International Women’s Day: Career paths in Finland

This year's event will be a unique opportunity to bring together industry leaders, researchers and students to present and discuss innovative ideas related to careers and working life. The event will feature success stories of work-life balance combined with professional development. Let's celebrate the achievements of women in engineering and inspire the next generation of innovators in this challenging field.

Location:

Kampusareena A223 auditorium, Hervanta Campus, Tampere University, Finland

Preliminary agenda:

11.45 – 12.00 Registration 

12.00 – 12.05 Opening words, prof. Tatiana Minav, TAU

12.05 – 13.15 Invited speeches

• Sirpa Launis, Sandvik Mining and Construction
• Minna Lanz, Patria Land Oy
• Anne Selkälä, Ponsse Oy
• Anca Guina, Modulight Corporation

13.15 – 13.45  Panel discussion facilitated by prof. Tatiana Minav

• Pirkko Alander, Valmet Oyj
• Marea de Koning, Huld Oy
• Laeticia Petit, Tampere University
• Heini Wallander, Business Tampere

13.45 – 14.00 Summary of panel discussion and closing words

14.00– 15.00 Open networking in the lobby of Kampusareena

Biographies of invited speakers:

Sirpa Launis

Sirpa Launis, MSc in Mechanical Engineering, graduated from Tampere University in 1999, specializing in machine dynamics. Her award-winning Master’s thesis set the stage for a career spanning over 25 years in R&D for non-road mobile machinery and the pulp & paper industries. She has worked with top organizations like Valmet, VTT, and John Deere, while also contributing to academic advancements at Tampere University. Since 2012, Sirpa has been with Sandvik Mining and Construction, where she currently leads as Product Manager for tunneling drills, driving innovation in underground construction.

A pioneer in her field, Sirpa was the first female board member and chair of the Forum for Intelligent Machines (FIMA) and remains active in Finland’s tech networks. She has authored 47 scientific publications and holds 16 patent families. Sirpa is married with two daughters.

Minna Lanz, Patria

Dr. Minna Lanz obtained her doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2010 from Tampere University of Technology (TUT). In 2014 she started as an Associate professor in TUT/Tampere University. Dr. Lanz obtained her full professorship in 2018 in the field of Production Systems and Technologies with a specific focus on Robotics and AI in manufacturing. During her academic career Prof Lanz contributed to over 150 papers, supervised over 250 MSc theses and a dozen of doctoral theses. She coordinated a large number of national and international  collaborative projects. Prof. Lanz was an editor and member of editorial board of national and international journals and involved in conference organization worldwide. In 2024 she started as a Project Director in Patria Land Oy focusing on the development of robotics and automation solutions for ground based military vehicles. 

Anne Selkälä, Ponsse

Anne Selkälä graduated with a Master of Science in Space Physics from the University of Oulu in 2008, specialising in ionospheric physics with a robust foundation in mathematics and astronomy. After that, life took a different turn: she had three children and stayed as a housewife for several years. 

In 2017, Anne's passion for technical studies led her to earn a Master of Science in Technology in Mechanical Engineering. Her studies encompassed engineering mechanics, machine design, and material technology. She then joined Ponsse, a leading forest machinery company in Northern Savonia, as a structural engineer. In her role as an FE analyst, Anne implemented an innovative method for measuring on-duty structural loading using strain gauge measurements and mathematical inverse problem-solving techniques. Her technical expertise includes structural fatigue design of welds, strain gauge measurement data analysis, and ensuring compliance with off-road machinery safety standards.

After five years of analysing forest machine frame and cabin components, Anne had her fourth child. In 2024, she was appointed as a Senior Manager of Base machines and Cabins design team at Ponsse. She now leads a team of ten mechanical engineers, including two chief design engineers. Her team is responsible for designing forest machine frames, load spaces, various accessories and cabins.

Anca Guina, Modulight

Anca Guina holds a Master of Science in Technology (Industrial Management) from Tampere University of Technology (2003) and an MBA from Henley Business School of University of Reading (2013). Her education journey started in Bucharest, Romania where she graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Bucharest University of Economics Studies.

Since she moved to Finland in year 2000 Anca has been working with Modulight Corporation, a leading provider of laser solutions for cancer treatment. Being the first employee of the company, her career path benefited from multiple learning opportunities in various roles; her work was initially focused on marketing and quality, shifting later to finance and regulatory. Anca Guina has been a member of Modulight Corporation's management team since 2006, and she is currently serving as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In her current role as CFO, Anca oversees the company's financial operations, contributing to its strategic growth and profitability objectives. The most important milestone in her career is the company’s listing to First North Growth Market in September 2021. Anca is married and has 2 adult children.

