Ilkka Kurkela’s Biography

Mr. Ilkka Kurkela (M.A., eMBA) is a profound lover of life, learning, and leadership. Ilkka works as a Development Manager in Laurea University of Applied Sciences. Brief work history:

– Development Manager in Laurea University of Applied Sciences (2018->)
– Business Area Director in University of Helsinki HY+ (2017)
– Senior Lecturer in Laurea University of Applied Sciences (2014-2016)
– Executive MBA Director in Management Institute of Finland MIF. (2012-2014)
– Digital Sales & Marketing Expert in JTO School of Management, Based in New York (2011-2012)
– Marketing Manager in Valmennustiimi Eximia Ltd. (2007-2011)
– Various different sales, marketing, educational and customer service jobs (2000-2007)

Ilkka is an experienced leader, professional digitalist and popular lecturer with real-life marketing & social media experience from New York, Manhattan. He finished his professional teacher education as online education and he is fond of the digital learning phenomena. Ilkka has lectured around the globe including places like Mexico, New York, Austria and he has given online webinars to Tokyo, Rome, Hawaii, Oslo and around Finland just to name a few.

Ilkka has international experience from world’s best ranked business schools such as IMD (Switzerland), Berkeley (USA, California), Ashridge Business School (UK), Columbia University and New York University (USA).

In 2014 Ilkka Kurkela was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). RSA is a British organisation committed to finding practical solutions to today’s social challenges.

Ilkka also has created content for various forums, including the Happy Hour -podcast with Kyla Mitsunaga (TED, Harvard, WithvsAt-learning) with guestspeakers involved.

In his personal life Ilkka Kurkela is a husband and proud dad of a daughter. He is a profound lover of drum’n’bass music & crazy sports enthusiast who competes in the Finnish Championships in pullup.

Please visit at Ilkka Kurkela’s LinkedIn-page for more information.

Guest blogs, articles and publifications:

– Internationality in Business Management Degree – case UN based WSA (Laurea Journal 2021)
– Työelämän ohjausryhmä liiketalouden tutkintoa kehittämässä (Laurea Journal 2020)
– Kiertotalous osaksi liiketalouden opetussuunnitelmaa (Laurea Journal 2020)
– Kokonaisuuden hallitseva talousosaaja saa heti paikan! (Laurea 2019)
– Myynti- ja markkinointiosaamisen tärkeys liiketalouden tutkinnossa (Laurea 2019)
– Työelämäpaneelista suuntaa tulevaisuuden tradenomikoulutukseen (Laurea 2018)
– Esimies on asiakaspalvelija (Interview and cover in Marketing & Sales magazine MMA 09/17)
– Ilo välittyy Ilkasta (I was selected among top 100 experts in Finland in #satasella, 09/17)
– Finland’s Teacher Training program for Saudis (Interview at Growing Leaders Foundation blog)
– Taking the Steps of Life – Always Move Forward (LinkedIn 2017)
– Remember to Smile (HY+ vlog/blog 2017)
– Myyntitarinoita: Miten opiskelijalle opetetaan myyntiä? (Vainu.io guest blog 2016)
– Hiillos ratkaisee menestyksesi (Myynnin ja Markkinoinnin ammattilaiset MMA 2015)
– Digitaalinen markkinointi on kunnioitusta (Myynnin ja Markkinoinnin ammattilaiset MMA 2015)
– Digital Humanism Combines Rhetoric and Modern Marketing (Cross-Cultural Business Conference 2015, pp. 139-144, ISBN 978-3-8440-3646-6, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Austria 2015)
– Haastattelussa eMBA-alumni Ari Pajunen (MIF blog 2014)
– Brandname in Google Adwords (IAB Finland, A member of Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe 2014)
– Enjoy your life – it is too precious to be wasted (Mineral.fi 2014)
– Haastattelussa Pekka Walkama: Tietotyön johtaminen ja kehittäminen (Sininen Meteoriitti 2012)
– Näin tavoitat asiakkaan verkossa 2012 (Kuljetus- ja logistiikkalehti 01/2012)
– eCommerce and sales – case Urakone 2010 (Videoblog in co-operation with ZEF Solutions 2010)

References / testimonials

“Paras valmentaja! tosi ammattitaitoinen ja innostava kouluttaja, avasi hankalan aiheen mielenkiintoisesti ja sai asian tuntumaan helpolta”

“Todella hyvä ja innostava tilaisuus”

“Loistava kouluttaja! Mukautui hyvin myös ryhmän tarpeisiin ja kysymyksiin/toiveisiin Aiheesta olisi varmaan voinut puhua kolmannenkin päivän, mutta hyvä näinkin 2 päivää :)”

Please find more at references.

Want to co-operate?

I am excited about meeting new people and learning new things daily. Please don’t hesitate to contact me. if you want to discuss about possibilities to cooperate please send me email (ilkka.kurkela at laurea.fi) or add me on Twitter (@ilkkakurkela) or LinkedIn and I will be happy to discuss more!