Ib Today Jan' '09

IB TODAY

ISSUE 18

01 / 2009 9 PAGES

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PROGRAMME JYVÄSKYLÄ UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

International Business at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences – more international than ever!! First of all, we at IB Today would like to wish you a very happy and successful beginning to 2009. Indeed, this New Year has brought many changes for IB Today, and in this issue we will be highlighting the fact that despite our American “power forward” Kevin Manninen being snapped up by local development company Jyväskylä Innovation, the team behind IB’s content delivery is more international than ever. The internationality of our school has many sides – of course the international degree and exchange students who study here and our international network of partner companies and universities continue to thrive (more about both of these in the Spring ‘09 edition!), but key to the success of any international program is that those delivering the learning opportunities are international in the truest sense of the word, and this is something that we are continuously building here in IB. We wanted to use this first issue of IB Today in what is a new era for us to tell you about some of these great assets in our possession: The ex-chief's last word? We catch up with IBT’s departing editor, Kevin Manninen Steve Crawford: the man, the story and the mind A moment with Murat: Mr. Akpinar shares all A brand of his own – a lecture with Mr. Olu Raheem A cup of tea with Sam Down John Hutchins: a real life Lao Tzu? Sharon Ballard: Bettering the World one Entrepreneur at a time Introducing IB Today’s new editorial team

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This will surely be among the first magazines you’ll receive this year – we hope it’s one of the most enjoyable too. Behind this issue is our new editorial team (see page 9), who in the true spirit of IB keep the international flavor alive, representing no fewer than five nationalities! If you have any ideas for our future issues or suggestions on how we can develop this newsletter, please get in touch. In the meantime, enjoy the first installment of IB Today for the year 2009. Yours, Juha Saukkonen & Samuel Down Joint Executive Editors

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The ex-chief's last word? We catch up with IBT’s departing editor, Kevin Manninen It is once again time to say hello to Kevin Manninen, the former chief of IB Today, and ask what is going on in his life. Mr. Manninen is originally from the USA but has been living in Finland for quite a few years now. He has worked as a lecturer in JUA and is now working as a Manager of Business Development in Jyväskylä Innovation Ltd, ”business at Jyväskylä program”. The reasons behind Mr. Manninen’s choice of career were the desire to work internationally and his own international background. The Polytechnics were just being formed at the time and through some contacts he ended up in JUA. There he worked as a lecturer until he moved to teaching in the international programs which were started back in '96. As a teacher, Mr. Manninen tries to build an interest in the students to continue learning. ”What we can teach them in a classroom environment is very limited simply because of the timeframe”, says Mr. Manninen. According to him it is important to get the students to think and learn to learn. And of course, to encourage them to do so. IB Mr. Kevin Manninen claims that JUA is one of the best PolytechMr. Manninen’s motto: nics schools in Finland, if not the best. It has a good combination “Work hard, play hard!” for learning the basics of business, theory and how to apply that theory in practice. JUA’s internationality and international environment is what differentiates it from other schools that just keep the international lines to say they are international schools. Some of the other schools have no emphasis or direction, and a lack of focus and funding is what is hurting them the most. When asked about Mr. Manninen's greatest accomplishment in JUA he replied “the work I put in the development of IB line. In the end I was working more and more in developing the program and teaching was less than 50% of my work”. He also said that students should focus on the vital skills that will affect their future: communication skills, presentation skills and a sales orientated thinking and approach. He continued saying that the short time he has worked for Innova proves there is a great need for that in Central Finland, and in fact throughout the country. As he used to be the Chief Editor of IB Today he was asked how he felt now that he is being interviewed for his own magazine. With a smile on his face he answered “(I feel) good! No problems with that. I’m glad that it's continuing because this has been the only voice that we’ve had. We were neglected as a line when it came to promoting at JUA and what has been going on is we could never get a voice and this is why IB Today was started – as a Marketing tool.” In his own words he wanted to add “what we’re doing is revolutionary and yet it's credible. It has credibility. We have to remember we’re an educational institution and students should be getting good skills all around. In my new position I have really come to appreciate what IB can be. It is one of the only lines that actually give credible education and at the same time can have a practical role in helping companies. For example, the high tech management has high potential and plays a big role. “I see the important role IB can have and I'm looking forward to working with IB now from the business side.”

