Our alum Johanna Kirjavainen: Doctor, university instructor and local politician wants to leave a positive mark on the world

In exactly the right place

Johanna Kirjavainen considers herself a good example of why you should never say ‘never’. In her twenties, she was convinced that she did not want to be a teacher.

Today, Johanna feels that she is in exactly the right place as an instructor of information and knowledge management at Tampere University and as a Tampere city council member and a county councillor for the Wellbeing services county of Pirkanmaa. Before these roles, she worked as a project researcher at a mining company, an analyst at a business and development company, and a project manager and business development specialist at a wind farm company.

Johanna's current position and career path were by no means self-evident. During her studies and even later, she felt stressed about what kind of work she would end up doing.

“I have only realised in hindsight that industrial engineering and management, similarly to other generalist subjects, provides general skills that prepare you for a wide range of positions and that are important in all work. Few people can plan their careers completely in advance anyway,” Johanna notes.

Studies in technology and innovation management proved to be decisive for Johanna. She has later taught technology foresight for over a decade and still enjoys passing on her message to large groups of students.

I find it interesting to contemplate the future. Many people seem to lack a broader vision and a longer time horizon – they rarely look beyond the following year, for example. To me, it is interesting to think about what Finland will look like in 20 years."

Johanna Kirjavainen

“I find it interesting to contemplate the future. Many people seem to lack a broader vision and a longer time horizon – they rarely look beyond the following year, for example. To me, it is interesting to think about what Finland will look like in 20 years,” she says.

AI challenges our common understanding of knowledge

Johanna's job description at the university includes both teaching and research, and she also supervises bachelor's and master's theses. She teaches study contents such as management and leadership of knowledge work, service design and knowledge-based decision making for sustainability.

Johanna describes her own major subject, industrial engineering and management, and her current teaching subject, information and knowledge management, as parallel fields. There are similarities in areas such as new technology adoption, strategic thinking and management as well as service design.
A hot topic in both fields is artificial intelligence. Johanna admits that AI has also been a cause for concern for her; the current situation seems to call into question our entire shared understanding of knowledge.

“In the age of artificial intelligence, we are tempted to take the easy way out and to set the bar very low. Blind enthusiasm leads us to overestimate the short-term benefits of AI and underestimate its long-term disadvantages. I believe that we teachers now have a particularly important role to play in teaching independent and analytical thinking,” Johanna says.

Action creates hope

Johanna's life path has been strongly guided by her values, especially in recent years. For her, teaching and local politics are not two separate things: they are both ways of influencing the world.

I’m hoping to have a positive impact on the world and to be able to stand behind my actions. Through one’s own activity, people can plant small seeds that will sprout in other people, and the impact can then be much greater than that of a single person."

Johanna Kirjavainen

“I’m hoping to have a positive impact on the world and to be able to stand behind my actions. Through one’s own activity, people can plant small seeds that will sprout in other people, and the impact can then be much greater than that of a single person. Action creates hope – and this also holds true for me,” Johanna says.

In her work as a teacher, Johanna meets lots of young people, many of whom are concerned about the challenging global situation and their own career paths and futures. Johanna is also familiar with the search for one's place in the world, but she notes that the years passed have brought clarity. 

“I have found that my values and enthusiasm serve as a kind of compass in navigating my career, but coincidences also have a major impact. Therefore, you should not worry too much about your path in advance.”

Text: Tiina Leivo

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