Löyly - Keynote Speech 12.1.2021

Mastering Finland was invited to give its first-ever public keynote speech at Löyly, a job-seeking event for Oulu students. This event took place on January 12th, and our founder Petra Kucharová was ready to speak on behalf of the podcast and its actions.

The Löyly event was organised by Business Oulu, the Student Union of the University of Oulu (OYY) and the Student Union of Oulu University of Applied Sciences OSAKO. The event was full of inspirational speakers, and not only the stage was buzzing with great talks. Mastering Finland made many new connections in business and education, and we will make sure to use these connections in our future episodes and content.

To give a short overview of the trip to and from Oulu, here is what our founder, Petra experienced and enjoyed:

"The day started very early, and I was on the taxi to the Helsinki Airport at 5:30 am. I was tired but really excited. While waiting at the gate, I met Maria Melnikova and Mariah O'Mara, two of the many speakers at Löyly 2022. We hit it off right away and continued the day with plenty of great conversations. After a smooth flight to Oulu (around 50 minutes), we arrived at surprisingly warm Oulu. I was worried that something like -20 degrees Celsius was waiting for me, but luckily there was a thaw, and the temperature was around 0. The OAMK campus I got to see was very simplistic in its design, with the studio located right at the entrance.

During the waiting "backstage" time, I got to meet the other speakers as well. I had an inspiring and super enthusiastic chat with Jason Brower, a serial entrepreneur, about everything from entrepreneurship to autism. His cool persona made me want to move to Oulu and participate in all the excellent tech and innovation development happening over there. Who knows, maybe someday?

And suddenly, there was my time. I was in my "speaker" clothes and ready to give the speech. This was the first time in my whole life that I was only a little nervous, and I think it was more the buzzing excitement rather than stress. The environment was so calming, friendly and welcoming. I didn't have the urge to stress and freak out as I would do at any other public speaking event. Big thanks to the organisers for making me feel this way! It was the best public speaking experience, and I will never forget it.

After the speech, I was so happy. I went "backstage" with most of the speakers chatting and joined in. After we were all ready to go home, I got a lift to the city centre and checked in to the hotel. I called Jean, the only person I knew off that watched the keynote live and shared all I've experienced with her. Then, I went for a walk and took some great pictures of the Oulu streets and spent the rest of the evening chilling and resting at the hotel after such a busy day. The next day I woke up quite early to take one more walk around the city before heading to the airport. The journey to the airport was smooth, only around 30 minutes by bus (which is less than what I have to do in Helsinki). The airport in Oulu was beautiful. Small but pretty with modern architecture. I said goodbye to this great northern town, and flew towards Helsinki."

Big thanks again to all the Löyly organisers and speakers, and I hope to see you soon again!

You can find the recording of the Löyly event here, and the tips Petra shared with the audience here.