I’m Juha Haimala living currently in Helsinki. I’ve studied at LUT twice, first Mechanical Engineering (Graduated in 1983) and later Industrial Engineering and Management doctoral studies (graduated in 2008). I’ve also two degrees from current Aalto University (MBA in 2002 and Business Law & Accounting in 2019). I did Vocational Teacher studies in 2010-2011.
I’ve travelled along a quite typical career path, starting from purely technical positions, shifting gradually towards customers, first in project management and later in sales. Once I got to customer interface it was natural and fascinating to go deeper there, sales manager, sales director and from there to a md position. The latest shift took place in 2010, when I started as a principal lecturer in a university of applied sciences. Well, I gave some courses in LUT as well mainly while doing my doctoral studies. I’ve worked in various industries: welding equipment, robots, automation and logistics systems, while the customers at that time varied from food processors to steel and paper makers. Most of the time in industry I spent in international markets.
The reason I’m interested in mentoring is to encourage today’s students to look for possibilities with an open mind. I started as a developer of welding devices having a mechanical engineering background but knowing something about welding. Neither had I any experience in robots or automation but I knew how to weld manually and what kinds of devices are used. It’s all about linking something you know to something, perhaps, from a totally different field. In the same way, if I was in business, I had to learn something about the realities in that context. What you have studied does not lock your options, instead it creates new opportunities.
Studies at LUT: Mechanical Engineering & Industrial Engineering and Management, 1983 & 2008
Mentoring language: Finnish or English
