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Leadership for Change

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Join the Master's Degree Programme in Leadership for Change!

The application period to study in the master's degree programme in Leadership for Change is about to begin! The application period starts on 7 December 2022 and ends on 11 January 2023. When applying to the programme, you may choose from the three study tracks: European and Global Politics, Sustainable Business Management, and Governance for Sustainable Change. By interacting with staff members from various disciplines – business, governance, politics and international relations – as well as with different societal stakeholders, students will learn to foster new forms of engagement across sectors of the economy and society. The programme prepares the graduates to work in the private, public or third sector in tasks that involve analysing, planning and steering complex change processes.

The Leadership Symposium notes: International security – the outlook for Finland

"As I listened to the keynote speech given by Sir Mark Lyall Grant , the Former National Security Advisor to the British Prime Minister, I was left wondering about the magnitude of change that we are all facing in 2022. I was left with questions such as what kind of world are we leaving behind for the generations to come, and whether we are able to tackle the multitude of conflicts and issues we are facing today. Should there be new ways of tackling these issues?", LFC student Aino Anttila asks in her reflections concerning the panel 'International security: The outlook for Finland' at the annual Leadership Symposium, organized in Tampere University in September.

The Leadership Symposium notes: Social change and its typologies in the context of a Finnish mega-project in Uruguay to exploit natural resources

At the annual Leadership Symposium, organized by Tampere University's Faculty of Management and Business, one of the panels was dedicated to the topic of Finnish forestry megaprojects in Latin America. The panel hosted Saara Tahvanainen, vice president in stakeholder relations at UPM-Kymmene, professor Teivo Teivainen and research assistant Emiliano Sosa Barrios from University of Helsinki, and doctoral researcher Lara Gonzalez Porras from Tampere University. UPM-Kymmene, a Finnish forest industry company, is currently implementing a mega-project in Uruguay to develop a pulp factory, and this project is creating an important change in Uruguayan society. LFC student Yasmine Bounouara reflected on the panel's topic looking into four perspectives: character, magnitude, focus and level/scale.

The Leadership Symposium notes: The transformation of Finland's security outlook

The beginning of the new academic year was marked by the annual Leadership Symposium, this time themed around the topic of security. The expert presentations and panel discussions included many interesting speakers from Finland and abroad. This essay, written by the LFC student Katrina Mäki-Soini, focuses on the panel discussion 'International security: the outlook for Finland', evaluating panelists’ discourse on change and transformation by utilizing the framework of typology of change. The panel was moderated by professor of practice Valtteri Vuorisalo from Tampere University and it included speakers Sir Mark Lyall Grant, former National Security Adviser to the British Prime Minister, professor Ann-Marie Ekengren from University of Gothenburg, researcher Eneken Tikk from Erik Castrén Institute and professor Juha Vuori from Tampere University.

Niklas Kaskeala: "The climate crisis is also a leadership crisis"

Who’s responsible for solving the climate crisis? That was the question in the first slide and the opening of Niklas Kaskeala’s LFC Lecture, organized by the first-year students of the Master's Degree Programme in Leadership for Change. Quite a shocker, but that was precisely the point – to incite debate as well as to provoke communication and critical thinking among the participants. In his talk, Niklas Kaskeala discussed the role of leadership – and lack of it – in the climate crisis. He also told about the initiative of Compensate, which aims to offset carbon emissions by compensating for unavoidable emissions and directing funds to high-impact carbon projects. Previously, Niklas Kaskeala has worked as Funding Coordinator for the Crisis Management Initiative and Executive Director of the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development. He is also a Founding Board Member of a non-profit organization Protect Our Winters Finland.

Marja-Riitta Ketola: “More than any crisis of the last decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has redefined childhood on a global scale”

We had the pleasure of hosting Marja-Riitta Ketola, executive director of UNICEF Finland, at Tampere University as she delivered a lecture titled 'Challenges Facing Children’s Rights Following the COVID-19 Pandemic'. In addition to the lecture topic, Ketola further incorporated information and insights about other recent challenges, such as the war in Ukraine. Sharing her thoughts, Ketola delivered an authentic and passionate lecture and encouraged the audience to engage and contribute with thoughts and questions.

