Can you share a story about your work?
This is my first year as a doctoral researcher, so I can talk a little bit about my experience before I decided to embark on the Ph.D. journey in the unit of Entrepreneurship.
Before entering the PhD program, I held leadership positions in tech companies and founded two businesses, a marketing agency, and a fashion-tech circular economy startup. After working in the high-stress startup ecosystem and taking the leap into entrepreneurship myself, I knew that any new endeavor, especially that of a PhD, would require perseverance and grit to succeed, but most importantly, I knew I could not underestimate the role of a community. A great community helps you grow.
Also, I am quite social and outgoing, and I like to connect with people. So, it was important for me that there was a positive and good vibe in the Aalto community, in addition to the academic expertise. I wanted to get to know the people I would be working with, so I did my due diligence by reaching out to several people at the Aalto University Department of Management Studies, including my current supervisor Ewald Kibler, colleagues, and alumni of the program. I wanted to get a feel for the culture of the department.
To my delight, everything went smoothly in these meetings, and I felt connected. That's when I made my final decision to apply. The passion for research was palpable, and I knew I would thrive in this environment. Now that I am experiencing work in the unit myself, I can certainly confirm that I am surrounded by brilliant minds, and the discussions we have are inspiring and thought-provoking.
Can you describe the culture of the unit of entrepreneurship?
Our unit is very young and dynamic. There are 15 of us in total. Our culture is vibrant, supportive, and embracing. It’s oriented towards professional growth and development.
Our culture is based on a sense of community. We organize entrepreneurship seminars where we give feedback on each other’s research and share our progress. We also have team building events, where we might go bowling together or play football. I think the community is phenomenal. I’ve met some great colleagues and my supervisor is a wonderful person. I hope the community stays like this.
