SUMMER
2021
|
ISSUE
NO.
152
BULLETIN
AALTO
SCHOOL
OF
BUSINESS,
STUDENT
MIKKELI
MAGAZINE
CAMPUS
www.probba.org probbary
probba89
probbary
IN THIS ISSUE
Editor-in-Chief: Anne Torvinen Editors: Lisa Ferraz, Atte Koskinen Cover photo: Lisa Ferraz Publisher: Probba ry Printet at: Grano Oy Mikkeli
4
GREETINGS FROM THE BOARD Editors note and President's two cents
7
CRYPTOCURRENCIES – THE FUTURE OF PAYMENTS?
PAGE 3
16
Shradha Khanal
17
WHO MOOVED MY CHEESE Book recomendation Jade Trebs
12
DELICIOUS FOOD RECIPES Noora Lähdesmäki & Eemil Tarnanen
14
COLUMN BY HELSINGIN EKONOMIT Tanja Piha
VAPPU/JUHANNUS SIMA RECIPE Atte Koskinen
20
Riku Antikainen, Patrick Campbell, and Leevi Lindfors
10
10 (NOT SO GENERIC) LIFE LESSONS FROM A 20-SOMETHING YEAR OLD
STUDYING ABROAD DURING A PANDEMIC Oskar Sasse
22 24 26
MIKKELI WEEKEND HIGHLIGHTS ALUMNI STORY Heidi Idman
WHAT IS HOME Poem ~N
PAGE 4
W
ohoo!!! Summer is finally here, and we can officially say goodbye to winter. No more layering clothes and no more having to feel your nose freeze from the inside out. No more having to dread going outside and possibly slipping and dying on the ice. Thought, to be honest, I now have to face my fear of bees and bugs which in my opinion are worse than anything I have to deal with during the winter.
I remember one time in class a bee flew in from a window next to me and let me tell you the dread I felt.. oh boy. The teacher asked us if anyone was allergic and wanted to leave the classroom and I immediately raised my hand and left though as you probably guessed, I wasn't allergic to anything :D. Maybe not the most exemplary behaviour but what can ya do when danger comes by.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Nothing tops the time though when a horsefly decided to chase me, and I, probably the least athletic person of our friend group, ran for 30 minutes to get away from it. I outran it of course and went back home a little bit more traumatized from the experience. Nowadays I dread hearing a buzz sound and run away from as far as I can. Despite my fears I am mostly excited to share it with my friends, bathing in the sun while crying over the summer course homework we have to complete. Soon we’ll be the second years showing the next fuksis around, teaching them about our traditions and preparing them to continue our mighty legacy of the neverending bubble challenge. I wish ya’ll a warm, happy and not-toohungover-summer, Yours truly,
Editor-in-Chief
Anne Torvinen
PRESIDENT'S TWO CENTS
W
hat better way to start our beloved bulletin than a corny quote about summer?
”Summer means happy times and good sunshine. It means going to the beach, going to Disneyland, having fun.” - Brian Wilson, an American musician, singer, songwriter Believe me, I have never been a huge fan of inspirational quotes. In the ocean of inspirational slogans and catchphrases that we are surrounded by from the passing commercials and advertisements on how to be happy, only seldom do these quotes leave an impact on me. As a wise person once said, things are easier said than done, and that applies to inspiration as well.
PAGE 5
Just the thought of taking on a new hobby or something else refreshing and exciting has me smiling already. If you are feeling that your days have looked too bland and grey for a while, do yourself a favor and take some time for yourself and your own freedom. Finally, in order make the earlier quote a little more personal and to give you some ideas, I concocted this masterpiece for all you babas. Cheers! ”Summer means happy times and good sunshine. It means going to the Pankalampi, going to Vaakuna, having fun.” - Juhana Aaltio, an inspired Mikkeli hobo and the president of Probba
As only stating an eloquent slogan on a social media post does not guarantee us to be more happy, excited, and content about who we are and what we can be, we have to find some alternatives. When looking back to what feels like the lack of freedom, opportunities and excitement filled experiences most of have lived through during the last year, I cannot lie: I am looking forward to what is to come. Since the state of covid-19 in Mikkeli has been getting better and the days have brought more and more sunshine to our lives every passing day, my vision is that we can all concentrate on ourselves for this summer.
