Towards Entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship Portfolio opened a new door
HUBS offers the Building an Entrepreneurial Portfolio course every study period. But what do you actually do on the course, and what’s the benefit? Get inspired by the story and insights of our student, Neea Virlander!
My starting point for the course
For me, entrepreneurship used to be just one job title among others, and I had never really considered it a path for myself. However, my interest in entrepreneurship truly started to grow when I realized that journalism wasn’t the only field where I could apply my education and skills. Compared to journalism, entrepreneurship could offer me more freedom. Not only in how I work, but also in how I use my creativity.
The skills I gained in journalism, like interviewing, writing, photography, and visual communication, are widely applicable. In the media field, many professionals work as entrepreneurs, but entrepreneurship courses are not part of journalism studies at university. Thanks to cross-institutional studies, I was able to take entrepreneurship courses and develop my entrepreneurial skills.*
I felt that I already had quite a bit of competence for entrepreneurship before starting portfolio. I enrolled in this HUBS’ course to map out my skills and create a plan to guide me toward entrepreneurship. In the first meeting, I was encouraged and supported to take part in the course, even though I didn’t yet have actual experience in entrepreneurship.
In the first meeting, I was encouraged and supported to take part in the course, even though I didn’t yet have actual experience in entrepreneurship.
The plan grew along the way
My original idea when starting the course was to identify and develop my photography skills. Photography has been a lifelong hobby for me. As I put together my portfolio, I realized I already had a solid foundation for starting a photography business. I had experience with different types of photography, and the course gave me extra motivation to develop my editing skills.
During the course, I realized that now isn’t the right time for me to become an entrepreneur. At this stage of my studies, I simply don’t have the time or energy. Still, I was able to create a clear plan to follow when space opens up in my life for entrepreneurship.
As the course went on, I unexpectedly got the chance to take marketing photos for a new nature tourism company and also build their website. That experience changed my plan. My new goal is to further develop my web design skills and combine them with my existing strengths. Website projects allow me to use a wide range of skills from interviewing and writing to photography and visual communication.
New lessons learned
In addition to developing concrete skills like photo editing and web design, I learned something important while creating my portfolio: we often have more skills than we think. Putting everything together into a coherent whole helped me understand not just my strengths, but also the areas that still need work.
I also learned that the skill I most want to cultivate in entrepreneurship, and in life, is flexibility. You have to be willing to boldly change your plans if a better option presents itself. It takes courage to adapt, but that’s what makes new learning possible.
In addition to developing concrete skills like photo editing and web design, I learned something important while creating my portfolio: we often have more skills than we think.
To anyone considering the Portfolio course, I encourage you to go for it, even if you don’t yet have entrepreneurial experience. The course helped me understand my strengths and opened up new doors for the future.
As for me, I’ll keep walking through those doors – always continuing to learn, I hope.
Thank you, Neea, for sharing your story!
* The Building an Entrepreneurial Portfolio course is now listed in the university study system, Sisu. Students from Tampere University can enroll directly there. TAMK students can enroll via the Cross-institutional study service.
Cover photo: Isaac Smith, Unsplash
Interested? Join the course!
Test your idea
Building an Entrepreneurial Portfolio
Transform your practical experience on entrepreneurship and your working life skills into credits!
- Enrollment open
- Credits 1-20
Stories
Sustainable Visions in Action: Meet our three Sustainable Entrepreneurship Grantees
From industry innovation to beauty and tourism, our sustainable entrepreneurship grantees are proving that impactful ideas come in many forms. Take a closer look at their journeys!
I was surprised by everything I could achieve – Helena’s best Sprint lessons
In this blog, Helena shares practical lessons, surprises, and insights from the Sprint Innovation Festival from the perspective of a participant!
How could a humanities student benefit from entrepreneurial skills?
Discover the perspectives of our student team on entrepreneurial skills from the viewpoint of humanities and social sciences students!