Mikko Jääskeläinen brings more academic firepower to AVP as he joins the team as our Academic Director. In this new role, he’ll be developing our courses and education portfolio together with our teachers.

Mikko emphasizes that the main tool of AVP is education. By teaching the skills every entrepreneur needs, we give students and researchers better tools for setting up their companies and creating impact. Part of Mikko’s job will be making sure those tools are up to date and that every AVP student feels confident when considering becoming a founder. In addition, he’ll be working with research, innovation, and deep tech in hopes of bolstering the number of research-based startups coming from Aalto.

Despite this being a new role, Mikko is no stranger to AVP — in a way, he’s been with us from the beginning. He started as a professor of high-growth entrepreneurship at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management in 2013 and is one of the people who helped shape AVP in its early years. When AVP started to become more independent, Mikko took on the position of vice head of department, leading the education at DIEM. Now, he comes full circle and brings his even wider academic knowledge back to AVP.

Besides educating the next generation of great entrepreneurs, Mikko enjoys backcountry skiing and other forms of hiking. He’s also looking forward to getting started with his project of building a wooden shed in his yard using the timber frame technique. This still needs a bit of consulting, he admits.

I’ve been part of Aalto for a long time, and after all that I’ve learned, I’m excited to be back at AVP. I think we can achieve great things together.

We are happy to have you, Mikko! For more information about Mikko, check out his LinkedIn. Feel free to get in touch with him!