Educational experience

My way to be a teacher is absolutely a story about coincidences. Originally, I continued my researcher career in Lappeenranta University of Technology after my Master thesis concentrating only to research. The only teaching was by occasional seminar for students and conference presentations for industry and advising Master Theses.

My own interest towards teaching started as I was advising Master´s Thesis for first time. I noticed that students were struggling with problems, as they could not understand some difficult basic issues. I tried to explain these issues to them and obviously my way of explaining was good, as I got feedback of comprehensive and clear explanations. This was point I found first time “my inner educator”.

During my teacher carreer (2003-2014) I have been involved in lectures in courses together with other experts of LUT:

·      “Beam Processing” (in Finnish “Sädetyöstö”) (5 ECTS)

·      ”Laser in Converting and Packaging” (2 ECTS),

·     ”Laser materials processing” (6 ECTS),

·     ”Product design for laser processing” (4 ECTS),

·     “Laser Processing” (5 ECTS),

·     ”Laboratory course of laser materials processing” (4 ECTS) and

·     ”Laser based products and production technology” (5 ECTS).

A new course of “Additive Manufacturing” (5 ECTS) started in January 2013 and this course was a course for first time under my response in spring 2014. This has been great motivator for me to develop my pedagogical skills and study pedagogics as well. This course is executed together with other experts of LUT

I have also been responsible teacher of course “Laser Materials Processing” (5 ECTS) since this autumn (autumn 2014). This course is renewed and it is last of laser processing technologies courses at LUT i.e. it is Master-level course. Renewal of courses includes that there content goes in logical order and courses has different demand level. This course is executed together with other experts of LUT.

My teaching task includes also tutoring of Master´s Theses and Doctoral Theses. I have been advising Master´s theses since 2004. And now, as I graduated as D.Sc.(Tech) in March 2013, I also do supervising of Master´s Theses and advising of Doctoral Theses. I have been advisor of about 10 Masters Theses, supervisor of 3 Masters Thesis and tutoring four candidate theses. I am also at the moment facilitating four Doctoral Theses. It is clear that each supervision task is improving the skill required for these tasks. Currently I am also trying to apply more efficiently the pedagogic theories to these tasks e.g. by more accurate scheduling. New task for me is advising/supervising of Doctoral Theses. Topic is very interesting but also very challenging; this is also reason why my own interest towards pedagogics has risen.

At the moment, I am also involved in development and teaching in a total new continuous education course “Expert Education Program for 3D printing” (15 ECTS) arranged by Center of Training and Development of LUT. This course started in March 2014. This course was designed and executed in co-operation with several experts of LUT.

During next summer (summer 2015), LUT will also establish a course of "Additive Manufacturing - aka 3D printing" (3 ECTS) at LUT Summer School and I will participate of designing and executing of this course togetrher with other experts of LUT.

Since the activities of my research group have been mostly concentrating on research, my tasks have also been mostly research oriented. My goal has a long time been to enable smooth and efficient transfer of the latest results of research to education. I see this also as big motivator for students to hear latest results in lectures. This is extremely important when considering of topic of modern manufacturing technologies which is my field of expertise, also in teaching. The teaching is supported by publishing the current results in national and international magazines, conferences and seminars.