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Steven Crawford – The Man, The Story & The Mind Steve Crawford is a lecturer at the Jyväskylä’s University of Applied Sciences. When asked about his nationality, Steve replied: “USA by birth certificate and social programming, but my worldview is still under construction.” The Man “When I was fifteen I worked at a harness-racing horse track, cleaning dishes in the kitchen. After high school I worked on a large riverboat. My first roommate on the boat had just gotten out of prison for manslaughter. These were my Huckleberry Finn days. There I began the long road that led me to my present Kalevala days in Finland. Along the road I have worked mostly in sales and marketing. In the 80s I sold high-tech stuff to the U.S. federal government, the world’s largest customer. My primary accounts were NASA and the National Institutes of Health. Later I worked in my family-owned Marketing and Communications Company, doing everything from writing radio ad spots to producing industrial videos and magazines. Before coming to Finland I worked for some years at E.W. Scripps, a Fortune 500 media conglomerate. “I suppose my glory days were spent in Washington, D.C. working with interesting and prominent clients. I was able to work with the National Institutes of Health researchers who co-discovered the AIDS virus, and learned early on from an insider perspective that this disease was going to be a big deal. Then there was supporting various The Steve-mobile: aspects of our space program at NASA. Basically, the 80’s saw the transition from “I heard that something like sixty percent of all Rollscentralized to distributed information proc- Royce cars made since 1904 are still roadworthy, so I think that at my age this would make for a good essing in government, and mainframes choice. If, however, the doctor told me I have six became minis, became micros. Due to a months to live I would become a 1970 426 HemiReagan legislative initiative the federal government then had a large appetite for powered V8 Plymouth Road Runner.” computers, training and services. I worked two blocks from the White House and enjoyed the close proximity to many exciting places and interesting people.” The Story When asked to provide advice for today’s International Business students, Steve responded: “You need to be curious and reflexive now so that you can adjust and gradually set your compass, because your studies will inform your future goals. Get from each teacher whatever it is that they have that you do not. All teachers have experienced failures and achievements. Success in business is usually informed by some number of hard lessons learned. Put everything you can into your thesis. More than anything else you do in school the thesis is distinctly yours, and represents clearly your potential for success in the business world. Create your thesis as if your future depended on it. Get an early start. If you wait too long to begin the thesis process you may not at all like the result, or even worse you may not complete your thesis beWords to live by: “We all live on the same planet, but we each live in a different world.” fore the end of your study period.” The Mind How about Steve’s teaching philosophy? “Although I do use straight lecturing approaches, I tend to emphasize whenever possible an experiential teaching and learning approach. I prefer to teach my core courses related to culture in a workshop format so that I can more easily use this approach. I surveyed many of my students and found that most of them identified at least to some degree with a “learn-by-doing” approach, although there was a range of learning preferences cited.”

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A Moment with Murat: Mr. Akpinar shares all IB Today took some time to sit down and get to know Mr. Murat Akpinar. Currently a parttime lecturer in the International Business program at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Mr. Akpinar is also a husband and father of a lovely one year old daughter. He is a very intelligent and thoughtful man. When asked why he is teaching, Mr. Akpinar said “I have been teaching since I was a university student. Then I was tutoring privately to high school students. During 2001-2002 I was a teacher at the Turkish Voluntary Education Organization, a Turkish NGO for bringing educational opportunities to poor districts in Turkey. There I was teaching mathematics and chess to elementary school kids. I realized that I am capable of doing it, and I also enjoy it.” When asked about his teaching methods, Mr. Akpinar said: “This depends on the nature of the course. I prefer case studies in more qualitative subjects and self exercises in quantitative subjects.” Mr. Akpinar shed some light on what he hopes students get out of his courses: “I hope that they realize the importance of this time that they are investing in themselves and make the most out of it to prepare themselves for tomorrow’s leadership positions.” “This is the time for learning. Make the most out of it for getting ready for tomorrow’s business world. Be active both in class and out of class. Get to know people.” advises Mr. Akpinar.

