On a sunny Friday 27.4.2018, Urban Mill got visitors from Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK), when its students from the Master’s degree programme in Business Management and Entrepreneurship spent the last contact day of their spring semester in Otaniemi.

During the day, the students had the pleasure of listening to lectures from experts from very varied fields of business. Lars Miikki from Urban Mill was kind enough to tell the story and mission of the Urban Mill Innovation Platform (Public-Private-People-Partnership), and Mikael Virkki came to give a lecture about the global operations of Business Finland. Teijo Räsänen and Tommi Gustafsson from Innotiimi International Ltd Oy talked about their company, change leadership and the many different styles of leadership with real life examples, and Perttu Karjalainen from Entocube gave a lecture about the global environmental problems the food industry causes, and gave an introduction into a possible solution: edible insect farming.

All of the subjects were very interesting and got a lot of discussion going on among the students. None of the lecturers was spared from sharp questions. The students got real treats, since Perttu from Entocube brought some tastings from their own production: crickets! How yummy! For lunch, the students visited the beautiful Fat Lizard restaurant and bar, which was conveniently in a walking distance. There they enjoyed a company introduction and a buffet – and also some more crickets.

At the end of the day, the students had a workshop, where they discussed the day’s topics and presented their own ideas and thoughts about change management and modern trends in food industry.

All of the students enjoyed the day at Urban Mill greatly, and the facilities got many praises for their innovative and refreshing atmosphere. The students were impressed also on the fact that the surrounding Otaniemi is full of companies with the same start-up mindset as Urban Mill. Lars Miikki mentioned at least Urban Mill’s neighbours at Otaniemi Innovation Alley: Startup Sauna and Aalto Design Factory with all its innovative students. Such a creative place!

Thank you for the awesome day, Urban Mill!

Text and photos: Terhi Tammivirta, Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK).