My story - Judit Kemppilä
Hi, I am Judit Kemppilä from the city of Helsinki, Finland. I am studying my first academic year in NoVA Master’s programme. My first BA is from the field of design, glass and ceramics as my main subject. At some point I realized that rather than objects, I want to design something else. My interest in people and communications led me to pursue another bachelor’s degree in Youth work and civic activities. Currently, I am working in an association where I am organizing clubs and camps to children and youths. I am also giving trainings for youths about leadership skills and creative methods.
My intention is to involve more art in my educational work. NoVA seemed like an interesting programme to study because of its focus on art education, internationality, and social change. In the future, I want to use my knowledge to help people to have better communicational skills. By that I mean that people would be more in contact with their emotions and needs, but also improve communication between individuals. Related to those themes I am very interested in using artistic, bodily methods, like movement and voice.
Last fall gave to our group solid theoretical background about art education. During this spring we have had the opportunity to work with Aalto students also from other departments in our entrepreneurship course. Overall, NoVA has offered a wonderful and diverse community, where we can learn a lot from each other. And I think that is the best of all good things.
Judit Kemppilä
NoVA Master Student since 2020
Originally from Finland
My story - Laura Hasanen
My name is Laura and I’m a first year master’s student in the Nordic Visual Studies and Art Education program at Aalto University. After receiving a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, I worked as an art educator in a variety of different capacities. I’ve spent the last few years working in early childhood education developing arts based curriculum while also continuing my practice as a visual artist.
I was drawn to NoVA because of my interests in developing a deeper theoretical foundation in pedagogy and teaching practices. My research interest lies in learning environments and student centered learning. I came to NoVA with a curiosity for phenomenon based learning and how it is implemented in Finnish schools and curriculum. During my studies I’ve also become interested in critical and anti-oppressive pedagogies and the ways these can be used to create better learning environments for students.
Laura Hasanen
Originally from United States