Biographies of panel discussion members:

Pirkko Alander, Valmet

Pirkko Alander works as Environmental Analysis Manager at Valmet Corporation. She holds a Master's degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Tampere University of Technology. During her career she has worked in large Finnish metal and engineering companies. He has extensive and varied experience of working in different industrial functions both in Finland and abroad, in both expert and managerial roles. Currently, Alander is working in Valmet Corporation's Research and Product Development Department on sustainability issues, with special responsibility for product life cycle assessment and other technology-related environmental information.

Marea de Koning, Huld

Marea de Koning is a PhD student at Tampere University, currently in the final stage of her research. She recently transitioned to the industry, focusing on the safety of highly automated off-road mobile machinery—a topic that aligns with her role at HULD.io, a renowned consultancy agency in Finland. Originally from the Netherlands, Marea has a diverse background and has also lived in Germany for several years. She is currently awaiting the results of her dissertation examination and enjoys gaining practical experience in her field.

Laeticia Petit, Tampere University

Laeticia Petit received her B.S. and M.S degrees in Physical Chemistry from the University of Pierre et Marie Curie in France and her Ph.D in Materials Science from the University of Bordeaux in France in 2002. She is one of the few with academic and industrial experiences as she was the Manager of Glass Research at nLIGHT, fiber division located in Lohja (Finland) from 2009 to 2016, prior to joining Tampere University of Technology. Since 2021, she has been a Professor in the Photonics Laboratory at Tampere University (Finland) leading the Photonic Glasses Group. She is also a docent the Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory at Åbo Akademi University (Finland). Her research is focused on the development of glass-based materials for (bio)photonic applications, investigating the role of structure/property relationships in a range of (passive and active) glass-based materials (glass, glass-ceramic, composite) used in fiber and film, chemical sensing and applications utilizing photo-induced property modification. Prof. Petit has authored more than 193 refereed publications, reviews, proceedings and book chapters, presented more than 180 contributed presentations, including 35 invited presentations, and has organized and chaired numerous domestic and international meetings within her discipline.  She received more than 39 grants from Research Council of Finland, Business Finland, Horizon Europe, companies, etc.. She has supervised up to 10 Post-Doctoral Researchers, 15 PhD, 18 MSc and 28 BSc students.

Heini Wallander, Business Tampere

Heini Wallander works currently as Head of Industry at Business Tampere, the regional economic development agency, with a goal of making Tampere Region the best place for industrial companies to grow. Before this role, Heini worked as a Senior Business Advisor for mobile work machines at Business Tampere and held several positions at Tampere University of Technology, working eg. with commercialisation and industry partnerships. Additionally, Heini has experience as the Chair of the Board at Mothers in Business MiB ry, a Partner and Co-founder at Innovaatiotoimisto Innosto Oy, and as a Visiting Researcher at CERN. Heini has a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering and she did doctoral studies on innovation and technology management at Tampere University of Technology.

Tatiana Minav, Tampere University

Tatiana Minav (ASME and IEEE member) is first female professor in fluid power discipline in Finland. Since 2019 she is associate professor (tenured) in the largest Finnish fluid power laboratory at Tampere University, which specialized on off-road machinery efficiency fluid power and automation related topics. The IHA laboratory consist, 9 permanent staff members (5 professors and 4 lecturers), 10 postdocs, about 21 doctoral students and 20 Master & Bachelor students. Since 2021 she is a part time associate professor in University of Agder, Norway. Professor Minav holds four academic degrees, including ones in electrical and mechanical engineering and pedagogical professional education. Professor Minav has over 18 years’ experience working on improving the efficiency and sustainability of off-road mobile working machines, innovatively combining signal processing, electric and mechanical engineering. Professor Minav has authored ca 180 international scientific publications. Prof. Minav is editor and member of editorial board of international journals and involved in conference organization worldwide. She has been successful in leading projects based on the national funding agencies Business Finland (formerly Tekes), the Academy of Finland, and from the Finnish industry. She has an extensive and unique global contact network with both industry and academia in fluid power and electric machines areas. She is active in mentoring young generations and mother of small girl.