Aalto Future of Work
Aalto Future of Work
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Finland Works

In this course, we will look at how to navigate Finnish working life and how to build a career. We explore working life in Finland from societal, organisational and individual perspectives. Once you have finished this course you will have a better understanding of work culture in Finland, what working in a Finnish company is like, how individuals find work-life balance in Finland, how to communicate your skills, and how to look for jobs in Finland. The course is an open online course. The course material is divided into five (5) chapters.

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About the course

This course has been designed as a starting point for understanding Finnish working life and building your career in Finland. The course has been authored by recruitment and career specialists and complemented with stories and experiences from Aalto University international alumni. Finland Works offers you a curated collection of insights on working in Finland in an easily accessible course format, which you can complete at your own time and pace.

Finland is known as the happiest country in the world and many characteristics of Finnish working life speak for a healthy work-life balance. Nevertheless, for many international workers getting that first chance in the Finnish labour market can be sometimes tricky. The course offers Finnish working life perspectives from societal, organisational and individual levels as well as practical know-how.

At a glance

  • Subject: Career Design
  • Level: Introductory
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Language: English
  • Course code: MNGT-C1005

Enrolment options

For lifewide learners: Register here to create an account. After logging in, click on Finland Works, and press ‘Take this Course’ on the left. After successfully completing the course you can download an official Aalto University course Certificate with a unique verification code.

For Aalto University degree students: In order to receive 2 ECTS and a course Certificate, first enrol on the course Finland Works MNGT-C1005 on Sisu. If you only want to have the Certificate without ECTS, don’t enrol on Sisu. Then, register here to create an account using your Aalto email. After logging in, click on Finland Works, and press ‘Take this Course’ on the left.

For students from other Finnish universities / higher education institutes (HEIs) and UNITE! network universities: We have stopped giving out official study transcripts for free as of December 1st 2023. You can ask your home university whether they accept the certificate for credit transfer.

How to complete the course

This course consists of five chapters and each chapter has a varying number of sections. After each section, there is either a quiz or an open-ended assignment so that you can reflect on what you have learned. You can choose between reading the course content or listening to it in a podcast format. Each chapter has a “must read” and a “good reads” reading list. In order to complete the course, you will have to complete all the quizzes and open-ended questions. You will need to study the “must read” reading list in order to complete the quizzes.

After successfully completing the course you can download an official Aalto University course Certificate with a unique verification code.

You can share your course certificates in the Certifications section of your LinkedIn profile, on printed resumes, CVs, or other documents.

Read more about the Certificates.

What you will learn

  • Identify the characteristics of Finnish working life and how Finland compares to other countries in terms of work culture
  • Understand the dynamics of Finnish organisations and how to work as a team member
  • Understand how Finns find balance between work and other responsibilities in life and take care of their well-being holistically
  • Recognise needs for continuous skills development and life-long learning, and how to communicate your skill set to potential employers
  • Understand how to find a job in Finland, what kind of employment and entrepreneurial opportunities exist and how to develop your networks

About the authors

Regina Casteleijn-Osorno is a Senior Program Manager for the ITP Summer School minor at Aalto University with a long history in teaching and a passion for pedagogy. She has been teaching in higher education and companies for the last two years and has a keen interest in developing entrepreneurship. She has also had her own small business for many years. Regina is about to embark on her PhD journey at the University of Turku School of Economics in the Department of Entrepreneurship. Work-life balance is essential to her, and it is always worth mentioning she is a mother of three lovely active and curious children.

Peter Kenttä

Peter Kenttä (D.Sc.) is a visiting lecturer at Aalto University and a management educator at Filosofian Akatemia. He has a decade of private sector experience in educating management teams and middle managers in leadership and organisational development. At Aalto University, Peter teaches Leading as Practice, Leadership Theory and Advanced Personal Leadership. His typical research topics include leadership, well-being at work, and interpersonal communication. He is currently researching how management education and research could be made more impactful and relevant considering the grand challenges of our time. He lives in Singapore.

Tanja Makkonen is a Senior Manager in Career Services at Aalto University School of Business. She has been planning, implementing and developing the services related to Aalto University students’ career planning and job hunting for more than ten years. She is an experienced career coach and trainer. Tanja has been working closely with students, employers and the School’s alumni. She has also contributed to many career-related projects within the university as well as at the national level. Tanja is an active member in national collaboration networks related to career services, career design, and employment & career monitoring.

Kaisa Paasivirta is a Manager of the International Talent Program at Aalto University. Her work focuses on helping international students to connect with industry and build meaningful careers in Finland. Kaisa has extensive experience in designing and delivering career services for international students. She collaborates closely with Aalto’s partner companies and alumni. Kaisa has led a Talent Boost project for Aalto University, contributing actively towards international talent attraction and retention activities in the Finnish capital region.

Niina Pitkänen is a Work-Life Specialist who has worked at top Finnish Universities for over ten years. She has been designing, developing and teaching numerous work-life courses from life design and job hunting to mentoring skills, entrepreneurship and multidisciplinary project work with companies. In leading, expert, and coordination roles, Niina has also participated in many national initiatives concerning work-life pedagogy and entrepreneurship in higher education. In addition to specialising in work-life pedagogy and company collaboration in higher education, she is an educated business advisor, mentor, and life skills instructor. Regarding work-life balance, Niina is a mother of three lovely boys. 

Laura Sivula

Laura Sivula is the Head of Summer School and Program Director at Aalto University School of Business. Her current work focuses on future skills, life-wide learning and higher education development. Laura has worked with companies and partners with co-learning initiatives at Aalto University and witnessed the intertwining relationship of business and higher education.

Saku Tihveräinen

Saku Tihveräinen is a professional recruiter with ten years of experience. The recruitment career has taken Saku to in-house roles both in the public and private sectors. Saku has worked in IT recruitment for the last four years, gradually shifting focus from in-house to consultant roles. Concurrent to work, Saku works on his PhD research at Helsinki University, collaborating with Edinburgh Business School. His research focuses on recruitment and how people choose jobs, especially in the so-called shortage occupations.

Student support

All student questions to futurework@aalto.fi (Finnish, Swedish and English).

Contributors

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