There are plans to improve collaboration . . . → Read More: PMC 2011 Kick-off]]> Ideas, suggestions and plans were made during the year’s first meeting. Despite the extremely short meeting notice, the meeting room was full as thirteen members attended and contributes to making decisions and plans for the coming years. The key points of the meeting were collaboration and the clubs future direction.

There are plans to improve collaboration with companies, and possibly, extend collaboration to other project management organisations. Furthermore, the university is always a key partner of PMC. PMC’s action plan for the next two years was set at a relatively abstract level. The action plan for the next two years includes the following:

- Expand the PMC Top Seminar

- Stabilize sources of income

- Have more ACTIVE members

- Get involved in more projects

What are the challenges and opportunities associated with your international project?

If you have experience, thoughts, or plans related to international collaboration, join the discussion on Wednesday 24th November @ Aalto Design Factory’s Stage. Specialists on the subect will . . . → Read More: PMC Top Seminar 24.11.2010]]> International projects create new opportunities and offer great possibilities, however, cultural differences, distance and language tend to complicate things.

What are the challenges and opportunities associated with your international project?

If you have experience, thoughts, or plans related to international collaboration, join the discussion on Wednesday 24th November @ Aalto Design Factory’s Stage. Specialists on the subect will share their experiences and engage the audience in a panel discussion.

RSVP

17:00-19:00 24.11. @ Aalto Design Factory

Speakers:

Kaarina Gould, World Design Capital 2010 Helsinki

Kaarina Gould is the director for the World Design Capital 2012 Helsinki programme. The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid) designated Helsinki as the World Design Capital for the year 2012 on November 25^th, 2009.

The International Design Foundation is responsible for the planning and execution of the World Design Capital Helsinki 2012 project. The foundation manages all international rights and brands related to the project. It also supervises compliance to the international organizing agreement signed earlier this year.

Garry K. VanPatter, Humantific

Garry K. VanPatter is the co-founder of Humantific, a new breed of SenseMaking-based Transformation Consultancy. Today many innovation consultancies remain focused on new product creation by making sense of user behaviors. In contrast Humantific helps clients with a much wider range of change, innovation and transformation challenges. Therefore, the consultancy is doing SenseMaking around much broader complexity arrays in addition to “user behaviors.”

Humantific recognize that many challenges facing organizations, societies and ultimately planet earth cannot be solved by creating more products and services. The consultancy is already working on the other side of that realization that is rapidly emerging in the global marketplace.

Anton Schubert, 358

Anton Schubert

Anton Schubert is a strategist at 358, a leading advertising agency based in Helsinki. Anton recently moved to Helsinki from London, where he worked as a project leader for IDEO, an international design and innovation consultancy that specialists in human factors, psychology, business, design, engineering and manufacturing. Anton’s current work, as well as the ten years he spent working for IDEO have added up to a lot of experience in creative, cross-disciplinary and multicultural project based work.

Dr. Tuomas Ahola, Aalto University*

Dr. Tuomas Ahola

Dr. Tuomas Ahola works as a project manager at the Project Business research group of Aalto University. Ahola holds the degree of Doctor of Science (Tech.) in Industrial Engineering and Management (Helsinki University of Technology) and has several years of experience as in coordinating and carrying out research focusing on complex multi-firm projects. Furthermore, Ahola is responsible for teaching project marketing at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management. Ahola’s current research interests include project networks, role of inter-organizational relationships in project business, project marketing, business models of project-based firms, and customer relationship management.

Dr. Mikko Koria, Aalto University

Dr. Mikko Koria

Within a career that spans over twenty-five years of professional management, practice and research in the private, public and the third sectors,  Dr. Mikko Koria’s key expertise is linked to the ability to successfully lead complex, multicultural and multidisciplinary organisation and initiatives, linking technical and social goals. After design & architecture studies at the Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, Mikko Koria obtained a M.Sc. (Arch.) from the Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, a MBA (Design Mgmt.) from the University of Westminster, with subsequent D.Sc. (Econ.) work on complex project management in international settings done at the Helsinki School of Economics, Finland.

In the last years, Mikko Koria has directed his efforts to the field of innovation and related capability management, design and management research and international development projects. He has done research, lectured and taught widely in the fields of design, culture and business studies at various universities and faculties in Finland.  He currently holds the position of the Development Director of the International Design Business Management Programme, a joint multidisciplinary teaching and research initiative of the School of Economics, the School of Art and Design, and the School of Science and Technology of the Aalto University. Besides research and post graduate teaching activities, the current engagement includes creating new multidisciplinary learning and research structures in design-intensive business environments.

Within professional activities, Mikko Koria has resided in Finland, Mozambique, Brazil, Vanuatu, and Spain; and also undertaken relevant professional activities additionally in the UK, Zimbabwe, South Africa; with non-professional residence also in Greece, Portugal, and Nigeria.

Current key areas of research and professional interest:

• Design-intensive business management in the global economy
• Research into innovation & capability, international project business & management
• Design management in organisations & knowledge intensive services
• Curriculum development for multidisciplinary and cross-cultural higher education programmes

Panel Moderator:

Prof. Kalevi Ekman, Aalto University Design Factory

Prof. Kalevi Ekman

Kalevi Ekman, or “Eetu”, is the director and janitor of Aalto Design Factory. At the moment, he is having various roles at Aalto University and the School of Science and Technology. He is a professor in Machine Design and leads the Product Development Project. As vice-rector of the Helsinki University of Technology university from 2005-2009 his areas of responsibility include development of basic education, academic affairs, open university, lifelong learning, quality control, information services and alumni relations.

Eetu’s research and teaching field is product development. His main interests lie in integrated product development processes, the conceptualization phase of product development and especially the multi-disciplinary cooperation between engineers, industrial designers and marketing specialists. Recently Eetu and the Aalto Design Factory have received many awards and a lot of recognition for great achievements that have advanced academic, industrial and international collaborations. He recently returned form Shanghai where he was continuing to secure new promising partnerships between industries and universities in Finland and China.

*The Aalto University is a major new Nordic University formed through the merger of the Helsinki School of Economics (HSE), the University of Art and Design Helsinki (TaiK) and the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) starting 1.1.2010.