New Vice President for Education Katja Komulainen: "Supporting students is a duty of the whole community"
In addition to higher education, Katja Komulainen has also worked extensively in banking and technology companies. The position of vice president for education at TAMK came at a good time, as Komulainen's temporary position as vice president at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences was about to end.
“TAMK has many interesting and new fields for me, which will certainly give me new perspectives and lessons for my own work. I am familiar with the Tampere region because I come from Sastamala and studied at Tampere University. Returning here seemed attractive.”
Working for the future of TAMK
As the vice president for education, Komulainen leads education and is responsible for the achievement of its objectives and the quality of education. She does her part for the well-being of students and staff.
Komulainen has jumped straight into several projects and has already built up a long list of work for the spring term.
“TAMK has great expertise and a lot of good work to look after. I'm sure I'll also have something new to contribute and ideas for development. I am interested, for example, in considering how to implement study guidance and identify students’ prior learning better. I am excited to be able to contribute to TAMK’s good future together with others.
TAMK and Tampere University together with the City of Tampere is an excellent combination in Komulainen's opinion.
“I think we need each other. We are a very attractive trio from which we could get much more out of.”
Young people have gone further than previous generations in talking openly about both their good and bad feelings. Well-being means a lot to them and they dare to raise the issue themselves.
Emotional skills are students' strength
There has been a lot of news recently about the challenges of student well-being and cuts to student welfare. Komulainen has followed the debate with concern.
“All higher education institutions need to be vigilant and rethink their practices, as these problems are unlikely to diminish. I want TAMK to do what it can for students, for example by means of guidance.”
Fortunately, Komulainen sees a lot of strengths in the students.
“Young people have gone further than previous generations in talking openly about both their good and bad feelings. Well-being means a lot to them and they dare to raise the issue themselves. They are also very aware and know their rights - for example, in teaching situations they pay attention to equality and safe space principles.”
During her first weeks at TAMK, Komulainen has got the impression that staff and students have a very good rapport. She therefore has a strong belief in shared responsibility for supporting students.
“We have many different professional groups in our organisation, but we can all do something to help students do well and progress in their studies. If you can't help students yourself, at least you can point them in the right direction.”
Text and photo: Emmi Suominen
