Soon I'm ready to close the book on university – what did I learn?

All courses are done, only Master’s thesis unfinished. When the thesis is done, I will graduate with a Master of Science from Aalto University School of Business. What did I study and what did I get out of it?

Before Slush, ending up at Aalto University was the best thing that happened to me. As an innately curious person, I’ve been thrilled at the chance to study interdisciplinary topics: business and economics, technology and engineering, as well as the arts. I’ve attended courses from marketing to information science to coding to photography and many others. Did I have trouble deciding? Sure, but in retrospect, dipping my toes into various subjects has been an essential part of my journey and helped me figure out my way.

I started from the Business School and was horrified when I felt that all of us were being squeezed into narrow boxes. First, you’re defined as a business student, then by the major you choose. The only problem was, I didn’t feel comfortable being put in such a box – I did not yet have any clear idea of what I really wanted to do. Also, to be honest, I wasn’t that excited about any of the majors solely. So, I wanted to explore a bit more. I chose to study marketing yet to work in finance.

Then I went on to do my minor studies in the School of Arts. It felt liberating and I loved it. This led me to read Creative Confidence, a book by design agency IDEO’s founders David and Tom Kelley, which ultimately inspired me to found a creative community Luova Aalto. I’m glad to see that the association continues to thrive and challenge the perception of creativity - after all, where else can you stop by to paint on one day, do coding, and finish the week off with a two-day hackathon? (And since you’re bound to ask – yes, their events are open to everyone!)

Later, I also started studying information systems science, coding and corporate finance. I loved studying all of those! After these experiences, what has been the most meaningful experience is that I’ve got a chance to study and do projects with diverse people from different backgrounds and schools. I’ve learned that basically creativity is just solving problems and with people from more diverse backgrounds and skillsets you’re able to do it better. People solve problems they can see. Luckily the next place where I ended at, Slush, was that kind of place too. More about my Slush experiences and the biggest struggle of the technology industry in the next blog post.

As concluding remarks, I would like to highlight that there’s no one right way. I’ve heard incredibly weird advice even from professors such as “if you don’t choose accounting or finance as a major you’re never going to make a lot of money or make it to the leadership” to “you just need to find that one thing”. There’s no this kind of simple wisdom that works for everyone, which is why I get so frustrated by how much the world tries to squeeze us into these narrow boxes. The world is not only about accounting, or only about marketing, or finance. Moreover, the world is not just about business, or just about engineering, or just about humanities. The world is a much more complex and intriguing place, and the same journey is not for everyone. That’s the beauty of it.

Soon I will graduate from the School of Business, while my identity is not that strongly tied to business school. It has been mixed with so many other identities. By my heart, I feel like a person with Aalto University mindset, a multidisciplinary mindset who believes in the power of diversity.

What do I want to study next? Philosophy. I’m not planning going to school, but love to read and learn. Because life is just a never-ending school.<3