Professorship at Aalto University

Professor Virpi Tuunainen of HSE explains what it is like to be a Professor at Aalto University.

In his recent letter to the Aalto communicty, Matti Alahuhta encouraged everyone to actively participate in the process of transforming the three separate universities into Aalto University. Many of HSE, TKK, and TaiK personnel will continue to be involved in this process even while we are still working according to the “old system”.

Since the beginning of October 2008, half of my own working time has been dedicated to developing the Service Factory as an “Aalto Professor”. The other portion continues to be devoted to fulfilling my responsibilities as Professor of Information Systems Science in HSE’s Business Technology Unit.

This division of work and the 50/50 model for administration of one’s position is also an apt description of Aalto University’s development work: while we need to maintain continuity, we must simultaneously strive to create something new as well.

Continuity within the new university’s development process is sustained through existing personnel, although naturally we will also work in closer cooperation with our new colleagues. Similarly, continuity is maintained through the many educational programmes, for example at HSE, that have in recent years been redesigned as programme-based Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes, as well as Doctoral programmes, in accordance with the Bologna agreement.

Cross-disciplinarity an Asset

Education is also undergoing various reforms. Personally, I am particularly excited about being involved in developing the Service Factory’s upcoming Master’s Programme, which is under preparation under the working title of “InnoServe”. The aim is to create an international, multi-disciplinary Master’s Programme within which all graduates are experts in services and service innovation design, as well as management, business, and technology. The InnoServe programme will utilise existing courses on services and service innovations, but new courses are also necessary.

What is particularly interesting is a new course on Service Science, held jointly for all three universities forming the Aalto University, as well as the theses to be written in conjunction with Student Business Projects. Both the InnoServe programme as well as Aalto University in general will experience more “student exchange” as courses will be attended by students from the three universities. This poses new challenges to course organisation and the work of teaching professors, but on the other hand it also provides enrichment and diversity in education.

The old and the new are also intermixed in doctoral studies and research, for example, my own subject, Information Systems Science, benefits from a long history of co-operation with various units within the upcoming Aalto University, particularly the SoberIT Laboratory of TKK. Aalto will further enhance the prerequisites for cooperation in both doctoral studies and research areas. Increased internationality of students, as well as teachers and researchers poses its own challenges but, more importantly, creates new opportunities.

Although we support the Aalto University process 100 percent, there still exist a lot of uncertainties that concern personnel. How will the different subjects and those currently working within them be arranged within the new organisational chart yet to be drafted? How will they be physically organised? How will salaries be determined in the upcoming foundation-based university if and when the state salary system (VPJ) is discontinued? However, these questions will not be solved by ordinary professors like me. Therefore, we should focus on what we can accomplish. For my part, this involves participation in developing the Service Factory into a world-class service research, education, and development unit.

Virpi Tuunainen