"I am not paid for this"

I recall one of the worst experiences in my past student life. It was when one visiting lecturer who gave a course got the question from one student in the class on whether it would be possible to arrange a separate tutorial session for those who wanted to learn material more in-depth.

"I am not paid for this, sorry", was his answer. In front of around 100-150 students present in that class.

Another similar experience comes from a corporate world. I asked one person who was going off to (unpaid) vacation whether he would occasionally be checking his email while being out of the office.

"No, I am not paid for this", was his answer. This person was coming back from vacation to his working place after a while.

What is my problem with that kind of answers? They had totally right - they were not paid for doing the things they were asked for, did they?

However, such answers immediately indicate that a person is doing the job only for money, he does not have an interest in you (as a student/client/co-worker) whatsoever. A person puts himself in a position of a reflective employee who is given orders and thereafter gets a carrot if he fulfils the order. No proactivity. No initiative. No dedication.

I must admit that certain degree of "you-pay-me-and-only-then-I-will-give-you-a-service-
mentality" is beneficial in a capitalist society. But it can at least be communicated in a more gentle manner.

P.S. I am not paid to write this blog. Hmmm...

My media habits - distingushing between new insights and trash

I have developed certain enduring practices of following media during past 2-3 years. It would be interesting to describe it now and compare it with what it will be in 10 or 20 years...

As for now, I believe I managed to build routines which allow me to stay connected to what happens around, but - on the other hand - not to spend time on stuff which does not bring any value. My work experience as a reporter in different media channels as well as attended journalism studies some years ago have certainly helped me to differentiate between worthwhile sources and - putting it simply - bullshit.

Online newspapers - as a representative of younger generation I obviously often read news on the Internet. However, I do it only once a day, spending between 15 and 30 minutes a day for scanning through the front pages of selected news channels and clicking on the articles I am most interested in. This is mostly to get the overview. Here are some principles I use:

• I rarely read articles in-depth, as I don't want to spend even more time in front of the PC (I do it a lot during the working hours anyway) - and one can quickly grasp the essence by scanning through an article.
• I rarely read online newspapers during the weekend. I prefer not to distract my life with everyday news during some days. At the same time - as I know - the journalists work much less during the weekends - and it is usually junior editors being responsible for updating the content then. Thus, it is hard to expect that much quality in news reports during the weekends.
• I very rarely read the readers' comments. I have an impression that people who write the comments to the articles are those who have too much free time. Having too much free time doesn't for me belong to the signs of a successful person who knows what to do with his/her life. Do I want to read "insights" from bunch of people like that? Normally not. Besides, it is most often biased criticism or whining.

These are the media channels I follow on the regular basis:
postimees.ee (the largest general news channel in Estonia)
epl.ee (the second-largest general news channel in Estonia)
e24.ee (the business news portal in Estonia)
aftenposten.no (the largest general news channel in Norway)
bbc.co.uk (well known British-based international news channel)

These are the media channels that I follow less regularly (around once a week or once in 2-3 weeks):
dn.no (business news portal in Norway)
aripaev.ee (business news portal in Estonia)
dw.de (general news portal in Germany)
Few news portals from Kazakhstan and Russia

Radio podcasts - this is something I am a big fan of. An excellent way to listen to what you want and when you want it. On the way to the office or back home, when preparing breakfast or cooking dinner - I fill these moments of the day with something for my mind as well. This is my main source of current analytical information, debates, interviews and so on. Here is the list of podcasts I download once a week in order to listen to them when I want:

• Raadio Kuku - by far the best serious radio station in Estonia. Several political and society commentary as well as business analysis and IT-related podcasts. In addition, some history.
• Raadio 2 - youthful public radio station in Estonia where I subscribe to one podcast only ("Olukorrast riigist") - summary of the most important news and events in Estonia during the week.
• NRK P2 - the most serious Norwegian public radio broadcast. I subscribe mainly to political and societal podcasts as well as radio documentaries. Unfortunately, business and economics are very poorly represented in Norwegian radio.
• Sveriges Radio - Swedish public broadcast. Here I am mainly interested in economy.
• 8 sidor - easily-read news in Swedish (since my comprehension of Swedish is not at all perfect, it is good to train it with simpler language).
• dw.de - German public broadcasting. Economy and business podcasts are the most interesting for me here.
• bbc.co.uk - BBC has very good podcasts on business and economy as well as radio documentaries.

Press: newspapers and magazines on paper - mainly too much paper to waste, although I will probably subscribe to selected weekly media and business press in the future.

Radio - I don't listen to radio as such. I don't like when someone else decides for me what and when I should listen to, mixing it all with occasional music that I don't necessarily like and with news that I am not necessarily interested in.

TV - I am happy not-owner of a TV-set. Having briefly worked there and having studied it at the university helped me to realize that 90% of content there is bullshit. Entertainment shows, series, sitcoms, reality shows and other trash that is created just for one purpose - to keep you watch the same commercials over and over again. All this trash is created quite skilfully - playing with human's psychology - so that you are waiting for the next episode, next big movie, next show with a sexy TV-presenter you like and so on and so forth.

How about the other 10% - news, good documentaries, occasional good films, insightful TV debates? Well, there is YouTube and other modern tools for that. I can choose what I watch and when I watch it myself - and not being dependent on what some smart-asses in TV editorial boards have decided to.

...well, let's see what will be my personal media field in some decades...

Review: McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers

McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers by Wilbert James McKeachie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



A very good collection of practical tips for teaching at the university, supported by the research on cognitive learning. A logical structure of the book makes it easy to read. I've got many useful tips for my teaching tenure.

Swimming against the tide?

"You don't plan to stay in Norway? Really?"

That's a very usual reaction to me saying that I have not come to Norway to move here permanently and that my plan is to eventually go back to Estonia. I notice this kind of reaction (manifested verbally or by raising eyebrows) being expressed by both Norwegians, foreigners living in Norway and many in Estonia.

It seems so obvious, doesn't it? Norway is one of the wealthiest and most comfortable countries in the world to live in. Estonia is a relatively poor country of European Union, plagued by unemployment and other social problems. Who would want to exchange these two for the benefit of latter one?

Well, yes, Norway is an amazing country, superior to anything else I have experienced in many respects. But words like ties with my family and sense of responsibility towards my land, the ability to impact the development and to make a real difference are not just empty slogans for me. Perhaps, I am naive... but a certain degree of naivety can be helpful sometimes...

Khan Academy - revolutionalising education...

...and making life-long learning truly possible.

Khan Academy is a private initiative of Salman Khan who used to work in financial sector but discovered that he can actually create some social value instead (this is his own words, not my judgement). :) Now, he and his team have created hundreds of educational videos on topics ranging from algebra and geometry to arts and history. Only the microphone and the virtual chalkboard are used for creating these videos. Each of them is about 10-20 minutes long, being a perfect duration to digest information, stop for a while, think and discuss - and watch the next video on the subsequent topic, if interested.

My wife and me have recently watched series of videos on biology, refreshing our long-forgotten knowledge from the high-school, as well as on money and banking. Khan Academy is an amazing way to spend the free time with your family - be it your partner or your kids.

I definitely agree with Salman Khan - videos are a powerful tool to acquire knowledge. I have, for instance, watched videos on YouTube and similar to learn some specific details of repairing bicycle or cooking. I also used video in my own course for students - and intend to use it even more.

The teacher as a leader

I am in the middle of my first semester as a business school teacher. After seven classes conducted, one large assignment graded, numerous meetings, emails and phone calls with the students, partners and guest lecturers, after reading and preparing material several evenings every week during past few months I feel that I have learned tremendously lot.

One of the most important a-ha moments has been - which I always suspected but never felt that well on my own skin before - that the good teacher really needs to be a good leader. The set of skills required for both roles is undoubtedly very similar. Well, the teacher is the leader of his/her course. But what I refer to here is a good teacher.

I am surely just on my way towards qualifying as a good teacher. But I am extremely thankful for the leadership experience my involvement in AIESEC has given to me. I can't imagine how hard it would be for me to bare the responsibility of teaching without having led several teams and organisations first. Here are but some of the lessons about leadership skills in teaching I have learnt so far:

Lesson #1: There are different styles of teaching, just like there are different styles of leadership. One can choose to be autocratic teacher and exercise one's authority by scaring students off by unforeseen exercises and unexpected difficult questions. Many leaders exercise their authority mostly by fear (of being laid off, of being given too much work and so on). One can choose to be democratic and involving instead - both as a teacher and as a leader.

Lesson #2: Presentation skills are crucial both in teaching as well as in leadership. I have seen too many times professors - and managers - who talk long without noticing (or without being willing to notice?) that their audience is mentally not with them. (I have surely fallen into this trap some times too). However, both students in the class as well as people in the organisations appreciate clear and motivating communication on the topics relevant for them.

Lesson #3: Involving is important in both teaching as well as leadership. It seems to me that many teachers and organisation leaders who have mastered the oral skills think that motivating words alone can move the mountains. However, both the learning curve and effectiveness of work becomes higher when students/members of organisations have a stake in the process. Discussion, group-solving, team-circles - all that works as great methods both in the classroom as well as in the offices.

Lesson #4: Everyone appreciates good feedback. I have given detailed feedback to all groups of students who submitted their assignments to me. After that, several of them wrote in the assessment sheets that I collect in the end of each class that it was the very first time someone at school has given them a real feedback (not just the grade) on the effort they made. There are far too many employees in the business world who get feedback on their work just too seldom too.

Lesson #5: Structured approach and skilful guidance are crucial in both business classes as well as in the business organisations. My students appreciated when I managed to be clear and well-organised, while they got confused when I did not provide good enough guidelines in the process. Every team expects clarity and structure from its leader too.

I am sure that this list will be filled up with more lessons like that. These are just very few initial thoughts I have now. All I want is that all these lessons will help me to become (and constantly challenge me as) both a good teacher and a good leader.

Started my university teaching career

A couple of days ago I had my third class as a lecturer at BI Norwegian Business School (Handelshøyskolen BI). This is something I have been thinking - and sometimes dreaming - about for several years.

In summer I was invited to be responsible for the course "Organisation of New Venture" for Bachelor in Entrepreneurship students. This is a very exciting, yet humbling task. It is a big personal challenge for me too. Despite my long-term involvement as a trainer for several years (first in AIESEC, then for Youth in Action in Estonia and in Norway), I have never been a teacher in formal education before. An additional challenge is that this course is... in Norwegian and all the students are Norwegians. My Norwegian is far from perfect, although I use it on everyday basis.

The building of BI Norwegian Business School in Oslo

Despite these difficulties that I could foresee, I nevertheless took this responsibility - and I am the teacher at the course for around 40 students during this autumn semester (until the end of the year). As this course only takes place once a week late afternoon, I can just as well combine it with my primary work (and with occasional freelance training courses I deliver for Aktiv Ungdom).

Why did I agree? Well, first of all, as mentioned in the beginning of the post, this is something I was imagining to do after some time anyway - I just did not think I was to start precisely now. Higher education, teaching and facilitating are the areas I have been interested in for years. I enjoy contributing to enhancing the knowledge of people and I feel comfortable doing it.


On the other hand, BI Norwegian Business School (or simply BI as it is known in Norway) is among the best business schools in Scandinavia and being part of it on the faculty's side is a great honour for me.

Last but not least, the purpose and the structure of the course have been very appealing to me. The students must start their own student venture in groups during the course - and we cooperate with Junior Achievement in this process. Several organisations such as NHO (Norwegian Employees' Organisation), JCI (mentorship programme),and Oslo City Government (guest lectures) are involved. Besides, I engage several acting entrepreneurs in this process. Thus, I am acting as a facilitator of the course connecting students to different people from the professional world - and support their learning journey by providing a theoretical framework as well as concrete tools to assist them.

I feel I have to be on top of duties every week I meet the students - not an easy task when one is confronted with a heterogeneous and demanding bunch of ambitious young people. It is time-consuming too - as with any teaching assignments, one needs to do quite a lot of work "behind the scenes", before and after the classes. Well, I have evenings and weekends for that whenever I need to... :)

Trip to the western coast of Norway - Geirangerfjorden

The last weekend I had chance to visit the Western coast of Norway again - this time the famous Geirangerfjord. The small town of Geiranger was a sort of the tourist nightmare - plenty of cruise ship travellers from Germany and England. But the moment we went farther from the town towards the nature, I started to truly enjoy the trip. Me and my wife (I got married this summer) walked the way from 0 to 550 meters above the sea on medium-challenging hiking path.

The new Gartner hiking boots proved to be a good investment (as well as tent from Helsport and the air-mattresses from artiach). We put up a tent on the picturesque hill from which we had a magnificent view on the fjord. An amazing place to have a self-cooked dinner and breakfast in the nature!

We were also lucky with the weather. The western coast of Norway is famous for its rainy climate. Yet we did not experience any rain and in the second half of the second day we even had  a sun.

All in all, it was a very fulfilling trip - the best during this year so far.