Yesterday was incredible. We finished Digital Business –study module with 70 students at Laurea. The studies were intertwined closely with real-life business. I wanted to share my thoughts and tell you a little about the impact, as I believe that we made some dreams come true.

The impact of the Digital Business –study module

We had 70 skilled students in this course. Based on a feedback survey we collected some statistics for you.

• 22 jobs for students (worked as a bridge to help work life and students find each other)
  
• 19 students aiming to go study/work abroad in 2016-2017 (one internship position in New York!)
• 20+ real-life connections with companies, guest lectures and partnership projects during the program
• 500+ individual blogposts by students reflecting their learnings
• 2 most talented bloggers got a chance to guest-blog for Markkinointiguru.fi (MMA)
• 87% of students considered a huge improvement in their language skills (English)
• First ever university in Finland to broadcast a lecture with Periscope 22.10.2015

• Finally, 540 people live following our Periscope broadcast “Final Ceremony”10.12.2015
  –> SOME phenomena!

Also, my great colleague Anna Ikonen wrote a nice detailed blog about the project from her point of view.

Feelings from the Final Ceremony Periscope broadcast 10.12.2015. Photo by Timo Helosuo.

Personal learnings

I am feeling extremely grateful. I have had the luxury to work with these incredible talented students and amazing business people. Sometimes I have felt like I have been totally absorbed by this project, almost losing myself in the work – in a good sense, having the flow 🙂

We, together with the students, have tried to constantly create something new (work life integration, periscope streaming, online exams, new learning platforms, etc.). It has not always been easy and there has been some inevitable set backs, but I believe that obstacles and failures are to be learned from. We wanted to be flexible, eager to go forward, and always aim for the next level.

I am very proud of our students. We have tried our best to become pioneers of digital age education. We have been deeply passionated about this and I believe we have made history together. I will never forget this. We made dreams to become reality.

But this is not the end, rather the first step. We have some amazing plans in our pockets for the next semester and I will definitely let you know about them. Until next time, thanks to everyone who was involved, and have a relaxing Christmas time.

Please enjoy some videos by our magnificent students!

Digital Business Season II – coming soon, stay tuned

Blogging lesson

How to make a video

Feelings from the course: Final presentation

Digital Coaches presentation of the Study module

Finally, some excellent blogs by students

We should be grateful of good things in life, such as the possibility to get proper education. This is not the case in most parts of the world, unfortunately. I want to do something good, with you.

If we get 1000 people to our “Final Ceremony” of the Digital Business -study module in Laurea Otaniemi this Thursday 10.12.2015 starting 10 AM,  I will sponsor an ethical gift “Profession for a young person” by Worldvision. (Ammatti Nuorelle)

How to join? Download Periscope. Join my stream: @ilkkakurkela. Time: 10.12. at 10 AM Finnish time.

Let’s make the world a better place, one step at a time.

Can we do it? Please spread the word. Join the stream. Yes we can, together! 🙂

Do you want to have a good life? Succeed in your goals? I want to share my daily 2-step habit how to unleash your full potential. It takes only 10 minutes. That equals 0,7 % of your daily time. So no excuses, start today. I hope this helps you as much as it has helped me!

1. Morning

Focus your mind towards gratitude, positivity and goals that are important to you first thing in the morning. (5 min)

2. Evening

Write down one thing you learned daily in the evening just before you go to sleep. (5 min)

Outcome?

This method activates subconsciousness to work for your  and therefore it activates 95 % of your potential. (A study by Harvard Business School) Your life will change for good, if you persist and follow this simple habit. I have now tried it for more than a year, and it is a fantastic way to clarify your thoughts and make life much more inspiring.

Thanks to my family, parents and relatives, students and colleagues, Napoleon Hill, Brian Tracy, Jaakko Alasaarela, Antti Haapsaari, Ilpo Kärkkäinen, Kyla Mitsunaga (just to mention a few) and all the inspiring people I have had the honor to learn from and discuss regarding these themes. You have given me the inspiration towards this lifestyle.

Have a great weekend and remember to pay attention to your thoughts, as ultimately you become what you think about. 🙂

 Enjoy your life and stay positive no matter what life throws at you!

Have you thought about live-streaming your lectures? Have you heard about Periscope? it is a great tool, you should check it out. Today I took a giant personal leap in my lecturing career and streamed one of my lectures at Laurea UAS using the Periscope -app. We had 70 viewers from all around the globe. Thanks to all the supporters. Fantastic!

Please find the unedited “Digital Strategy” -lecture by Ilkka Kurkela – 22.10.2015. (approx 1 hour)

The interaction with the audience was very inspiring and many of the followers posted their thoughts at Twitter using #DigiSmallTalk -hashtag. Some of my absolute favorites are these:

Thanks @IlkkaKurkela for the lecture 🙂 Periscope livevideo worked well. Waiting for more of these. #digismalltalk pic.twitter.com/YN6XGSHgEJ

— Sari Hurme-Mehtälä (@sariirene) October 22, 2015

Nykyaikaa: Tunti streamataan #Periscope’n kautta. #Digismalltalk #Laurea

— Kasper Kontola (@KasperKontola) October 22, 2015

5 tips to use Periscope in Education

Based on this experience earlier I came up with these tips for everyone interested in livestreaming:

1. Be ready to face your fears, believe and have the courage in you
2. Respect the audience and build interaction
3. Share the word that you are streaming live to get people onboard
4. Learn by doing: you will learn in the process
5. Study and read articles about webinars and live streaming to learn from the best

3 informative resources how to use Periscope:

– Easy guide to the Periscope Video Streaming App
– An introduction to using Periscope for live streaming video content (video)
– 5 Quick Tips for Using Periscope, Twitter’s Live Video Streaming App

Thanks for reading. Wishing you the best experiences in live-streaming!

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The lecture was part of our Digital Business -study module at Laurea University of Applied Sciences. Please check our Facebook page for more information.