Greater Responsiblity, Greater Results

www.laurea.fi

Greater Responsibility –

Greater ResultsMika J. Kortelainen

Janika KyttäTarja Laakkonen

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What is Yrityslabra (Business Lab)?Yrityslabra (Business Lab) is a non-virtual learning

environment for BBA studentsLocated in Laurea UAS Lohja campusFounded 2008 as a link between Laurea UAS in Lohja and local companies, re-founded 2011 as a learning environmentAfter first year of studies, when the student has gained 60 study credits (out of 210) he can transfer from the campus environment to the YrityslabraStudents complete their BBA studies by working in projects connected to real business lifeThere are about 50 students in Yrityslabra, 25 actively participate in projects, 25 write their thesis or are studying abroadSince 2011 students have completed almost 250 projects

Laurea Lohja / Mika J. Kortelainen, Janika Kyttä & Tarja Laakkonen 2014

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Background of Yrityslabra

Weak study results on Lohja campus

Long graduation time

Loss of students (to

bigger campuses)

Difficulty of finding work

after graduation

Lack of cooperation

between Laurea and companies


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2010 - 2014

Execution in practice

Development work

Research

Theoretical background

Developing Yrityslabra


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Weak results on Lohja campus


Loss of students (to bigger campuses)

Difficulty of finding work after graduation

Lack of cooperation


Elements of developing Learning Environment

Element 1 Element 2 Element 3 Element 4 Element 5

Background and development of the Yrityslabra


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5 key elements of the Yritylabra

Physical environment

• No class-rooms• Creative and free office - like• Adaptibility

• Free access• Tools and space provided• The space can be adapted in different

uses.

Socialenvironment

• Internal and external networks• Informality• Equality (between everyone) • Office more like coffeehouse

• Teacher’s attitude towards students

• Teacher’s way of dressing• Teacher is one of the group (equal to

students)

Personallearning process

• Freedom of choosing projects• Freedom of choosing in what order and

how fast to study

• Freedom of choosing the role and speciality path in projects• Peer-teaching continues even after graduation

Role of the teacher

• The philosophy behind the action and teacher’s attitude towards cooperation

• Recognizing and awarding earlier knowledge and skills

• Not an authority but precence• Supporting students in problematic projects• Informal contact even after graduation

Project managementsystem

• Transcript of records system is modified to the action. Systems do not limit the way of working. • Tools to manage projects

• CRM-system shared by teachers and

students• Feedback system• Academic semesters do not determine

the schedule of actionLaurea Lohja / Mika J. Kortelainen, Janika Kyttä & Tarja Laakkonen 2014

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Weak results on Lohja campus


Loss of students (to

bigger campuses)

Difficulty of finding work

after graduation

Lack of cooperation


Elements of developing Learning Environment

Element 1 Element 2 Element 3 Element 4 Element 5

Students’ responsibility of their studies

Improved results on Lohja campus

Shorter graduation time

Smaller loss of students

Faster employment

after graduation

Development of business

cooperation

Results and findings


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Results

When students took greater responsibility of their own studies the results were:

• Shorter time of graduation • In campus it takes approx. 4 years to graduate, in

Yrityslabra 2,5-3,5 years

• Less students quit their studies• Earlier 30-40% students either quit completely or moved

to a bigger campus. In Yrityslabra only 5-10% students quit.

• Faster employment after gratuation• At the moment the employment rate of students

graduated from Yrityslabra is 100%. In campus side the number is over 90%.

• Earlier there were only few, max 10 projects done in cooperation with local businesses. In Yrityslabra, in the last 3 years there has been 250 projects completed in cooperation with local businesses.


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Yrityslabra in action

Informal environment

Students teach each other

Learning does not need to happen in

the classrooms

Freedom ResponsibilityTeamwork


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Biographies:

Mika J. Kortelainen, M.Sc. (Econ.), holds position as Senior Lecturer at the Laurea University of Applied Sciences. He is also doctoral candidate at the Turku School of Economics. His research interests are focused on customer relationships, relationship marketing and business models as well consumer and business-to-business markets. He has participated in various research and development projects in the area of living labs, business models and user-driven & open Innovation development with Laurea’s research group.

Janika Kyttä, M.Ed., holds a position as a Coordinator at the Laurea University of Applied Sciences. She has also vast experience of guidance from a background of working as a guidance counselor for a Vocational College and international business from being a co-owner and partner in an import/wholesale business. Her research interests are focused on learning process, learning difficulties and developing new learning environments. She has worked in several research and development projects in the field of learning environments.

Tarja Laakkonen, BA, BBA holds a position as Publications Planner at Laurea University of Applied Sciences, Finland. She has a background in both business studies as well as human arts, more specifically languages (Russian and German). Her research interests are focused on developing learning environments and learning processes.

Yrityslabra (Business Lab in English): Yrityslabra is a learning environment for the Business Management studies in Laurea University of Applied Sciences Lohja Unit. It was founded in 2008 but started as an independent learning environment in the fall of 2011. After first year of studies, when the student has gained 60 study credits (out of 210) he can transfer from the campus environment to Yrityslabra to complete his business management bachelor studies in real-life business projects and consignments.


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Education

Greater Responsiblity, Greater Results