“I always enjoy the guest lectures where we all have the chance to meet inspiring professionals from various industries, and student presentations, during which we get to see the final works, discuss and share ideas.”
Who are you and what is your connection to SSES?
My name is Vilda and I am a MSc student in Media Management at KTH with a passion for smart communication and inventive business growth strategies. I am engaged in many start-up activities and have a strong interest in topics such as innovation, knowledge management, growth hacking and design thinking. In parallel to my studies, I am a course assistant at SSES and I have been bringing a good mood to SSES classrooms for more than a year now.
What courses were you involved in as course assistant?
(Overall: Business Model Innovation, Ideation – Creating a Business Idea, Growth – Managing your Firm, Execution – Running Your Own Company and From Science to Business.)
I have been assisting in two courses this semester: “Execution – Running Your Own Company” at Stockholm School of Economics and “From Science to Business” at Karolinska Institute. The “Execution” course is one of our core courses, where students learn how to take their business idea to the market. “From Science to Business” is a context course, and it invites students learn about the commercialisation and management of projects and companies within life science, with a strong focus on biotechnology.
What is it like being a course assistant?
Being a course assistant is both challenging and rewarding. The job involves tackling a lot of tasks in the classroom and “behind the scenes”, such as supporting the teacher, answering students’ questions and spreading lots of happiness. Course assistants never experience the same working day twice, they are always busy with something, be it planning class mingles, organizing group-work in class, or being surrounded by curious students. At the same time, course assistants have a really great opportunity to meet new people, learn, and take an important role in communicating between different institutions.
What are your biggest takeaways and most memorable moments from this semester?
There were many great moments during both courses. Two particular elements from the courses that I always enjoy are the guest lectures, where we all get to meet inspiring professionals from various industries; and student presentations, during which we get to see the final works, discuss and share ideas. Personally, SSES, especially my colleagues, professors, and students throughout the whole semester have contributed to my personal growth, confidence, social skills and entrepreneurial thinking. Everyday of working in this fantastic place was a learning experience where I had a great environment to network, develop various practical skills and show my best self.
What trend are you most fascinated by at the moment?
At the moment I am curious about where blockchain technology will take us. The world has recently seen many entrepreneurs building decentralised applications that are based on this technology. Cryptocurrencies are already changing many industries, streamlining entrepreneurship, transforming the digital world, but where next? I believe blockchain technology will introduce things that the world has never seen before.