President of Probba
Juhana Aaltio
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
PAGE 7
CRYPTOCURRENCIES – THE FUTURE OF PAYMENTS? Written by: Riku Antikainen, Patrick Campbell, and Leevi Lindfors
M
ost of the cryptocurrencies are based on the technology called blockchain. In a highlevel blockchain acts as a specific type of database, which stores information in blocks.
In 2008, the blockchain was invented by an unknown party, known as Satoshi Nakamoto. The popularity of bitcoin and its blockchain has led to speculation of who Satoshi Nakamoto is. However, beyond the rumors there has been no proof of who is Satoshi Nakamoto. Thanks to this unknown party, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, nowadays the innovative way to transfer funds is through cryptocurrencies. These blockchain based currencies have number of advantages compared to fiat currencies. The business implications of blockchain based coins are vast and diverse. For example, Solana can execute around 50000 transactions per second, which is comparable with the amount of transactions Visa can process.
The Capability of Cryptocurrencies Transactions - The transfer of cryptocurrencies is not geographically restricted. This means that, technically, blockchain technology has the ability to transfer cryptocurrency from one wallet to another, with almost zero transaction fees or currency exchange costs, regardless of the physical location of the sender and recipient. The speed and proficiency of transaction processing is the main benefit when using cryptocurrencies currently. Staking - Most new era cryptocurrencies are based on Proof of Stake (PoS) concept, where users can stake their cryptocurrency to support the infrastructure and earn high interest rates (around 5-36% p.a. at the moment) for their contribution. The cryptocurrency scene is quickly transforming towards PoS, because it consumes a very minimal amount of electricity, required investments to upkeep the system are low and it can scale quickly to meet all consumer demands. Due to low electricity consumption, PoS enables a more environmentally sustainable payment network.
PAGE 8
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
Issues - At the moment the biggest obstacle for cryptocurrencies is the complex legal environment. Even though cryptocurrencies allow great things, they lack a solid legal infrastructure. Most countries are yet to implement new legal processes to support the use of cryptocurrencies, however, some governments like Switzerland are showing the way by adopting cryptocurrencies as a new method of payment.
Future Outlook Cryptocurrency technology is developing at a rapid rate and therefore cryptocurrencies need an entity behind them that keeps them up to date. Bitcoin is a great example of a cryptocurrency, that lacks updates and nowadays most of its technology is outdated. The future development of technology around cryptocurrencies defines how well the practical use cases match with the needs of consumers and businesses. The user-friendliness and ease of use are one of the significant factors that cryptocurrencies must overcome to become practical for their stakeholders. Since cryptocurrencies is an industry with huge growth potential, our team has taken the initiative to start work on a new innovative cryptocurrency project. Updates will follow as the project progresses.
Who Moved My Cheese By Dr Spencer Johnson
BOOK RECOMENDATION
PAGE 11
Written by: Jade Trebs
H
ave you ever felt surprised or even scared of change? If you answered yes, Who Moved My Cheese by Dr Spencer Johnson is a book you must read. Change is inevitable, yet still most humans are afraid of it. Who Moved My Cheese is a story that makes the reader think about how they perceive change, and how you can adapt to it. The book is divided into three parts: A gathering where old classmates meet, the story of “Who Moved My Cheese” and a discussion in which the old classmates come together to discuss the story and what they got out of it. The story in the book is about four characters who are living in a Maze, where cheese can be found. A sudden change happens, and the characters all react to the change differently. At the end of the book, the reader will most definitely identify themselves as one of the four characters, like I did. You might realize that sometimes it is good to anticipate and allow changes to happen around you and within you. In the discussion part of the book, the classmates discuss different situations where they have not wanted to deal with change and have ended up having trouble because of it. Even though “the story” is the main point of the book, the discussion gives the best insight on how to apply the knowledge gained from the book.