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A brand of his own – a lecture with Mr. Olu Raheem Mr. Olu Raheem was born in Finland to Nigerian parents. Currently working as Sales & Marketing Manager for Clients’ Finland Ltd. and occasionally lecturing at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JUA), Mr. Raheem has a vast knowledge of the business and academic life in Finland. In the fall semester, Mr. Raheem taught a course called Marketing: Self-Branding and Personal Competence. Mr. Raheem's work history is quite impressive. He started his career with event promotion and formed an event and music production company. In addition, he was marketing manager of a restaurant and also worked for a pharmaceutical company where he was the assistant business development manager. After taking a short break from business life, he was asked to join Clients’ Finland Ltd. where he is in charge of customer relations and works on various projects. This year Mr. Raheem became a partner of Clients’ Finland Ltd, a small consulting company aiming to improve customer sales for businesses by simplifying sales processes, developing customer engagement plans, change management and actually taking part in the sales work. When asked about teaching, Mr. Raheem said:”I have always enjoyed the communication between students, and the perspective I try to give is maybe the perspective I would want somebody in the job world to give me…give me the realities of what to expect. And if you think about the course we are giving now of Self-Branding and Personal Competence, it’s like a course I would have wanted somebody to have given me when I was in school. And that’s what I am always trying to look for...like a niche, something that is not so obvious and visible. You all have your business, your economics, you have your marketing, I want to give something a little different, something special, and something really related to the so called “real world”, the job world. This institution gives a good opportunity for that. Also it keeps me fresh, my ideas fresh; I hear the young up-coming talents. We actually even hired somebody from this school, so I might be scouting as well, so you never know.” Compared to other teachers Mr. Raheem’s methods and lectures are quite different. His style as well as his courses are intensive, one has to make a real effort with them, or as the man himself says:”I like to give out a lot of exercises, try to jolt people’s thinking, let people realize things themselves… not try to tell them that this is the only way to do it but let them find out things themselves…that’s the aim at least.” What he hopes for the students to take out of his courses are a couple of ideas they can put into practice. “For example in Marketing: Self-Branding and Personal Competence course, my goal is not to make the students a brand after they leave the class, or that they should be self-competent but at least get an idea or two that will move them forward. And hopefully I can give something that will really help them in the job world and in the future.” For the coming generation of business orientated people Mr. Raheem shares this thought: “The student community is getting smaller, people are moving around a lot, travelling a lot. You see the amount of international students in all schools nowadays and that it is highly increased from what it was 10 years ago when I was in school. It’s a wonderful situation and I would just advise people to really network their best locally and internationally…at least that is one thing I may have lacked a little bit. If I could go back in time to my school days, that is what I would do. Get to know people, keep in touch, that’s one of the best resources you are going to have in the future whether its business or whatever life holds. It comes in handy.”

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A cup of tea with Sam Down Sam Down is a lecturer from the UK in the Music and Media Management and International Business Programs at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences. He is also an Executive Editor for IB Today. When Sam was a child, he never really knew what he wanted to be. What started Sam on the road to teaching occurred during his third year at University when he worked part-time supervising college students. It was then that Sam realized he was interested in education and people’s learning processes. Sam has always been fascinated with music and the process of its production (i.e. how music products are made, and the making of the music itself). He became interested in studying Music Industry Management through information he received from his aunt’s friend. This young lady, who also happens to be the daughter of Ray Dorset (i.e. founder of skiffle band, Mungo Jerry), was at the time studying Music Industry Management in the UK. During this time period, Sam came to Jyväskylä to visit some friends and was introduced to the former head of the Music and Media Management program at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences (JUA), who was looking for young English speaking teachers with qualifications in Music Management and asked Sam if he was interested in teaching at JUA. After some time, things sorted themselves out and Sam found his place here at JUA. Sam describes his method of teaching to be “delivery like” as he stands in front of the class and delivers the content to the students. But he also encourages the students to discuss and debate the information presented. “I really try to get people to think, to express their opinions”, says Sam. According to Sam, he hopes his students learn the ability to find information, question it, and formulate their own opinions about what they learn. In other words, giving the students tools for finding and analyzing information. Sam also appreciates getting feedback when teaching as it allows for him to tailor the course towards the students’ needs. Sam lives by his motto of “Waste not, want not” in that he really hates wasting anything, from food to his time. He is a man who takes advantage of every opportunity.

