An “As Told To” interview by Kristaps Kovalonoks, Research Coordinator at Aalto School of Business.
This interview is part of a first-person storytelling series highlighting the personal journeys, ideas, and insights of members of Aalto University’s Entrepreneurship Unit (ENTU). Real stories, told in their own words.
What motivates someone to leave behind a successful career in corporate communications to pursue a PhD in entrepreneurship, and then go on to build an academic life in France? In this interview, Aalto University alumna Virva Salmivaara, now Assistant Professor at Audencia Business School, reflects on the sabbatical that changed her direction, the lasting influence of Aalto’s research culture, and why inclusive entrepreneurship has become a central theme in both her academic and policy work.
My name is Virva Salmivaara, and I’m currently working as an Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship at Audencia Business School in Nantes, France. I was born and raised in Finland, completed two master’s degrees and a PhD there, and spent over a decade working in corporate communications before moving into academia.
I didn’t have any special connection to France beforehand. A few years earlier, I had spent three months at a business school in Lyon, which gave me a small glimpse into the French academic environment. But when I saw the job advertisement from Audencia, I had a positive attitude and decided to apply. I was open to international opportunities.
France has a different academic system compared to Finland. There is no tenure track. Instead, you receive a permanent position right from the beginning and then advance based on various criteria. This reflects the country’s strong focus on worker rights, and it is simply a different way of organising academic careers.
Before starting my PhD, I was working in the corporate sector. At one point, I took a year off, which I jokingly call an early midlife crisis. I travelled, had time to think, and during that time I started to consider whether doing a PhD might be interesting. I had already done a lot in communications and thought it could be time for something different. Since I had a master’s in entrepreneurship, I figured I would apply in that field. At the time, I didn’t realise how many different backgrounds people bring into entrepreneurship research. I also didn’t really look into other universities. I probably assumed Aalto was the obvious choice.
I contacted the professor of entrepreneurship at Aalto, who was very encouraging and invited me to meet in person. That conversation made the decision easy. I was accepted and started the PhD, not fully knowing what to expect. Looking back now, I see how unique it is to do a PhD at Aalto. You take the environment for granted while you’re in it, but later you realise how strong the research culture is and how high the expectations are. You are trained to engage with top journals and to do high-quality work from the start.
What stayed with me is the mindset. At Aalto, you are never made to feel like certain academic debates or journals are out of reach. The attitude is that this is the real game, and you are part of it. That kind of thinking shapes how you see your place in academia.
It is hard to pick a single favourite memory. But one thing that really stands out is the people I met during my time at Aalto. I became very close friends with another PhD student who is now at Copenhagen Business School, and that friendship is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
There are others as well. I have continued working with Ewald Kibler, and we still collaborate a lot. That will probably continue for the foreseeable future. So rather than one particular event or experience, what stayed with me the most are the relationships, both personal and professional.
I’m not working in corporate communications anymore, so I’m not navigating that space these days. But I do think it is interlinked with many of the things we do. Research is a form of communication. Teaching is communication too, just in a different style. Having a background in the ‘’real world’’, where most of our students end up, has helped me a lot as a teacher.
When it comes to policy work, it has mostly come through academia. Organisations like the OECD and the United Nations have contacted me or our team to produce reports. They are looking for academic input that is evidence-based and reliable. So in that sense, there is a lot of synergy between policy consulting and academic work.
Inclusive entrepreneurship is important from so many angles. From a societal perspective, not being inclusive means wasting talent. And from an individual point of view, it is about giving people the chance to live up to their potential. For me, it matters on a human level, on an economic level, and more broadly.
One area I’ve focused on is late-career entrepreneurship. We have written a few papers on the topic, and it has caught the attention of the business sector in Finland. I was contacted by a radio station in Ireland to speak about it, and my work was used in a Finnish training module for unemployed people looking at entrepreneurship as an option later in life.
I think inclusive entrepreneurship is a very concrete topic, and it has created actual connection points with practice. It is also an area where we, as European scholars, can keep important topics on the table, especially at a time when certain narratives are becoming more restrictive elsewhere.
One paper that stands out for me is about EU policy discourse on sustainability and entrepreneurship. It was one of the first papers I published, and I was the first author, so it felt like something I had shaped from beginning to end.
The topic itself is very close to who I am as a researcher. I am interested in politics, in communication, and in the broader societal role of enterprises. This paper brought all of that together.
At the time, I was finishing my PhD and was unsure whether I would continue in academia. When we got a positive response from the journal, I thought we have to keep going with this. That paper played a role in my decision to stay in academic life.
Life in France is quite different from Finland. Even though both are European countries, the culture and work environments are not the same. In France, people approach work through personal connection. It matters whether you are friendly, how well you get along with others, and only then do you work together. In Finland, it is more common to keep work and social life separate. You do not need to have coffee with someone to collaborate.
What I miss most about Finland is how easy everything is for me. I speak the language, I know how things work, and I appreciate how direct people are. In Finland, things move quickly. People say what they mean, and there is very little hierarchy. That kind of communication style can feel abrupt at first, but once you understand it, it becomes very efficient.
Here in France, they do not require you to speak French, especially in international programmes, but there are still situations where it is needed. I did not speak any French when I moved, but now I have been learning gradually. It is a formal and nuanced language, especially in public settings.
I am not really part of the formal alumni network. I do not follow what it does or receive any information from it. But I still feel connected to Aalto in other ways. I work with people from Aalto, especially in the Entrepreneurship Unit, where I know almost everyone, and I often visit the campus when I am in Finland. I stay in touch with former colleagues, and I continue to collaborate on research. Aalto is where I did my PhD, so in that sense, it still feels like a home base.
If you are considering a career abroad, my advice is to stay open-minded. There are excellent research environments in many different places, and in my own case, I did not know anyone at the university where I was hired. Networking can help during the initial search because it gives you insight into different institutions, but it is not always necessary for actually getting the job. Recruitment processes usually follow clear criteria and protocols.
Different universities value different things. Some may place more weight on teaching experience, others may look for links to companies, practical impact, or contributions to research communities. It is always a good idea to ask and find out what matters to them.
Aalto is a very strong research institution, and that sets high expectations. But you should not think that if you do not publish like a senior professor right after your PhD, you have no future in academia. That is not the case. There are many different kinds of academic environments, and it is about finding the one that fits you.
