One of VTT’s strategic choices is to build the world's most meaningful workplace. The goal is supported by our New Work @VTT development programme and its two new experiments that support learning - It’s reflection time and Learning Buddy. The experiments, which are intended for everyone at VTT, take us step by step into a circle of positive continuous learning.
The rapid change in our operating environment puts our skills and abilities to the test. Lifelong learning requires that we take an active approach, and that we are supported by the organisation. New knowledge and skills often become a part of what we do without us necessarily even noticing it.
“As our operating environment changes, our abilities grow old faster than before, giving continuous learning an increasingly important role. Learning nowadays does not require massive courses – it increasingly involves constant micro-learning in our daily work, which grows into a greater whole. Through reflection we can see how many new things we have learned and what else we want to learn. We can also share what we have learned through shared reflection. This takes us, step by step, to a virtuous circle that promotes learning and nurtures the right kind of excellence of skills”, says Sari Ek-Petroff, the head of the New Work program’s learning theme.
The experiments help us learn new things and get us to reflect on what we have learned
The purpose of the Learning Buddy experiment is to encourage VTTers to find an internal or external buddy who can offer support in learning something seen as important. The purpose of the It’s Reflection Time experiment is to draw our attention to things that we have learned and also to make them visible. Reflecting on what has already been learned is possible at the level of the individual, the project, or the entire team.
“For an organisation of experts that creates new things, learning comes naturally, and these new experiments get off to a good start. It is important for us, as an organisation, to recognise the significance of both learning, and learning how to learn, that we raise the issue, and encourage people to come to it. Curiosity is how learning begins. We want new models of thinking to ultimately lead to a change in how things are done, and to a culture in which we recognise that we do not know how to do something yet, but that no learning is beyond our capabilities. This is exactly the work that our new experiments support. On the other hand, our promise is to think beyond the obvious, and this, if anything, calls for curiosity and continuous learning”, says Jenni Santalo, Vice President, Marketing & Communications at VTT, and the head of the New Work programme.