When it comes to a memorable experience as a teacher, Sam mentions an incident which happened while he was completing his teacher training in the UK. He describes the one year, intensive training to be a really emotional experience where he simultaneously was studying the theories of teaching and teaching high school students full-time. Sam explains that teaching high school students is all about making the learning process fun. He recalls one specific lesson he had put special effort into and one of the less attentive students came up to him afterwards and said: “Oh I really think that you are getting better and better every lesson Mister Down”. For Sam this was memorable because this showed that the students understood that Sam was learning and that they noticed his that he was improving as a teacher. It also gave Sam the drive to constantly strive to find ways to improve his teaching.

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John Hutchins: a real life Lao Tzu?

John Hutchins has led an interesting life. He spent 19 years in a seagoing carrier, ending up as the Master of the Pride of Bilbao before his teaching career began. After that, back in 1999, he joined the Shipping and Transport College in Rotterdam as a maritime lecturer and today works as a project manager and lecturer around the world. He also does occasional consultation work. When asked why he chose teaching as a career after so many years in a seagoing carrier, Mr. Hutchins replied: “I believed teaching or lecturing would be an interesting path to follow and I felt I had personal qualities to suit such a role.” Mr. Hutchins does most of his lecturing abroad in countries like the Republic of South Africa, Holland, Vietnam, Oman etc. but he was not too busy when Juha Saukkonen arranged him to give lectures on the subject of Management Communication and Teamwork here in JUA. In his work Mr. Hutchins tries to prepare the lectures and material based on aims and objectives, but the ability to anticipate the types of learners he faces is important too: “The first part of the interaction with the learner group is to chat in the classroom setting searching for common ground on subject matter. I try to determine what they expect from the course and over the next few days attempt to fulfil their own requirements and those of the organizers” he states. Teaching in JUA has forced Mr. Hutchins to develop his own skills as well. “My subject matter context is very maritime-based, yet I was invited to speak to business students on the topic of resource management” he says, continuing “It was a personal accomplishment to be able to successfully demonstrate that a topic, such as effective communication, is vital whether you use it on the bridge of a seagoing ship or in the boardroom of a business meeting.” When asked further about his teaching, Mr. Hutchins shared a piece of his mind with us. He has discovered over the years that the things we learn (or teach) in the school setting are only the basics. More specifically no two problems are the same; we may learn a strategy in the classroom setting, but in the real world we will be confronted with the need to creatively problem-solve. Mr. Hutchins background and life can for an outsider seem a bit complicated. He is Canadian by birth, travels with a British passport and is married to a Finn. To top that he resides in Finland, works for a Dutch Company and typically works outside of Europe. Go figure... As he is a very busy man with some extraordinary features in his life it is no wonder he quotes another extraordinary man, Lao Tzu, when asked if he has a motto: ”Make your heart like a lake, with calm, still surface, and great depths of kindness.”

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Bettering the world one entrepreneur at a time Mrs. Sharon Ballard is a great example of a successful entrepreneur. She is the President and CEO of her own company called EnableVentures, Inc. and a creator of Supercoach® Entrepreneurial Training program - an 8 week coaching period to train an entrepreneur on how to give an effective 15 minutes business plan presentation before a dream panel of experts. This coach training program is used in JUA’s Launch Pad program. Her remarkable career has included management posts in Titan Corporation, Motorola Inc. and LINKABIT Corporation. She also operated her own business, Particular Systems. After selling her company, Mrs. Ballard began volunteer coaching for the University of California, San Diego’s (UCSD) program called CONNECT Springboard. Her role in this “incubator without walls” as they called themselves was to coach one-to-one start-up entrepreneurs. This led to UCSD asking Mrs. Ballard to be the first Management Fellow for the CONNECT Springboard coaching program. Mrs. Ballard’s task was to coach 60 scientists and engineers who needed help with their business plan pitch. During those 10 months, she coached 40 of them through their actual 15 minute business plan pitches in front of dream panelists, coached the other 20 and also coached new entrepreneurs that came in during the process. It was during this challenge that Mrs. Ballard invented Supercoach® Entrepreneurial Training. Through UCSD CONNECT connections, Mrs. Ballard next found herself on a fellowship in Scotland where she studied physics and started the process of teaching them how to coach scientists and engineers in giving a business plan. In 2001, the first Supercoach® Entrepreneurial Training was held in Scotland and now it is being used all over the world. Mrs. Ballard doesn’t view herself as a teacher but a “sharer and a coach”. She shares her own personal experiences and knowledge to the entrepreneurs she is coaching. This is the kind of opportunity that wasn’t available when Mrs. Ballard established her own venture. In her own words, “I would love entrepreneurs to leave Launch Pad completely confident of the value they create with their idea. That they can translate their technology or their innovation or their invention to the market place and know will full confidence the business value, not the technology value.” For Business students, it is important for Mrs. Ballard that they see business as real and alive, not just theory. She points out that “scientists and engineers have the chance to solve real problems, invent things, cure things but without the business they can’t move it forward.” Through the Launch Pad program, Mrs. Ballard hopes business students gain the confidence to interact and even partner with these scientists and engineers. Mrs. Ballard finds working with scientists and high-tech engineers that are “the smartest poorest people in the world” very satisfying. She says: “We can teach bad people to make lots of money or good people to make lots of money”. Mrs. Ballard has made her choice: she wants to be involved in projects, like finding cures for diseases or improving the use of renewable energy sources, aiming to ensure a better life for all of us.

