Graduation Speeches December 2023 by President, CEO Jukka Määttä and Lecturer Sikke Leinikki
Humak´s Graduation ceremony will be held as a programmatic online event on Friday 15 December 2023 at noon on Humak’s YouTube channel. A warm welcome to celebrate Humak’s graduating students and the end of the semester together!
Link to online event (external page)
President, CEO Mr. Jukka Määttä:
Dear graduates, guests and colleagues!
A few weeks ago, I was at my niece’s graduation party. We spent a nice evening together at the party. In her own speech, my niece said that it was important to her to have people by her side during her graduation and work journey. These were people who supported and encouraged her.
The world around us has changed in just a few years. Many of you started your studies before the covid-19 pandemic. Less than two years ago, war broke out in Ukraine. A month ago, war also broke out in Palestine. The news has been worrying. Confidence and belief in the future have been put to the test. The new world order is a concern for us all. This is when you need someone – by your side – a person who supports you, encourages you and creates hope for the future.
The fields in which you graduated are important. It is in these difficult circumstances that expertise is needed to meet and connect people in communities in different ways. This expertise in areas that empower people and communities gives everyone the opportunity to be part of society. This is true even if it’s challenging. You are helping to create belief in other people’s lives and futures.
This year, Humak celebrated its 25th anniversary. We held a seminar, created podcasts on current topics and recognised the anniversary year in our everyday activities. Now, we are moving into the next twenty-five years stronger than ever and learning as we go. We believe that Humak’s expertise will be useful in solving many challenges in society. Over the past twenty-five years, universities of applied sciences have developed and grown into significant higher education operators and developers of working life. Today, master’s level studies at universities of applied sciences, can also be used to apply for doctoral studies at universities.
When I was preparing this talk, I asked our graduating students what they would like to hear on their graduation day and how they would like to encourage graduates to enter working life. One of them said that it has been a privilege to study in Finland and get an excellent and cheap education. She also said that it is a privilege to work in a profession where you can offer help and support to those people who really need it. It makes the work and education meaningful.
Thank you, dear colleagues, for the past year and for the important work done for the graduating students. I would also like to thank the student union for their constructive collaboration during the past year!
Once again, warm congratulations to all our graduates!
I wish you all a peaceful Christmas season!
Thank you!
Lecturer, Mrs. Sikke Leinikki:
When I was asked to speak for 10 minutes on the changing world of work, I had to narrow down my perspective quite a bit. For example, whether to look at permanent things (say, lunch is eaten at 12 noon in Finland and at 2 pm in Europe), whether to focus on the most significant changes in the last 100 years (women in work), whether to consider the growth of self-employment or platform work, or perhaps to look at the impact of the current government on labour market policy. Or indulge in a fashionable reflection on the ethical issues surrounding AI. Or concentrate on telling stories about the changes I have experienced in my working life. How would you approach it?
Now everyone could take a second to think about what I expect from the future, especially the future of working life. How does this quick thought make you feel? Quite a lot of things come to mind, don’t they? The word ‘future’ is quite a colourful one, especially the future of work. Some people think that world of work is in transition. Others are worried about what will happen to jobs and work when the digital world takes over using AI. Some see the future as an exciting task, others are frightened. But I believe that the future is a task we all share, that we all have a stake in and influence on what our future will be like. In what follows, I will look at the future largely from the perspective of Humak, and specifically from the perspective of community education.
I start from what I have heard from students. When I talk to students, they tell me that Humak’s values are one of the most important reasons for applying to Humak. I have also noticed that when Humak has applied for employees, at the latest during the interview, there has been a discussion about the alignment of Humak’s values with those of the applicant. In other words, the values guide the choices of applicants in a very concrete way.
Now you may wonder why I am talking about values and not about changes in working life. Is it not a waste of time to talk about values when we should be talking about what is changing and why, and who really benefits from all this change? Perhaps. There are many ways of looking at the world of work. You can look at the big trends, as Sitra does (megatrends), you can look at changes in the word of work from the point of view of occupational structures and the systems that regulate work (e.g. laws and collective agreements). It is possible to look at changes in the labour market, careers, work organisation, times and places of work, well-being at work, employment trends or even institutions from the perspective of work, or to ask whether working life is going in a good or bad direction. Sitra, for example, looks at key changes and says that, according to megatrends, we are living in the midst of an ecological sustainability crisis, where nature’s carrying capacity is being tested. In addition to these different research perspectives, everyone has some personal or close experience of work, which we have just touched on.
However, I personally think that the emphasis on values in the choices of those applying to Humak says a lot about the pace and direction of change in working life. Each of us needs to clarify our own values and, at the same time, find out the values of the organisation in which we want to work. Clarifying values is necessary because in a fast changing world, we need values to guide our choices and actions in the face of change. Therefore, values competence is an important part of preparing for change in the world of work. Here at Humak, we work on the basis of stated values, and this seems a safe choice: here, at least hopefully, students and employees are not constantly in conflict with their own values.
Conflicts of values are linked to another changing trend in the world of work: employees want to do work that has a positive impact on society and the environment. It is in the nature of work to try to make a difference. More and more people now want to contribute to the change they consider most important: sustainable development. Making sure the planet is still viable in the next century.
Let me come back to a rather central issue for me. I have already briefly touched on Humak, values, relevance and sustainability. But I want to look at this a little more. This way, at the graduation ceremony, we could reflect on how studying at Humak has prepared students for working life. Have we been equipped to face the major forces of change that are shaking our society (climate change, loss of biodiversity, technological change)?
When I have spoken to graduates, they have praised the group work in particular. The fact that they have learned to work and learn in a community. This skill of learning together is perhaps one of the most important skills we have and will continue to have. It strengthens our ability to deal with change, builds confidence and gives us the tools to innovate. And if there’s one thing you can say about the future, it’s that many things are changing, including at work. Together, we can face the emotions that change brings, such as a sense of uncertainty. We can organise support and encounters when uncertainty creates confusion. In these situations of confusion, we see opportunities to learn new things together, to open up some small new perspectives for the future. To clarify the meanings and multiple goals of working together and to seek a new direction together.
Studying with us gives you social courage. It is an important quality that comes from trust, equality and diversity. Social courage is therefore an asset for both individuals and communities, helping them to adapt to the changing world of work and to make a difference.
In this way, I would like to conclude by thanking the students for their contribution to Humak. At the same time, I would like to warmly congratulate the graduating students. You who are graduating today have much to contribute to the world of work and to society. Please continue to be curious, courageous and responsible future makers, together.
A few sources:
Heiskanen Tuula, Syvänen Sirpa ja Rissanen Tapio (toim.) 2019. Mihin työelämä on menossa. Tampere: PunaMusta Oy – Yliopistopaino
Pyöriä, Pasi; Ojala, Satu; Nätti, Jouko (2019) Työelämän muutokset ajassamme. Tampere: Tampere University Press https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-201911296422
Koivunen, Tuija, Sippola, Markku ja Melin Harri (2023) Työ elää. Murroksia, trendejä ja muutoksia Suomessa.
Tuija Koivunen, Arja Haapakorpi, Heidi Lehtovaara,Pasi Pyöriä (2023) Tutkimusta työelämän muutosten ääreltä. Tieteessä tapahtuu 5/2023. Haettu 20.11.2023 Tutkimusta työelämän muutosten ääreltä | Tieteessä tapahtuu (tieteessatapahtuu.fi)
(Translated with DeepL.com (free version))