I personally enjoyed the book because it is a quick read, but you get plenty of good advice on how not to be afraid of change. I would especially recommend the book for our Mikkeli Aalto students since the advice cannot only be used in your personal life, but they can be applied to the business world. 5/5 so to say. The next time you are afraid of change I encourage you to pick up “Who Moved My Cheese”. “He decided that if he ever got the chance again, he would get out of his comfort zone and adapt to change sooner. It would make things easier.“
BULLETIN I/21 7
PAGE 12
RECIPES
Easy hangover pancakes – perfect
for a Thursday morning
INGREDIENTS 2 eggs somewhere around three coffee cups of milk about the same amount of flour or a bit more 2 teaspoons of baking powder 1 teaspoon of baking soda 2 teaspoons of vanilla sugar (if you’re feeling sweet or fancy, which is unlikely) a pinch of salt oil or butter for frying
Text and picture by: Noora lähdesmäki
WHAT DO I DO? The beauty of this recipe is that you can do it even if the room feels like it’s spinning around you. It’s so simple. Just throw all the ingredients in a bowl and mix. Simply add liquid if the batter feels too thick and similarly add flour if the batter feels too runny. If you woke up next to a fellow Baba, just double the ingredients! Fry on a pan with oil or butter. The thicker the batter, the easier to fry; if it’s a tough Thursday, make the batter extra thicc. This hangover cure is so tasty it will change your tough Thursdays for the better. Serve the pancakes with maple syrup, berries, sugar, nutella, pb, or even some bacon! Go crazy. Enjoy. May your Thursdays be as good as your Wednesdays.
RECIPES
PAGE 13
Tomato-mozzarella bagels
INGREDIENTS (2 SERVINGS) 2 bagels 1 Tomato Salad 1 pack of mozzarella Butter Olive oil Salt and pepper
RECIPE 1. Cut the bagels and toast the sides on a skillet with olive oil over low heat. Toast until golden brown 2. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella. Wash the salad 3. Build the bagel. On top of one side, fold the salad to fit the bagel, add tomato and mozzarella slices. 4. Sprinkle salt and black pepper on the mozzarella slices. Top the bagel and serve. Wine suggestion: Nau Mai Sauvignon Blanc 2020 Pike with sauteed mushrooms & asparagus
Text and picture by: Eemil Ta
rnanen
PROFILE
Name: Tanja Piha Current job: Head of Sales and Chief Inspirational Officer at Greenstep, Second Vice Chairperson of the Board in Helsingin Ekonomit, freelance journalist writing in Juoksija, Mondo and sometimes Kauppalehti and other business publications, podcasts Menesty Ruotsissa and Suomen paras bisneskirja Previous jobs: Sales & marketing at Fondia in Finland, Sweden and Estonia , various sales & marketing positions at Telia including one year in Norway as Chief Commercial Officer at Telia Norway, IT consulting at Fujitsu & Nokia, customer service and marketing at Finnair Studies: I have degrees in Finnish, Swedish and English. Master of Science University of Oulu, Master of Business Administration, Helsinki School of Economics, Bachelor of Business Administration Arcada and some post-grad studies TKK. Graduation year: 1999, 2000 & 2007 Master's Thesis: Sales and Marketing Management in a Broadband Firm (Telia) Interests: taking companies to Nordics, building successful teams, uniting sales and marketing as one function to boost growth Hobbies: running, surfing, my lovely cairn terrier Lily and lots of streaming services during COVID-19. I really loved Line of Duty, Atlantic Crossing & Tunna blå linjen.
