Topic outline

  • The course is aimed to the whole Junction team to support their preparation for the Junction event and to enable more profound learning from a unique experience of leading and working in a temporary team of volunteers. The Aalto Venture Programs (AVP) arranges the course in cooperation with the Master Programme of Industrial Engineering and Management and the Junction team. The course is integrated and embedded into the preparation process of the Junction event. The workshops and course events are planned to support both collective and individual preparation.   

    The course will familiarize the participants with the essentials of the team dynamics and leadership especially in a temporary team context, and deepen their learning from their own experiences as team leaders. The course follows a constructive learning philosophy in which it is essential to learn to discuss with and listen to others, reflect on one's own experiences, and to construct further one's own thinking. Both theoretical and practical aspects of team leadership, participants' personal experiences, and collective reflection on the experiences will be reviewed. The process enables students to construct and strengthen their personal agency, leadership philosophy and practice.

    The course consists of workshops, practical and scientific articles on team building and leadership, and personal assignments. The workshops serve as learning and sharing forums in which practical experiences and relevant conceptual aspects of team building and leadership will be discussed. The workshops enable the participantsto plan their personal and team specific preparation process further.  Beside the workshops, articles and other readings will enhance the understanding of team leadership and one's own experiences.

    The participants can choose weather they want to take one or three credits from the course. The one credit course will require registration, participation to the workshops, and a short written summary of the leadership and team building experiences after the Junction event. The three credit course will require two personal essays, review of additional material, and a small group task. The grading is pass/fail in all course versions. The requirements are presented in detail in Course Requirements section.