PROFILE: ULLA PUUSTELLI

• What is your name and where are you from? My name is Ulla Puustelli. I am from Finland.  

• What is your function at the university? At the moment, I am in charge of training of International Business students and I am currently supervising several thesis. I have been in charge of the International business program for 15 years now.  

• What are your educational backgrounds? I have studied International Business. I have this passion for international culture, affairs, languages, etc.  

• How many languages do you speak? I have studied courses in English, German, French, Italian, Bahasa Indonesia language, Russia and currently I am trying to study Chinese. I have been to China several times and learning Chinese is very interesting.  

• Do you travel a lot? If yes? Where have you been to? Yes! I love travelling. I have been to 17 countries. I like to travel particularly in Asian countries. I find it interesting as you travel you become curious and discover strange habits, cultural differences, etc.  

• You started the Insider student magazine with Hugh Clack. What was the story behind setting up a magazine for international students in English? I was the first contact lecturer of Insider Student Magazine. Then at the beginning (20 years ago), I was the head of the Insider student magazine. I totally supported Hugh Clack’s idea to have a media channel for international students. All the information back then was published in Finnish. At that time, my husband was the Head of Business department and the Head of IB program. It is a great idea to have this magazine in English. An Issue of Insider goes to the city Library and it is backed up with an ISSN number.  It is also promoting internationalization and getting also international news for Finnish students. They can also get to read about exchange experiences. Students has the chance to learn new things, interesting to find out what is happening, what people are doing, et cetera.  

• What is your philosophy about life?  “Do your best now”!.  Live in the moment and never worry about what tomorrow brings. Do your best so that you do not have anything to regret. Stay curious and open minded. Try to stay positive. It is very difficult for Finnish people to stay positive. When something bad happens, everyone hears about it but when something good happens no one talks about it. So, it is very important to stay positive. 

• What tips would you like to give us as students in order for us to come out outstanding and successful? Study hard, be curious and be flexible. It is very important to learn from others. Use well every moment to learn something new. It is easy to dive into the internet world and get disconnected in the real world. Furthermore, stay healthy, keep yourself in good condition and try to get the most out of your studies. Connect with people and actively take parts in projects business at the university so that you will get motivational feedbacks which will definitely push you forward. Things learnt at school are actually things that matter in the business world.  It is hence important to take responsibility of your own learning. The students should be responsible for learning themselves. Team work encourages learning from others, and it benefits yourself. This will determine how confident you are when you get into the business world and be a responsible person in life. You have learnt to work in teams, improve your confidence level, manage projects because these are the kind of skills companies are looking for.  

Your career here at Xamk is very inspiring. What the evolutions you have seen in teaching so far? We as students have to write down notes. Lectures sit on the table and he has roll projector where he writes, and we copy exactly those words to our notebooks so, the lectures were more like note taking.  Books that were accepted were endorsed by National Board of Education in Finland and there were certain books which were not accepted for learning. Today, we have e-books on the internet making it very flexible and easy to learn. Teaching has changed a lot during these years and that is why the profession has changed so much. Teachers have to know what is going on in business life all the time, they have to meet business people and also try to see into the future. Get all kinds of new ideas from digitalization as part of your own teaching. Coaching yourself is also very important. Teaching is not really teaching anymore. We talk about learning.  

• Will you be attending Insider 20^thBirthday anniversary: Of course, I will be there with my husband M. Marku Puustelli . I am very excited and looking forward to the anniversary party.