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 does it mean to grow alongside your work, your students, and your surroundings? In this interview, Tamara Galkina shares how a one-year study grant from Russia became the starting point of a lifelong academic journey in Finland. Now an Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship and Director of the Master’s Programme in Sustainable Entrepreneurship at Aalto University, she reflects on her path through universities in the Nordics and beyond, the values that shape her teaching, and the power of community within ENTU.
I am originally from Saint Petersburg, Russia, and I moved to Finland in August 2004. Soon it will be 21 years since I arrived. Finland was the first foreign country where I lived, although during this time I have also spent periods in Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United States.
I first came with a grant to study at Lappeenranta University of Technology. It was not a full bachelor or master level programme, just one year, but I managed to extend the grant because I realised I wanted to continue my studies in Finland. At that point, I already had a bachelor's degree in sociology, but I became more interested in business. During my second year in Finland, I completed non-degree studies at Tampere University of Technology. Later, I entered the master's programme in Strategic Entrepreneurship at Hanken School of Economics, which was also where I completed my PhD. I defended my dissertation in 2013.
Since then, I have stayed in academia. I worked at Hanken, then for six years at the University of Vaasa, and eventually joined Aalto. In a way, I have spent almost half of my life in Finland.
Looking back from today, I would say it has been a pretty regular academic journey. I completed my PhD, did a postdoc, then moved on to assistant and associate professor roles. While it may look smooth, at certain points it felt bumpy and very demanding. It was not just the academic work, but everything happening at once such as family, career, and deadlines. In Finnish, we call that ruuhka-ajat, or traffic jam times when everything happens at the same time. I have learned to accept that rhythm and also the fact that it is okay if some things are half done, as long as you keep moving forward.
What I enjoy most is that academic work never really ends. It is a constant state of becoming. The bar is always raising, and there is always new research coming out. You are never in a position where you know everything. Working with students also keeps you young-minded and open to new ideas. That is what makes it so stimulating.
I remember the exact moment I got the idea that I might want to work at a university. I was still living in Russia and attended a lecture by someone from industry. Maybe it was the teaching style, but I remember thinking, "Oh, it would be so nice to have a work like that and teach others." At that point, it was just a small, planted seed. It wasn’t serious.
Later, when I was close to finishing my master’s at Hanken, I told my supervisor I wanted to do a PhD. My plan was still to work in industry, but he warned me that once you leave university, it is very hard to come back. Maybe that was a strategy to keep me as a potential PhD candidate. In any case, I applied and was accepted. I often joke that I am some kind of “academic broiler”, because I have never worked outside the university context.
Our programme takes a broader and multi-sided view of sustainable entrepreneurship. It goes beyond just founding a business. Entrepreneurship is shaped by many other forces, including what happens in policy, in large corporations, and in wider business trends. Startup founders are only one part of the picture. To reflect that, we offer two tracks. One is the business founder track, and the other is a more corporate-focused track. The aim is to help students tackle grand sustainability challenges, both environmental and social.
We focus on entrepreneuring, not just entrepreneurship. That means helping students develop the skills and mindset to act entrepreneurially in many different roles, not only as founders. We do not show entrepreneurship as a “silver bullet” that solves everything. We show not only solutions, but also the barriers and challenges involved. Not everyone needs to become a founder. You can be entrepreneurial through many different business activities.
Student feedback has been very positive. They have appreciated international trips and hands-on projects like hackathons and the entrepreneurship lab. The programme is flexible, and students can tailor their learning through electives that suit their individual goals. One student is graduating early to launch his own business, while others have shifted from the founder track to the corporate one.
Aalto is an organisation that demands a lot, but also gives a lot. The opportunities for growth are tremendous. You can develop not only as a researcher, but also as a leader and educator. When our ENTU unit developed the idea about the Sustainable Entrepreneurship programme, I suggested to become its director and was given the chance to lead it. That kind of support for initiative really matters. There are also great opportunities to strengthen your teaching through university pedagogy courses. I like how the tenure track system is structured. The expectations are clear, and you are really competing with yourself, not with others. The research funding that comes with the position helped me carry out data collection and spend six months at Stanford University through the SCANCOR programme.
What I appreciate most about ENTU is the people. We are serious about what we do, but not in a rigid or overly academic way. It is a fun, supportive group, and the spirit in our team makes it possible to achieve great things together. The level of talent is high, but competitive colleagues around is not something to be afraid of. It is something that lifts you up. We have a great balance between professionalism and friendliness. Whether it is laughing in the corridor, going for a hike, having tea and ENTU-logoed cookies for Christmas party, or just sharing pizza after work, it always feels like you belong. And when someone gets a grant or publishes a paper, we all share these stories together. That collective success is what makes ENTU so special.
The biggest joy I feel after teaching is when I see that I managed to make students think a bit deeper. Not because they were not already thinking critically, but because I was able to show a new perspective or open up another way of looking at things. I want them to ask themselves, whatever business they are part of, is this business doing good? A helpful way to think about it is this: if most businesses followed the same model, would that be good or bad for society and for the planet?
I also want them to really feel, not just know, that there are always people behind any business. There is no such thing as a faceless company. It is people who make decisions and set the values and norms. In the end, it comes down to what kind of people we choose to be. Maybe it sounds too naive, but I still believe in compassion and kindness. Especially now, when there is so much injustice in the world, I believe that those values matter.
A funny fact that not many people know is that I have an identical twin. She also lives in Finland, although in a different city. So, if you ever see someone who looks exactly like me and she does not respond when you say my name, there is a good chance it is actually my sister.
She moved to Finland a few years after I did and has now lived here for about sixteen years. So yes, there are two of us in this country. It sometimes surprises people when they find out, especially colleagues who might not expect to bump into someone who looks exactly like me in another part of Finland.
Definitely yes. Finland is very supportive for families with children and overall a very family-friendly and child-friendly country. The daycare system is really good, and all the support for children is well organised. Of course, people from different cultures may have different expectations from school systems, but Finland is known for high quality school education. After working and studying at several universities here, I see how education is truly perceived as the most important key to a democratic society, where learning is a form of freedom.
In Finland, being a student is not perceived as downshifting. You can study for as long as you want, even do several master’s degrees or PhDs if you wish. Also, what is especially close to my heart is how easily you can access nature. Cities are designed so that anyone can find peace near the sea, in the forest, or by a lake. Nature never deceives. Nature never betrays. It is always there for you, and that kind of easy access is something very rare and special.
My advice would be to start by developing an entrepreneurial mindset and entrepreneurial skills. Entrepreneurship is a way of thinking. It is about seeing opportunity in situations that might seem unfortunate or unplanned. It means staying curious, willing to explore, and sometimes improvising when things go differently than expected. It is about doing great things out of almost nothing.
You do not need to start a company to be entrepreneurial. It is more about your attitude to life. How you approach challenges, how you adapt, how you create value in whatever you do. That mindset is what really matters, and it can carry you forward in many different paths.
