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I’m Professor of Corporate Communication at the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics (JSBE), and the head of this subject area. I am also an alumna of the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥. I completed my doctoral studies and dissertation at the Department of Communication, in Organizational Communication & Public Relations.

After graduating, I was working elsewhere for a while, but fairly soon wished to return to the academic world. I got a job at the University of Aarhus in Denmark and stayed there for almost ten years and advanced to the post of Associate Professor. 

It's easy to combine career and family in Jyväskylä

Along with the birth of our children, I had to make new decisions, however. My Finnish husband was working at that time in Copenhagen and commuting became too hard. We moved after his new job to Sweden, where I started to consider the next step of my own career. For family reasons, the alternatives were in practice to move to Italy or Finland. 

My friend who was working at the Ä¢¹½Ö±²¥ contacted me making me aware of a vacancy at JSBE that might fit my profile. I decided to apply for it, went through the interview and selection process, and got the job – it was thus a lucky and well-timed coincidence! I started at JSBE in autumn 2018.

In Jyväskylä, it is easy to combine work and family life into a balanced whole. This is a small city where everything is practically available within a 15-minute distance. The surroundings are safe and the nature and lakes nearby, right at your front door. Also, all necessary services, such as day care, schools, and a health-care centre, are near and within easy reach. 

Time management is an important skill

I’m involved in many things and like different work tasks, but to succeed in this, one needs to be capable to keep all the threads firmly in hand and delegate things where necessary. Fortunately, I have an excellent team and support around me. 

I teach courses related to crisis communication and corporate reputation management, for example, and supervise bachelor and master’s level students as well as postgraduates working on their doctoral dissertations. In addition to teaching, I have to reserve some time for course planning and for obtaining suitable course materials. 

I am a member of the faculty board and other administrative groups, which take their own time as well. Moreover, I belong to several international research communities and organisations, which involve peer reviews of articles and arrangements for international conferences, for example.

This work calls for good time management. Sometimes I can have online meetings early in the morning or late in the evening if the other participants are located, say, in the United States or Australia.

Nordic work culture is equal

I have lived and worked in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, and also in the Netherlands and Canada, and I have an Italian background. Every place has its own character and positive sides. 

The Nordic countries are both similar in some respects and different in others. Although my roots are in a highly different culture, I have received my professional education within a Nordic environment, and I am used to the local ways of working.

Nordic academic work settings have quite uniform, high standards for quality. The relationship between teachers and students is very informal and equitable in comparison to many other European countries, for instance.