Ms Kaisa Kosonen visited the class on 15 October and gave an enlightening presentation on Greenpeace activities overall,and the Arctic campaign in particular. A lively discussion about corporate –NGO relationships followed. For future comms professionals, Kaisa promoted the significance of genuine dialogue and a proactive stance towards Greenpeace and other NGOs acting for the environment.

Kaisa Kosonen (to the right) , Greenpeace, together with Leena Louhiala-Salminen, Corporate Communication Program Director.

More information:  Leena Louhiala-Salminen, leena.louhiala-salminen(at)aalto.fi

Anne Kankaanranta teaches a number of courses on corporate and organizational communication both at BSc and MSc-level. She is also the vice director of the MSc program in Corporate Communication.

As justifications the Award Committee states the following: 

"Senior University Lecturer Anne Kankaanranta, Ph.D. (Linguistics), M.Sc. (Econ. & Bus. Admin.), is a skilled and committed teacher, who is valued and respected by students. She has worked especially diligently in teaching communications that will support the professional development of all students at the School of Business and as a master's thesis supervisor, where she has produced excellent results. Anne Kankaanranta is a pioneer in developing student-centred teaching at Aalto. Her teaching is also based on her own research, the results of which she has published regularly in peer-reviewed international journals. Anne Kankaanranta has had an essential role carrying responsibility for the Business Communication program".

The course was inspired by the discussions among prof.  Johanna Moisander, Dr. Anne Kankaanranta and Constance, who spent three months of her sabbatical as a visiting scholar in Aalto ECON in spring 2011.

The students from six Finnish universities were very happy with the course. They felt that they received concrete tools to help them in their research process. In particular, they appreciated the interactive teaching style and the ‘theoretically practical’ nature of the course.  Such positive feedback - an average grade of well above 9 on a scale form 1-10 - encourages us to apply for KATAJA funding to run the course again in spring 2013.

 Constance (sitting on the right) with the doctoral students

The year 2011 is marked with an increased attention towards Open Educational Practices (OEP) in the context of higher education both in EU and globally. On the 14^th of November UNESCO held a Joint Policy Forum on Mainstreaming OEP at its headquarters in Paris. Finland was represented by Tapio Koskinen (Aalto Pro) and Alona Senishch-Chmilevska (Department of Communication).

Alona shares hew experience of attending the forum: “Being someone who uses Open Educational Resources in classroom and wonders what resources for learning will look like in decades to come, I felt privileged being invited to participate in such meaningful event which aimed at establishing Guidelines for Mainstreaming Open Educational Resources (OER) in Higher Education. The forum brought together educational professionals, organizational leaders and policy makers from around the world to examine the results of Open Educational Quality Initiative (OPAL) and Content Creation Excellence through Dialogue in Education (CONCEDE) projects that promote innovation and quality in higher education through open Educational practices (OEP).

Being a registered member of OPAL (http://www.oer-quality.org/) Aalto is seen as a supporter of Open Educational Resources (OER) movement. One of the “grand” samples of OER at Aalto is Le-Mill project run by TAIK since 2006 (http://lemill.net/). On a smaller scale, Open Educational Practices exist as individual initiatives at different schools and departments of Aalto and it is vital to bring these practices together if Aalto aims to succeed in mainstreaming OEP at institutional level.”

 Next year, UNESCO hosts the biggest OER event of the decade – 2012 World Open Educational Resources Congress in Paris that will also celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the 2002 UNESCO Forum that created the term OER. UNESCO welcomes all those interested to attend the congress in June, 20-22, UNESCO HQ, Paris, France. For more information please contact alona.senishch@aalto.fi.

More in Finnish here.

In addition to three IBC MSc graduates – Marja Näsi, Anni Ruotsalainen and Teemu Salmi -   two DSc graduates – Salla Huttunen and Christa Uusi-Rauva - received their diplomas. Now, the total number of IBC MSc graduates amounts to 31 and that of DSc graduates to 5.

From the left: Teemu Salmi, Anni Ruotsalainen, Marja Näsi (and Teemu’s daughter)

From the left:  Heidi Hirsto, Christa Uusi-Rauva, Salla Huttunen (and Christa’s son)

To add to our excitement, we were very happy to congratulate two graduates from our ‘sister program’, Talouselämän viestintä: Heidi Hirsto received her DSc diploma and Ella Lillqvist her MSc diploma.

To celebrate this special event, we enjoyed cake and sparkling wine at the Department lounge.

Ella Lillqvist

Congratulations! 

On June 10 we had an informal coffee & cake ceremony at the Department library lounge with five of the graduates and a bunch of IBC students and faculty present.

Congratulations, all new IBC Masters!

The IBC students participating in the course Cross-cultural issues in managerial communication worked on an authentic communication project as one of their assignments. In addition to receiving a description of the present situation of A-Katsastus in its operating environment, they also had an opportunity to discuss the specific challenges and needs of the company with Ms Arola at the start of the project.

After the presentations of the six student teams’ recommendations on 8 December, Outi Arola’s comments were highly positive. - I’m impressed by the students’ dedication, enthusiasm and professionalism. Most of their recommendations could actually be implemented by the company and on top of that, their presentations were engaging and energizing!

In accordance with the general IBC evaluation criteria, the students’ work will be primarily evaluated by Ms Arola but complemented with the instructor’s insights. As Prof. Kankaanranta pointed out, this type of cooperation is a true learning experience - and not only for the students!

For more on A-Katsastus.

On Monday 24 August, the new Master’s students of International Business Communication got together for an introductory session for their studies at HSE. The majority of the new students come from various Bachelor's programs in other Finnish or international universities, some have a BScBA degree from the HSE Mikkeli Unit. The kick-off session was the first time all the new IBCers met each other; later in the fall an IBC get-together will be organized for the ‘old’ and ‘new’ IBCers to share experiences. Good luck with your studies at HSE!