CAREER OUTLOOK
PAGE 15
Written by: Tanja Piha
I'
ve never really planned my career. I have always thrown myself into positions, companies and jobs that interest me and where I feel I can contribute and learn. It’s essential to understand that it’s a two-way-street: you can learn from companies, but you also need to contribute. I feel lucky, as I have had fantastic people around me during my professional years. For me, it’s important to keep learning and the best part of my current job at Greenstep has given me so much insight what it takes to build a growing, profitable company with great culture. During my two years at Greenstep has provided me a fantastic view to different companies from financial perspective. For me, sales and marketing have always been “my thing”. I’ve always wanted to be in positions with a clear and measurable responsibility area. In sales, it’s naturally measurable and succeeding in sales is essential for any company. If I could advice students, this would be my number one advice. Choose one skill where you are good, develop that skill and get into positions with a solid business responsibility and just deliver your numbers. Today, bringing sales and marketing closer together is something I feel passionate about.
Having the Nordics as my home ground has given me a great network of colleagues, friends and business partners in the Nordics. I love working for companies that want to succeed in the Nordics. The second piece of advice would be: do not settle for only English as your professional language. If I think what one thing that’s given me professional edge is mastering the Swedish language and I encoure everybody to learn the language of the Nordics. During my years at Telia, I started to think, why I never went abroad to study or work. My mentor (it’s essential to have people mentoring and sparring you, officially or un-officially!) encouraged me and I spent one year in Oslo as Chief Commercial Officer. It’s wasn’t the best thing from work-life-balance-perspective, but I gained so much confidence and understanding that I highly encourage young and old to gain international experience.
10 (not so generic) life lessons from a 20-something year old Written by: Shradha Khanal
01
Love yourself. Because nobody else will (insert crying emoji).
02
Nobody really knows what they are doing.
03
Be nice but don’t simp too hard.
04
Crying is not going to help you pass your exam. Studying will.
05
Go to Library Genesis for free pdfs (not legal advice).
06
Don’t email your professor to round up your grade. Usually, the professor won’t even reply.
07
Get a webcam slider so you don’t have to check your camera every two minutes. This is useful for days when you are half asleep on your bed.
08
Your class is not as special as your teacher says it is.
09
Write a note on your door that says “keys?” so you don’t have to pay a €300 for losing your keys.
10
If you are in Vaakuna and you have a drink in your bag, do not take it out in front of the security. You will get kicked out.
VAPPU/JUHANNUS SIMA 8-10 VOL-% RECIPE FOR 25L Text and photos by Atte Koskinen
Ingredients: 2 kg brown sugar 3 kg white sugar 1kg lemons
Directions Disinfect the bucket and lid with boiling water. Wash the lemons thoroughly. Grate or peel the lemons and add the zest into the bucket. Cut the lemons into rounds and throw them in too. Add all of the sugars
Wine yeast 25L water Some raisins
Equipment: 25L fermenting bucket with an
into the bucket. Boil 10 litres of water and pour into the bucket. Mix until sugar is dissolved. Add 15 litres of lukewarm water and put the lid on. Wait until the water
temperature
is
35-38
celsius.
You
can
use
your hand as a thermometer.
When
the
sugar
water
reaches
the
desired
airtight lid
temperature, add the wine yeast to a glass of 37
Water lock
celsius water and let it bloom for 15 minutes. After
A hose Bottles
that, add the yeast water into the bucket and mix thoroughly.
SIMA RECIPE
PAGE 18
Now put the water lock into the hole in the lid
and
put
the
bucket
in
a
room
Sima review Colour 5/5
temperature, dark space. Remember to add water to the water lock at this point. Now, just
wait
for
2
weeks
and
don’t
let
the
Smell 4/5 Taste 5/5
water lock dry up. Enjoy the smell of pulla. The
sima
has
a
surprising
amount
of
After a day or two the water lock should carbonation. It tastes very fruity, but it isn’t bubble about once every 10 seconds. very sweet. A perfect drink summer drink. Put the full sima bottles into a dark and cold
The yellow color is almost calling for you to
space (kellari is best) for a week or until all
drink this nectar of gods. The raisins floating
of
around
the
raisins
have
floated
to
the
top.
are
really
a
delicacy
and
they
Remember to “burb” (open the caps) once
contain loads of alcohol so remember to
per
explode.
eat them. I recommend everyone to try this,
Especially important if you use glass bottles.
because the initial investment is pretty low
They’ll
and now that you have the equipment, the
day
so
be
like
unchecked sticky
the
floor.
for
bottles
grenades too
Sima
long
should
won’t
if
they
plus last
are
you’ll for
left
get
a
years
if
pelti per euro ratio is only getting lower.
contained properly but my 25 litres were
Peer review:
gone after two weekends.
