on taking an interdisciplinary approach to unleashing the creative energy of students.
In common with its peers across Europe, Aalto is confronting a fall in public funding at a time when there is increasing pressure to compete internationally, and to equip students with the skills needed to survive and prosper in a fluid and shifting jobs market.
Teeri believes the key to addressing these challenges is to immerse students in an “entrepreneurial shower,” letting them loose on solving problems, sharing knowledge and turning ideas into products.
Undergraduates should be viewed as trusted partners in education. “In this day and age we cannot easily prepare students for a ‘regular’ career path because we don’t know how to think of the future,” Teeri says. Students have a clearer vision of the future and the capabilities needed to embrace it. “Basically we have to offer an education that gives them enough options to create their own curriculum,” Teeri believes.
Better than the competition
Change is both a “huge challenge” and “a necessity” if universities are to survive and compete, Teeri told Science|Business. Speaking at the Academic Excellence Awards held earlier this month at the Technical University of Berlin, Teeri said, “Without excellence, without unique capabilities, Europe is not going to rise. In everything we do, we have to be better than our competitors.”
Aalto University was established in 2010 through the merger of three Helsinki institutions, the School of Economics, the University of Technology and the University of Art and Design. As its first president, Teeri has promoted interdisciplinary education, research and collaboration, with partners in chemistry, computer science, energy, engineering and electronics and medical technologies.
Teeri’s move to put in place a more entrepreneurially-driven approach to the curriculum has not been universally popular. Resistance has come from both academics and students, who fear the loss of concentration on a single discipline, the erosion of academic independence, and the risk that companies will walk off with intellectual property funded by the public purse.
Talk to industry
There has also been criticism that business collaboration gives the private sector too much influence over education. “I happen to believe in a university which is developing technology and business models,” Teeri says. “We can’t do that without industry partners. How do you do research on business models, if you don’t talk to industry?”
Which is not the same as saying there are no lessons to be learned from Finland’s bad experiences of collaboration between academe and industry, with the precipitous fall of the home grown technology giant Nokia, being a particular case in point.
Universities were accustomed to equipping students to work for Nokia in the company’s former position as one of the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers. “Now we have a little bit of a problem,” Teeri said. “Of course we still have Nokia, but with a different portfolio. A lot of engineers are becoming unemployed and need retraining.”
To avoid such a mismatch in the future, Teeri advocates a “generic” education in which students are taught critical thinking, enterprise and problem-solving. “Let’s face it, we don’t know in which industries they are going to be working in five or ten years [after they graduate], or when they are in their prime in 20 to 25 years.”
Re-invent yourself
The answer is the give Aalto’s graduates the possibility of re-inventing themselves. “We have to give them skills to adapt to different kinds of jobs that they will be [doing] during their careers.”
Employers appear to welcome the approach, telling Aalto they need graduates who have a good science and technology base, communication and leadership skills, and are open-minded.
The university’s pedagogy transcends disciplines, encouraging students to work in teams with business partners under the supervision of professors, brainstorming ideas and shaping new products in the Aalto Design Factory.
As one example of the success of this approach, Teeri points to Maija Itkonen, the founder of Powerkiss, a start-up which developed a universal charging station for mobile phones. The company was acquired by firm Powermat last year.
Handling uncertainty
Teeri, who previously was deputy president of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, is first to admit she has detractors. But she says, universities have to be more creative, and focus on educating students who are nimble, flexible and able to handle uncertainty.
“Think of what students will have to do when they enter the job market: it’s very, very unlikely they’re going to be working 20 years for the same company, because the company lifetime is not going to be 20 years,” Teeri said. “They’re going to have to use this skill of recreating themselves over and over in their life, during their different careers. It’s not one career anymore, it is several careers.”
In common with its peers across Europe, Aalto is confronting a fall in public funding at a time when there is increasing pressure to compete internationally, and to equip students with the skills needed to survive and prosper in a fluid and shifting jobs market.
Teeri believes the key to addressing these challenges is to immerse students in an “entrepreneurial shower,” letting them loose on solving problems, sharing knowledge and turning ideas into products.
Undergraduates should be viewed as trusted partners in education. “In this day and age we cannot easily prepare students for a ‘regular’ career path because we don’t know how to think of the future,” Teeri says. Students have a clearer vision of the future and the capabilities needed to embrace it. “Basically we have to offer an education that gives them enough options to create their own curriculum,” Teeri believes.
Better than the competition
Change is both a “huge challenge” and “a necessity” if universities are to survive and compete, Teeri told Science|Business. Speaking at the Academic Excellence Awards held earlier this month at the Technical University of Berlin, Teeri said, “Without excellence, without unique capabilities, Europe is not going to rise. In everything we do, we have to be better than our competitors.”
Aalto University was established in 2010 through the merger of three Helsinki institutions, the School of Economics, the University of Technology and the University of Art and Design. As its first president, Teeri has promoted interdisciplinary education, research and collaboration, with partners in chemistry, computer science, energy, engineering and electronics and medical technologies.
Teeri’s move to put in place a more entrepreneurially-driven approach to the curriculum has not been universally popular. Resistance has come from both academics and students, who fear the loss of concentration on a single discipline, the erosion of academic independence, and the risk that companies will walk off with intellectual property funded by the public purse.
Talk to industry
There has also been criticism that business collaboration gives the private sector too much influence over education. “I happen to believe in a university which is developing technology and business models,” Teeri says. “We can’t do that without industry partners. How do you do research on business models, if you don’t talk to industry?”
Which is not the same as saying there are no lessons to be learned from Finland’s bad experiences of collaboration between academe and industry, with the precipitous fall of the home grown technology giant Nokia, being a particular case in point.
Universities were accustomed to equipping students to work for Nokia in the company’s former position as one of the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers. “Now we have a little bit of a problem,” Teeri said. “Of course we still have Nokia, but with a different portfolio. A lot of engineers are becoming unemployed and need retraining.”
To avoid such a mismatch in the future, Teeri advocates a “generic” education in which students are taught critical thinking, enterprise and problem-solving. “Let’s face it, we don’t know in which industries they are going to be working in five or ten years [after they graduate], or when they are in their prime in 20 to 25 years.”
Re-invent yourself
The answer is the give Aalto’s graduates the possibility of re-inventing themselves. “We have to give them skills to adapt to different kinds of jobs that they will be [doing] during their careers.”
Employers appear to welcome the approach, telling Aalto they need graduates who have a good science and technology base, communication and leadership skills, and are open-minded.
The university’s pedagogy transcends disciplines, encouraging students to work in teams with business partners under the supervision of professors, brainstorming ideas and shaping new products in the Aalto Design Factory.
As one example of the success of this approach, Teeri points to Maija Itkonen, the founder of Powerkiss, a start-up which developed a universal charging station for mobile phones. The company was acquired by firm Powermat last year.
Handling uncertainty
Teeri, who previously was deputy president of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, is first to admit she has detractors. But she says, universities have to be more creative, and focus on educating students who are nimble, flexible and able to handle uncertainty.
“Think of what students will have to do when they enter the job market: it’s very, very unlikely they’re going to be working 20 years for the same company, because the company lifetime is not going to be 20 years,” Teeri said. “They’re going to have to use this skill of recreating themselves over and over in their life, during their different careers. It’s not one career anymore, it is several careers.”
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