The competition is over and a winner stands in our midst; His name is Jarmo Matala-Aho, a team-learning specialist and a certified Tiimiakatemia’s Team Coach. We approached him to ask what his thoughts and feelings were from all of this.

“After a good night’s sleep, I still have that same smirk on my face from winning this competition and I’m admired by how many rooted for my victory. Thank you all for your support. Even though the competition wasn’t super serious and had some Lady Fortuna in it, I take it as a token of appreciation for me in my field of work over the years. I’ve always aimed to “shift” the foundations of education and training and have worked hard to make this change happen.”

For SHIFT 2016, he was most excited about the keynote speakers and of course the venue, Turku castle! Jarmo’s knowledge of start-up culture, and art in some forms, are all but non-existent, he claims, but that is the exact reason why he wants to learn more and to witness things he has not yet experienced. “The best case scenario would be me bumping to someone completely new and odd in a completely unexpected moment. That could develop into something completely new and surprising collaborations. I guess this unpredictability has a word of its own: serendipity”

He wants everyone looking for something courageous, new and exciting to participate into this one-of-a-kind event. “The speakers look more than amazing and the hosts have everything under control, still managing to retain that important spark in their eyes which, in my opinion, brings SHIFT to life! I especially recommend this event for people like myself, who don’t have much knowledge of start-up-culture. Lastly I recommend participation to witness the birth of something truly different. County authorities, teachers, organizations, all non-business attuned must learn from this culture and of course start-ups should learn from them. That’s how collaboration is born.”