School of Business alumni stories
Here you can find School of Business alumni stories. Our alumni share their professional journeys and give advice and tips regarding working life. The stories have been sorted based on the alumni's majors.
Alum Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber: Business studies built a bridge for international influencing
Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber, who graduated from the master's programme in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at Aalto University School of Business, is an expert who focuses on identifying and developing opportunities particularly in the areas of international cooperation, financing and export promotion.
Maria Pirkkalainen-Barber graduated from Aalto University School of Business in 2023. She previously holds a master’s degree in social sciences from the University of Helsinki, where she also studied business as her minor. In her career, she has focused extensively on international cooperation, financing and influencing through public diplomacy. She has worked, among other roles, as an Internationalisation Expert at the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, as the Head of Finnish Film Affair, at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and in London at the British Film Institute and the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland.
‘I always aimed to continue my business studies when I returned to Finland. I sent my application to the School of Business during the Christmas holidays in 2019. We were just packing the last moving boxes in London when I received a happy email offering me a study place.’ Just a week later, COVID-19 restrictions began in many countries. ‘Remote studying enabled me to complete my studies flexibly alongside my day job’.
Entrepreneurship and innovation management studies as an excellent base
Pirkkalainen-Barber had applied for the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management programme (nowadays Sustainable Entrepreneurship) at the Department of Management Studies, based on its future-focused approach and Aalto's startup reputation. She was also interested in participating in the activities of Aalto Entrepreneurship Society and writing her thesis on venture capital investments. Both happened: in 2023 she worked as an impact manager on the Revive project at Aalto Entrepreneurship Society, and her thesis she completed the same year dealt with the decision-making criteria of venture capital investors in connection with film investments. Pirkkalainen-Barber especially praises her thesis supervisor, assistant professor Patrick Shulist for his excellent guidance during the process.
The innovation management studies also offered the opportunity to carry out international consultancy projects. In one project course, she conducted research for the Scandinavia House, which is a Nordic cultural centre in New York, and in the Capstone course, the topic was to promote exports for companies in the defence industry. ‘I encourage reaching out to various actors about potential cooperation or consultancy tasks.’
In her minor studies, Pirkkalainen-Barber extensively utilised the range of opportunities offered by Aalto University. At the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, she completed a minor in film and television production and worked as production manager in Magdaleena Jakkila's short film Crazy Crabs from Outer Space (2023), which has toured international festivals, including in Norway and Denmark.
Diplomacy and export promotion at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Pirkkalainen-Barber encourages business students to seize opportunities for international work and apply for Aalto's internship support. She herself worked at the Embassy of Finland in Tallinn, which she considers an extremely interesting experience of the everyday life of diplomacy and the diverse tasks of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
‘The supervisors and colleagues at the embassy could not have been better. I was given responsible tasks and lots of tips. My internship period included the Tallinn Digital Summit, a high-level visit of the Minister for Economic Affairs, and conference arrangements with the Ministry of the Environment.’
Government strategies aimed at international growth
For the past one and a half years, Pirkkalainen-Barber has worked at the Arts Promotion Centre Finland on two strategy projects, both aimed at international growth. ‘My first degree is in social sciences, so bringing business expertise to the government was a logical step for me.’ The Arts Promotion Centre Finland is a government agency that funds arts and culture in Finland (e.g., the Savonlinna Opera Festival) and provides expert services.
As a specialist in international affairs, Pirkkalainen-Barber was responsible for the agency's strategy process for international operations and the facilitation of network cooperation. At the same time, she served in the secretariat for the governmental Creative Economy Advisory Board, which prepared Finland's creative economy growth strategy in spring 2025.
‘It was great to be involved in creating guidelines for influencing, and concrete international opportunities for businesses, professionals in creative industries and artists.’
She currently works as Special Advisor at the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, focusing especially on the funding of arts and culture festivals.
Pirkkalainen-Barber feels she gained a versatile background for international influencing as well as a negotiating and strategic working approach from the School of Business . ‘Above all, I realised that I want to work in environments where growth is enabled, creativity is appreciated and things are also seen in a new light.’
Get to know more about Maria on LinkedIn and pirkkalainen-barber.com
Also take a look at the creative economy growth strategy 2025-2030 (page in Finnish, the PDF abstract text available in English).
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