Oliver Tuhkanen: Maistuu maistuu.
The ingredients should cost only about 15 and the equipment is about 30
€
€
Aleksi Körkkö: Ei keltään pois.
if you have
to buy everything as new.
after effects of sima:
PAGE 20
STUDYING ABROAD DURING A PANDEMIC
Written by: Oskar Sasse
O
On January 6th I was sitting in a waiting room at the US embassy in Helsinki, ready to be interviewed for my visa. The flights had been booked and even accommodation had been sorted at this point, but the fundamental feeling was that something would come up and foil my plans of leaving in a week’s time. I thought at the time, that this was because for the better part of that past year, everything involving more than just a handful of people had been cancelled. And although the summer had resembled normality at times, festivals, trips abroad and parties were few and far between. I felt as if I didn’t have control over anything.
Now you’ve probably guessed already, the exchange did indeed materialize, although the feelings of doubt didn’t fade until setting foot on American soil. To talk a bit about the exchange itself, classes at SKEMA Business School in Raleigh, North Carolina were split roughly 50/50 in terms of online and in-person, which was pleasant after finishing Mikkeli on a streak of Zoom lectures. My fellow Baba on exchange Valtteri and I were both in the marketing analytics track, an interesting combination of general concepts like marketing management and more hands-on skills like programming and social media analytics. Thanks to our matching schedules and some help from hotel Wi-Fi and free covid testing on campus, we were able to take the show on the road quite a few times and visit some places on the East Coast.
With New York came our first trip, and those same lingering feelings of an inevitable force getting in our way returned. The city was like a ghost town. Times Square looked like the Mikkeli marketplace in November, and no one was selling ‘I Love NY’ merchandise on the streets. It all felt surreal and even a bit wrong somehow. As if we weren’t supposed to be there. However, a moment of epiphany came when we managed to secure tickets for a Knicks basketball game. It was the first event after lockdown featuring spectators at the Madison Square Garden, and somehow two students from Finland were among those attending. The same feelings of doubt briefly returned, but during the game I was able to take it as it is and enjoy the experience. And more importantly, I realized that I had wasted an incredible amount of energy worrying about things outside of my control. Before the end of the semester, we had visited Boston, several places in North Carolina and I’d spent a week down in Miami. The trips served as a reminder that the outside world hadn’t gone anywhere, but even more so as a personal lesson on perspective. The pandemic had massively scaled down the things I could affect (or at least thought I could), and there I was worried about the aspects of my life I had the least control over. Back in January I should have given priority to the things I can control. My mindset and wellbeing to name a few, may that be in the form of binging Netflix, adequate sleep, exercising or anything in between. As at least one more generation of Baba’s will go abroad in these unusual conditions, I’d like to put my two cents in. Send your emails, fill in your forms, place your applications and pay your corresponding fees, but after that don’t worry about it. Focus your energy on the things you can control, let go of the things you cannot, and more likely than not it’ll all work out in the end.
MIKKELI WEEKEND
Photos: Anne Torvinen
MIKKELI WEEKEND
Photos: Anne Torvinen
PAGE 24
ALUMNI STORY
Written by: Heidi Idman
I
’m a BBA12, currently working at Reckitt as a Global Senior Brand Manager in Health and Nutrition based in London, UK. I lived in Mikkeli between 2000 and 2002 and I don’t think I had ever been to Mikkeli before moving there. After getting over the initial shock, it turned out to be a fun city to live in while studying. Mainly because of the people who attended the BBA program. We were a tightly knit group and because Mikkeli is such a small place, and the study environment is so unique, you end up spending a lot of time together. There are so many fun and memorable Mikkeli moments, that it is difficult to pick one. However, Orientation week, in all its craziness (students donating cars, math tests that no one passed) is probably one to remember. After completing my exchange studies at DePaul University in Chicago, I joined IBM as a Customer Service Specialist working with Swedish customers. A year later I started my master’s studies at Hanken in Helsinki, majoring in Management and Organization. Four years after joining IBM, I was accepted to IBM’s Nordic Sales Trainee program, which was a year-long trainee program with other young IBMers from the Nordics concentrating on solution selling. After graduating from the program, I moved into software sales working with small and medium sized software customers. I stayed with IBM for almost 8 years in various roles, bumping into several members of the Mikkeli mafia over the years.
