I am TL Hill, a strategy professor from Temple University’s Fox School of Business located in the swing state of Pennsylvania in the Unites States. I was at the University of Vaasa on the first of two five-week visits as part of a Fulbright Global Scholars Fellowship, organized in partnership with the Fulbright Finland Foundation and the University of Vaasa. The official goal of the fellowship is to learn more about the design, orchestration and evolution of university-community-industry-government research collaborations here in Vaasa and also in the Hunter Region of New South Wales in Australia. The unofficial goal is to build connections between the Uniersity of Vaasa and Temple University, and between researchers and students in Finland, Australia and the United States. I also bring with me an interest in the measurement of social impact – including projects on the social impact measurement of university research, a living lab, trauma-informed medical practices, restorative justice programmes, and First-Nations-run organizations that are re-negotiating relationships with capitalist economies in arts and forest products.
Here at Vaasa, I have had the privilege of working closely on several research projects with Helka Kalliomäki, and to explore possible collaborations with other professors, including Aušrine Šilenskyte. Helka has also been instrumental in organizing a series of fascinating conversations with University of Vaasa colleagues, researchers at the University of Turku (notably the business school’s Centre for Collaborative Research and the collaborative university-city Urban Research Programme), members of the Vaasa energy transition ecosystem, and the City of Vaasa. I have also received very helpful feedback on research-in-progress from Marko Kohtamäki and colleagues in the Strategic Business Development Group and from a session at the HKTP conference co-organized by Sorin Dan. Bonus: Night train to Rovaniemi and a lovely hike through an ecosystem that is new to me. (No, no Santa Claus…)
Many thanks to Dean Adam Smale for taking me to see the Kvarken Archipelago and a hockey game as well as for ongoing conversations about innovations in doctoral education, possible international exchanges between Temple University and the University of Vaasa and impact measurement, including more formal discussions with the University of Vaasa’s Research Council and its Executive Education unit. In addition, it has been great fun to meet PhD students and post-docs informally, through research seminars, and through a workshop on reviewing for top journals.
Finally, although I love northern summers and snowshoeing, I have to reassure everyone – and it really has been everyone! – who has worried about my visiting Vaasa in November, that even on gray windy rainy days, Vaasa is beautiful outside and warm inside. I look forward to returning in another year!
TL Hill is Professor of Management at Temple University’s Fox School of Business, where he co-founded and was (until very recently) Managing Director of both the Translational Research Center and Fox Management Consulting. He teaches highly experiential courses for MBA and doctoral students; conducts theory-focused research on network governance and the social legitimacy of firms; and engages in action research on experiential education and the measurement of social impact. Before entering the university world, he was a managing director and editor for New Society Publishers and a consultant for nonprofits, small businesses and family-owned firms. “I am happiest when engaging with new ideas, learning about and supporting social ventures, kayaking or hiking, and accompanying my partner and sons as they navigate their lives.”