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Important Dates: 12.01.08: Spring semester begins

And finally…

Introducing the new editorial team of IB Today for 2008-2009:

15.01.08-10.05.08:

AKU AARVA Age: 23 Hometown: Helsinki, Finland Currently: JAMKO (JAMK Student Union) Board Member and IB student Background: Lived mostly in and around Helsinki. Father comes from Hanko

HiTech Management Programme

and mother from Helsinki. Keen to take part in different projects here in Jyväskylä. Languages: Finnish, English, German and now starting Russian Personal Interests: Improving the student union, travelling and learning about history, reading, cooking and eating (and drinking). Business interests: Planning to create his own company that focuses on advertising, PR and brand building. Will start the firm as a “business name” next spring and develop it from there.

16.01.09 -17.01.09: Orientation for Exchange Students

SERGEY BEKRENEV Age: 18 Hometown: Kaluga. Russian Federation Currently: IB student at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences Languages: English, Russian and some French Personal Interests: Studying, photography, active sports, boxing, traveling, developing international and communication skills, outsourcing and building networks. Business interests: Working for an MNC, with plans for creating his own business in future, also in multicultural business atmosphere.

MARIA ISABEL BERENGUER CARO Age: 21 Hometown: Alicante, Spain Currently: IB student — internship in Stafix Ltd and writing thesis. Background: 2 years studying Administration & Management in University of Alicante (Spain). Exchange in Jyvaskyla 2007. Languages: Spanish, Catalan, English Personal Interests: Travel and meet people from other cultures! Business interests: International companies, especially in distribution. Objective is to integrate studies to the real world and work in an international environment.

IB TODAY Executive Editors: Juha Saukkonen Samuel Down IB TODAY Editorial Team: Sergey Bekrenev Aku Aarva Hanna-Riitta Koivu Kirsti Earl Maria Isabel Berenguer

KIRSTI EARL Age: 33 Hometown: Illinois, USA Currently: IB student and being a mother Background: Associates of Science degree from Illinois. Born and raised in the USA to a Finnish mother and German father. Lived in USA, Germany and Finland. Languages: English and some Finnish Personal Interests: Her daughter Katie, meeting people from around the world, travelling, fast cars, alternative rock music, reading, and baking Business interests: Working for the American government or one of its agencies preferably involving international travel.

IB Programme Director: Matti Hirsilä [email protected]

HANNA-RIITTA KOIVU Age: 27 Hometown: Jyväskylä, Finland (born in Muurame) Currently: 3rd year IB student. Background: Worked in Finland, UK and Spain. Has previously studied in the

Contact Information: [email protected]

Degree of Tourism in Jyväskylä. Languages: Finnish, English, Swedish, plus some French, Spanish, Russian and Latvian Personal Interests: Travelling, interior decoration of her own home, music, different forms of sports (e.g. jogging, yoga) Business interests: Would like to work in an inspiring and challenging position either in Finland or abroad. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE IB TODAY, PLEASE CONTACT US AT [email protected] AND WRITE “UNSUBSCRIBE” AS THE TOPIC OF YOUR E-MAIL. T HE EDITORIAL STAFF

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