Ismo Ulvila: "Climate, energy, and security politics go hand in hand"

The Master's Degree Programme in Leadership for Change had the honor of welcoming Ismo Ulvila as one of the guest lecturers of the LFC Lectures series. His background is admirable: he has worked globally in diverse negotiating tasks and issues connected to climate and trade policies. Currently, he is the Head of Communications at the European Commission's Representation in Finland. It is fair to say that our speaker had many valuable insights on the UN climate process, global climate finance and the EU's energy security issues, from which we got to learn during the LFC Lecture. 

Lea Rankinen: "Sustainability is always a moving target"

We were utmost delighted to pilot this year’s the Leadership for Change Lecture series with our first guest speaker Lea Rankinen, Director in Sustainability and Public Affairs at Paulig Group. In her lecture, Lea Rankinen focused on sharing valuable practical learnings that she has gained over her impressive 20-year career in sustainability within the food, retail, and service sectors, as well as introducing practical tools that support her while managing sustainable business strategies and overseeing their successful execution.

Case studies by LFC students: Examining leadership and sustainability challenges

The second-year LFC students have just finished the 2021 edition of the course "LFCS04 Case Study: Examining Leadership and Sustainability Challenges" which is traditionally carried out in close collaboration with business and public organisations. During the course, the students design and conduct research projects on the basis of tasks assigned to them by a partner organisation; the course, thus, is aimed at developing students’ capabilities and know-how in multi-disciplinary research teams. Read the blog post and have a closer look at the description of 8 projects the students performed in the autumn semester 2021!

Video: LFC Lecture with Venla Roth, Anti-trafficking Coordinator

Click on the blog post to watch the third Leadership for Change Lecture in 2021 hosting Anti-trafficking Coordinator Venla Roth. The LFC Lecture was titled 'Human Trafficking and Anti-trafficking'. Trafficking in human beings has become a major international concern in the last two decades. It has been subjected to intense political debate and ambitious legal regulation on international, regional and national levels.

Case Studies: Examining Leadership Challenges

The course "LFCS04 Case Study: Examining Leadership Challenges" is carried out in close collaboration with business and public organisations. Students develop their capabilities and know-how in multi-disciplinary research teams that design and conduct research projects on the basis of tasks assigned to them by a partner organisation. The course is organized together with the Master's Degree Programme in Sustainable Business. Read the blog post and have a closer look at the curious case studies that we had during the academic year 2020–2021!

Mai Kivelä: “By building a just world for animals, we are building a better world for ourselves too”

In the fourth and the last Leadership for Change Lecture of this academic year, we had the pleasure to host Mai Kivelä – first-term Member of Finnish Parliament, Helsinki City Counsellor, former Executive Director of Animalia, and active spokesperson for animal rights. Her LFC Lecture was titled ‘Animal Rights in a Sustainable Society’ and it presented a deep analysis of the issue, followed by a thought-provoking discussion. The event took place on Zoom on 26 April 2021 and it was later broadcasted by Radio Moreeni.

Dr. Venla Roth: “Action against trafficking in human beings requires strong political will and commitment”

The third Leadership for Change Lectures speaker in 2021 was Anti-trafficking Coordinator Venla Roth. Her LFC Lecture was titled 'Human Trafficking and Anti-trafficking'. Venla Roth holds a PhD in Law and currently works at the Finnish Ministry of Justice, where she coordinates the Finnish government's anti-trafficking agenda. The lecture was insightful and evoked a lively discussion among the audience.

Anne Larilahti: “Never let a good crisis go to waste, learn from it and put it to use"

We were glad to host Anne Larilahti, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at Finnair, as our Leadership for Change Lectures guest speaker in February. Anne Larilahti discussed whether flying can be sustainable and what has been the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Finnair’s sustainability strategies. The LFC Lecture illustrated how Finnair, being one of Finland's major national companies, perceived and approached sustainability challenges in today's world. We also discussed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry.