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"The Aalto EMBA was an intensive and rewarding experience. For a healthcare professional, Aalto EE’s Healthcare Management Education Program acted as a good steppingstone to EMBA studies.”

Mika Matikainen
Head of Urology Service, HUS Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa

Chief Physician Mika Matikainen is Head of Urology Service at HUS Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. Matikainen has had an extensive career in medicine both in Finland and abroad. He graduated as an MD in 1994 and defended his doctoral thesis in 2001. He completed his specialist education in urology in 2004 in Tampere University and TAYS, and he was nominated as an adjunct professor in 2008. Matikainen started as a chief physician at HUS in 2012.

At HUS Matikainen acts as a direct supervisor for 21 specialist doctors and six urology residents. In addition to treating urology patients and his supervisor work, Matikainen also acts as the Urology Clinic’s medical and administrative director.

Matikainen graduated from the Aalto Executive MBA program in 2019. Prior to his EMBA studies, he also participated in Aalto EE’s Healthcare Management Education Program: Johtaminen terveydenhuollossa.

“The EMBA was an intensive and rewarding experience. The Healthcare Management Education Program I attended at Aalto EE first was highly valuable in itself – and for a healthcare professional it acted as a good steppingstone to EMBA studies, which I started almost immediately after that,” Matikainen says.

Matikainen has actively participated in management and leadership training throughout his career. His primary goal for the EMBA was to learn more about financial management and leadership.
 
“I had gained new financial management responsibilities due to an organizational change at HUS. Tools for tackling these responsibilities were my first priority. In addition, I hoped the EMBA would give me new perspective to leadership also from outside the realm of healthcare, and new insights for example on digital disruption,” Matikainen explains.

I feel that I got exactly what I was looking for: a chance to reflect on my own actions and develop as a leader."

Matikainen says he is pleased with everything he obtained from the Aalto EMBA, which he describes as a well-structured program.

“I feel that I got exactly what I was looking for: a chance to reflect on my own actions and develop as a leader, a broader outlook to leadership also from outside the healthcare field, and a more in-depth understanding of financial management. I naturally absorbed a lot of insights from other subjects as well, which was a great bonus,” he remarks.

“Financial management modules taught me the most, because I knew least about these topics upon starting the program. I gained useful tools for financial planning and monitoring, and a much stronger foundation for example for budgeting,” Matikainen says.

In terms of his own work at HUS, the Operations Management module hit the closest to home for Matikainen:

“Although the topics were predominantly familiar, I obtained many useful ideas and new perspective from this module. I got great tools for ongoing development projects at HUS, for example for developing treatment paths with lean methods,” he notes.

Matikainen emphasizes that all the EMBA modules gave him useful viewpoints for his own work.

“The first-rate instructors made learning rewarding regardless of the subject. In reflection, I feel that the EMBA’s impact can be seen in my everyday work in many ways. It has for instance developed the way I lead projects and meetings, how I set goals in our work community, how I listen to others, and present my own ideas,” Matikainen ponders.

The EMBA is also very much a social event. The program is a shared journey and the group is a big part of the EMBA experience."

He underlines that in addition to good instructors and high-quality content, interaction with other participants also had a significant role in creating the gratifying learning experience.

“The EMBA is also very much a social event. The program is a shared journey and the group is a big part of the EMBA experience. Exchanging opinions and experiences with other participants was rewarding, and many friendships were formed during the program,” he points out.

The Business Strategy Project, BSP, was a particularly positive experience for Matikainen. The BSP is a strategic consulting project conducted is small groups for organizations represented and suggested by EMBA participants. The project that Matikainen pitched won a place in the BSP, and he got to investigate alternative models for arranging HUS’ urology specialty service together with his BSP group.

“The project I pitched was quite popular amongst our EMBA group, which naturally made me happy. HUS’ CEO Juha Tuominen and my boss, Director of HUS Abdominal Center, Esko Kemppainen offered guidance to our work. It was interesting to see how outsiders assessed my unit’s operations. Our BSP group had professionals from very diverse fields of business and many valuable perspectives came up during the project, things one would not easily see from within the organization,” Matikainen highlights.

Matikainen says he is pleased to endorse the Aalto EMBA program.

I definitely feel that the Aalto Executive MBA is a good investment for an employer."

“The program demands a systematic approach and consistent effort, but it is quite doable alongside your normal daily work – especially if you study portions of the program in advance, like I did by participating in Aalto EE’s Healthcare Management Education Program. I recommend this path to all healthcare professionals, the Johtaminen terveydenhuollossa program and Aalto EMBA are an excellent combination,” Matikainen affirms.

“I encourage partaking in the Aalto EMBA. I think I managed well here in our EMBA group as a doctor among other professionals, and I received my EMBA grade ‘with honors’. On my own behalf I am grateful to HUS for enabling my participation in this program. I definitely feel that the Aalto Executive MBA is a good investment for an employer,” he concludes.

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