1. Where can I find a supervisor for my thesis?

  • As a default, the master’s thesis is written on a topic related to the student’s chosen major. The supervisor should be a professor or lecturer from the field of the chosen major. See the list of possible supervisors below. 
  • Contact details of professors and lecturers are usually firstname.lastname@aalto.fi and can be found here.
2. Who are the supervisors in IEM?

    Supervisors at Strategy & Venturing / Strategy majorsPotential topic areas
    Robin GustafssonStrategic Management, Strategy, Platform Business, Platform Economy, Innovation Policy
    Mikko JääskeläinenCorporate entrepreneurship & venturing, Venture capital, Entrepreneurship ecosystems, Innovation, Product management, Product development
    Kimmo KarhuDigitalization, Platform Strategy, Digital Platforms, Open-Source, Innovation, Information Systems
    Jukka LuomaCompetitive Dynamics, Data-driven Decision Making, Analytics, Competitive Strategy
    Markku MaulaVenture Capital and Private Equity, Corporate Venturing, Mergers and Acquisitions
    Tero OjanperäPlatform Strategy, Business Models, Strategy, Artificial Intelligence
    Henri SchildtDigital Strategy, Digitalization, Strategic Change, Sensemaking, Industry Ecosystems, Social Organizations, Social Enterprises, Organizational Values
    Jens SchmidtStrategy, Innovation, Business Models, Ecosystems, Platforms, Internationalization
    Timo VuoriStrategy Formulation, Strategy Execution, Platform Strategy, AI in Strategy Process, Emotions, Cognitio
    Supervisors at Operations and Service management / Operations Management majorPotential topic areas
    Karlos ArttoProject Business, Project Operations, Project-Based Firms, Project Networks and Supply Chains, Buying Projects, Selling Projects, Innovation, Product/Service Development
    Jan HolmströmOperations Management, Design Science Research, Digitalization of Operations, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Digital Twins and Virtual Counterparts, Industrial Services, Physical Asset Management, Building Information Management
    Jouko KarjalainenManagement Accounting and Cost Estimation
    Risto RajalaManagement of Service Systems, Development of Digital Services, Service Innovation and Business Models
    Lauri SaarinenData Analytics-based Operational Management
    Timo SeppäläDigital Operations, Platform Governance, Industrial Ecosystems
    Kari TanskanenPurchasing and Supply Chain Management
    Pekka TöytäriCustomer Value, Institutional Change, Business Ecosystems and Platforms, Value Based Selling and Pricing, Sales Management, Service Innovations
    Siavash H KhajaviDigital transformation of manufacturing and operations, utilization of additive manufacturing, digital twins and block chain technologies and impact on operations management, machine learning in operations and maintenance, digitalization of aftersales and spare parts operations.
    Supervisors at Organization Design and Leadership majorPotential topic areas
    Lauri JärvilehtoStartup Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainable Entrepreneurship
    Nina NurmiVirtual / Hybrid Work, Leadership, Work Design, Organizational Design, Virtual Teams, Teamwork, Well-Being
    Natalia VuoriStrategy Implementation, Change Management, Organizing for Innovation, Heuristics and Biases, Emotions and Cognition (identity, motivation, cognitive frames) in Organizational Processes
    Jari YlitaloLeadership, Leadership and leader development, Organizational development and transformation, Leadership in networks, Collaboration in networks and partnerships, Dialogue in organisations
     Satu RekonenCross-functional / multidisciplinary teamwork, new venture teams, creative problem-solving, collective creativity, organisational renewal and development, design thinking, experimentation  
    Supervisors at Product and Innovation Management majorPotential topic areas
    Mikko Jääskeläinen


3. Exceptions for topic & supervisor

  • A) A supervisor from another field acting as supervisor for the thesis in the field of the student's chosen major. In exceptional cases, professor from another field may act as supervisor for a thesis in the field of the student’s chosen major. In such a case, the professor responsible for the student’s chosen major needs to approve the supervisor and confirm that the topic is in the field of the student’s chosen major (as part of topic approval). If the suggested supervisor is other than IEM professor or lecturer, the professor responsible for the chosen major and supervisor will also discuss the evaluation criteria since the professor responsible for the chosen major will sign the evaluation statement. 
    • Send a short summary of the thesis topic by e-mail to the professor in charge for the chosen major and add as CC the proposed supervisor and study coordinator. 
      • Professors in charge (Head of Major)
        • Operations Management: Lauri Saarinen, lauri.3.saarinen@aalto.fi
        • Organization Design and Leadership: Jari Ylitalo, jari.ylitalo@aalto.fi
        • Product and Innovation Management: Mikko Jääskeläinen, mikko.jaaskelainen@aalto.fi
        • Strategy: Kimmo Karhu, kimmo.karhu@aalto.fi
      • Study Coordinator: Jasmin Seppälä, jasmin.seppala@aalto.fi
  • B) If supervision would benefit from the specific expertise of a professor or lecturer who is not from the field of the chosen major, instead of acting as a supervisor, this person may also act as an advisor. In this case the supervisor is a professor or lecturer in the field of the chosen major. He or she and the advisor agree on the actual supervision and evaluation, but the supervisor is ultimately responsible for the evaluation. 
  • C) Writing the thesis on a topic related to your chosen minor. You can also write the master’s thesis on a topic that is related to your chosen minor. This must be marked in the topic approval form on eAge. In these cases, the supervisor must be a professor who is an expert in the field of the respective minor. In such a case, the program director needs to approve the supervisor. The program director will also discuss the evaluation criteria with the supervisor.
    • Send an email to the program director and add as CC the proposed supervisor and study coordinator. 
      • Program Director: Jens Schmidt, jens.schmidt@aalto.fi
      • Study Coordinator: Jasmin Seppälä, jasmin.seppala@aalto.fi
    • NB! Even if you are writing your thesis on a topic related to your chosen minor, you must complete a maturity test according to these instructions. 
4. Evaluation

  • All master’s theses must be evaluated according to the SCI guidelines for master’s thesis evaluation. 
  • For all master’s theses written on a topic related to the student’s chosen major where the supervising professor is not a professor at the IEM department, the professor responsible for the major will need to approve and sign the evaluation form in addition to the supervising professor. 
  • For all master’s theses written on a topic related to the student’s chosen minor, the program director will need to approve and sign the evaluation form in addition to the supervising professor. 
 5. DIEM Master's Thesis Info

 

Last modified: Tuesday, 7 May 2024, 1:25 PM