Aalto DF
Connecting theory and practice
Tua is the director of the Design Factory, an assistant professor in leading for creativity in the School of Engineering and the teacher-in-charge of the master’s level product development major and minor in Aalto. Her work revolves around understanding, teaching and developing co-creation efforts, turning ideas into improvements in organizations and education.
Tua heads research at the Design Factory, looking into sustainable design practices, innovation in organisations, co-creation and the impact of the Design Factory. In addition, she manages the research projects CREATNet, Design Plus, Design+Sustainability, and ATTRACT, investigating how design thinking can change the way companies organise for innovation and how collaborative experimentation can give rise to new opportunities. She is also a deputy editor at the Journal of Engineering Education.
On the teaching front, Tua is a part of Design Factory efforts to promote developing university teaching. She teaches responsible innovation and human-centered design in courses such as the Product Development Project, Mechanical Engineering in Society, Prototyping for Innovation, and Design thinking for innovation, as well as design innovation in executive and professional education.
Tua has a DSc degree in work psychology from the Aalto University School of Science, and an MA degree in cognitive science from the University of Helsinki.
Publications on the Design Factory
Recent journal publications
- Perttunen, E., Jung, S., Talvinko, M. & Björklund, T. (2024).Opportunities amidst adversity: The enabling impact of Covid-19 for entrepreneurial value creation.The International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
- Surma-aho, A., Kirjavainen, S. & Björklund, T. (2024). It ain’t over till it’s over: adjusting the intensity and conformity of championing efforts after initial failure. Creativity and Innovation Management.
- van der Marel, F., Björklund, T., & Sheppard, S.D. (2024). Moments that matter: Early-career experiences of diverse engineers on different career pathways. Engineering Studies, 16(1), 33-55.
- Björklund, T.A., Gilmartin, S.K. & Sheppard, S. (2023). The dynamics of innovation efforts in the early career. Creativity and Innovation Management, 32, 80-99. Best paper award.
- Hölttä-Otto, K., Björklund, T.A., Klippert, M., Otto, K., Krause, D., Eckert, C., Nespoli, O. & Albers, A. (2023). Facing extreme uncertainty – how the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic influenced product development. International Journal of Design Creativity and Innovation, 11(2), 117-137.
- Kirjavainen, S., Lahdenne, S. & Björklund, T. (2023). Prototyping in practice – Paths and partners for testing novel industrial product and service ideas. CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 7(3), 14-19.
- Perttunen, E., Keipi, T., Hwang, S., & Björklund, T.A. (2023). Getting by with a little help from my friends: The impact of the pandemic on the collaboration of small Finnish food and beverage ventures. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management, 27(1/2), 51-76.
- Björklund, T.A. & Hannukainen, P. (2022). Tracking design from offerings to strategy. Touchpoint, 13(1), 86-92.
- Feng, X. & Björklund, T.A. (2022). Looking beyond your own speciality: student and faculty perceptions of collaboration opportunities. CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, 6(2): 20-27
- Surma-aho, A., Björklund, T.A. & Hölttä-Otto, K. (2022). User and stakeholder perspective taking in novice design teams. Design Science, 8, e24.
- Björklund, T.A., Mikkonen, M., Mattila, P. & van der Marel, F. (2020). Expanding entrepreneurial solution spaces in times of crisis: Business model experimentation amongst packaged food and beverage ventures. Journal of Business Venturing Insights.
- Björklund, T.A., Keipi, T. & Maula, H. (2020). Crafters, explorers, innovators, and co-creators – Narratives in designers’ identity work. Design Studies.
- Björklund, T.A., Maula, H., Soule, S. & Maula, J. (2020). Integrating design into organizations: The coevolution of design capabilities. California Management Review.
- Sheppard, S.D., Björklund, T.A., Chen, H.L., Gilmartin, S.K., Atwood, S., Reynolds Brubaker, E., et al. (2020). Connecting people and ideas: Making sense of a research lab through creating a shared frame. International Journal of Engineering Education, 36(2).