Because camera phones didn't exist back then, there aren't a lot of good quality photos to choose from, so I've included a couple from my exchange in Chicago. The first one is with my fellow Baba Satu Strömberg in front of the Buckingham fountain in Chicago and the second is from the computer room at DePaul, because we didn't have laptops back then... :D
Having worked in the IT industry for so many years, I wanted a change and joined Elan IT (a subsidiary of Manpower) as a Recruitment Consultant working with direct recruitment projects for IT roles. I met a lot of interesting people during my interviews and the best part of the job was the versatility of it and the work environment, it was a fun and energetic workplace. I then moved to an Account Manager role before leaving Elan IT and joining a Finnish recruitment agency called Sihti as a Headhunter.
ALUMNI STORY
PAGE 25
Thanks to an ex-colleague from Sihti, I made a complete career change when I was recruited by Unilever as a Brand Manager for the home care category in Finland, working in the laundry category. Working at Unilever was a crash course into marketing and I learned a lot during my time there. It is also where I found my passion for marketing. After a few years at Unilever Finland, I wanted to move abroad and was transferred to London, UK to join Unilever International as a Marketing Manager for Europe. I was managing all the categories, from ice cream to personal care, in multiple countries. I spent more time at airports around Europe than at home in the UK, but when you love to travel as much as I do, it didn’t feel like work.
Mikkeli prepared me very well for an international business career. It basically gave me all the tools to succeed. However, I think the most valuable skill I learned, was to be comfortable speaking in front of people and to give presentations. The first presentations in Mikkeli felt terrifying, but I really enjoy presenting these days and as it is something I do weekly, being comfortable is really important. Also, in today’s business world, team work and collaboration are extremely important, as well as the ability to digest large amounts of data quickly and to meet deadlines, things that Mikkeli teaches you. The whole case centric approach to learning is very good at preparing you for a career in business.
After almost 8 years with Unilever, I was headhunted to join Reckitt as a Global Senior Brand Manager in November 2020. I’m currently working on setting up the next growth engine for Reckitt. My unit, the Global Expansion Markets, is a newly established business unit that aims to serve the underserved and make sure that everyone around the world has access to the amazing products that we have in our portfolio regardless of where they live. I manage the Health and Nutrition portfolios, so anything from Dettol hand soaps to Airborne vitamins. I work on marketing projects across the world, hoping that once the pandemic eases, I will be able to visit some of my markets in person, especially the Caribbean and Australian markets.
Enjoy your time in Mikkeli, it’s an amazing place and it gives you access to a unique network of people. Anywhere you go, if you bump into a fellow Baba, you’ll immediately connect over shared experiences, that only another Mikkeli graduate will understand.
PAGE 26
W H A T
POEM
I S
A
H O M E
“what is a home?” you ask well,, it depends, doesn’t it home is where you have breakfast at 7am on a foggy Thursday morning with your mom and your dad sleepy eyes family and maybe some coffee, too home is when you eat too much pizza with your three best friends accompanied by endless episodes of your favorite tv show laughing and then saying nothing again comfortable silence friends and maybe some ice cream, too home is the smell of freshly baked bread on a slow Sunday shy sunlight no rush calm and maybe some guitar tunes, too
home is holding the hand of your favorite person and feeling warm safe like you belong walks, smiles, endless talks and maybe some kisses, too because home,, my dear is a feeling, not a place maybe a moment a familiar smell a person and with the right people I trust wherever you are you’re a l w a y s home
~N