Warning: This static about page has not been updated since 2006. You may be better looking at @MinLii on Twitter, as Minna Takala on Facebook, or at Minna Takala on LinkedIn. There's also content at at "Quest & Reflections" at minnatakala.com, as Minna Takala at the Regional Council of Hame,, as Minna Takala on Google Scholar, and as Minna Takala on academia.edu .

Interests

I am interested in change, development and transformation in all social organizations -- in business life, in academia and in the public sector.

In university management, my research and development work has centered on organizational development; industry-academic cooperation; expansion and globalization of the education industry; and the evaluation and accreditation of European and American higher education institutions (especially in engineering).

With business organization, the focus has been on organizational tranformation, and the development of learning / working / service environments holistically supported by Information and Computer Technologies . Co-creation of exciting and inspiring environments --combining elements of high-tech, high-touch and high-design -- still inspires me. These directions have led to topics such as the design of international businesses, working through cross-cultural differences, and the application of systems sciences to organizations.

In recreational activities, I enjoy outdoor sports such as kick-biking, hiking, Nordic walking and roller skating. Snow on the ground represents opportunities for both cross country and downhill skiing. I also enjoy arranging and attending parties and cooking, wining and dining with friends.

Communities

While in graduate school In Finland, I was elected as chairman of the board for the Women Engineers Club, Tekniikan Akateemisten Liiton Naispolyteekkarit ry. Other activities in student government have included chairing the board for the Mechanical Engineering Guild, and for the local committee of the IAESTE ( International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience ), organizing and participating in international study tours to Europe, Asia and the U.S.A.  In addition, I served as a board member of the Student Union of Helsinki University of Technology.

In professional honors, I am a member of the Research Council at the Helsinki University of Technology, a member of the Higher Engineering Education Committee of the Finnish Association of Graduate Engineers TEK, a member of the Post Graduate Studies Committee at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Helsinki University of Technology, and a member of the board and coordinator of the Finnish Doctoral Program of Industrial Engineering and Management.

Affiliations

For the academic years from 2000 through 2002, I was a visiting special lecturer at the School of Management at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. I taught Organizational Behavior in the graduate M.Sc. and M.B.A. programs. At the undergraduate level, I was an instructor in Principles of Management, Organizational Behavior , and an Introduction to Business. I used WebCT to facilitate class lectures and assignments and a WebBoard for over 200 students per semester in distance learning classes.

At the Helsinki University of Technology, I have been in multiple different positions, most recently as a researcher at the TAI Research Center and as a planning officer at the Department of Industrial Management and Engineering.

I initiated and worked for the COINS ( Configuration of Industrial Services) project, an industry-university development project, funded by TEKES, The National Technology Agency, at the Helsinki University of Technology, and a number of industrial companies, including the Metso Corporation, the Fortum Corporation and the Wärtsilä Corporation.

Another of the many research projects in which I have participated include FuturEng -- Anticipation Project of the Challenges of Engineering Education in the Learning Society, funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education, The European Social Fund, Elisa Communications, Nokia, UPM-Kymmene and the Finnish Association for Graduate Engineers TEK.

My interest towards design has led to projects with the International Design Business Management (IDBM) program, which is a joint teaching and research programme of three leading Finnish universities: the Helsinki School of Economics, the University of Art and Design Helsinki, and the Helsinki University of Technology.

Since January 2003 I have been working as a competence development manager for Nokia Corporation. My works focus on competence development challences over the entire Demand Supply Network (an extended view of supply chain).  Besides my day job, I'm also preparing a Ph.D. dissertation on the "Emergent Evaluation Systems in Higher Education" at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management at Helsinki University of Technology, majoring in industrial management with minors in strategy and international business. I also received a Master of Science in Engineering from the Helsinki University of Technology, specializing in mechanical engineering and an other post-graduate degree called a Licentiate of Technology (a Finnish degree) in industrial management..

Contact

I may be contacted via e-mail to minnatakala@systemicbusiness.org .