Alumni of the Year 2025: "Learning is a lifelong journey"

LAB provided the foundation for leadership and working life skills

Marko Kaira works at the HUS Cancer Center as a head nurse and is responsible for the work of nearly 50 nursing professionals across four different units. The work of a head nurse encompasses a wide range of duties, from recruitment to process development and everyday interactions with staff. His studies at LAB provided a strong foundation for this, especially through hands‑on learning.

Group work during his studies could at times feel a bit hard-going, but in working life it offered significant advantages. According to Kaira, it is precisely the skills of working in a team that have proven invaluable, particularly in project development: 

“Many times I have been able to apply what I learned from those UAS group assignments. My current work largely consists of developing various projects as group work together with employees and different professional groups.”

Clinical nursing expertise, on the other hand, has given him confidence to work as a supervisor in an environment where nursing competence plays a central role every day. Substantive leadership is an essential part of daily life at the Cancer Center. A supervisor must understand the content of nursing in order to evaluate quality, understand staff needs and lead with expertise. For Kaira, this clinical foundation has been an important resource: 

“As a substantive leader, a clinical background is very important, even though practical patient work has unfortunately become mostly secondary in my everyday life.”

Student organization work taught change management and multiprofessional collaboration

Kaira’s study years also included a significant role as Chair of the Board of LAMKO student union during the merger of two universities of applied sciences, when Lahti University of Applied Sciences and Saimaa University of Applied Sciences combined. The work was intensive but provided exceptionally strong preparation for supervisory roles.

The merger year taught him diverse stakeholder collaboration and how to work with people from different backgrounds and with different educational foundations – the same skills needed in multiprofessional healthcare teams. In addition, the principles of change management have stayed with him ever since: “In change, everyone must be heard, and the group needs to be brought along.”

A community builder and workplace energizer

Marko Kaira is known at his workplace as someone who gets ideas moving and inspires people. He emphasizes that the best development ideas come from the employees, not the supervisor. His role is often to enable, support and help ideas come to life.

One everyday example is the “legendary” Friday disco at the HUS Cancer Center, where employees gather in a shared space to dance for 10 minutes. The idea came from one of Kaira’s employees and eventually became a weekly source of joy in the work community for two years.

Teamwork stood out in the application process of Magnet Hospital quality system

Kaira’s teamwork skills were clearly visible in the HUS Cancer Center’s application process for the Magnet Hospital quality system, in which he supported the finalization of years of development work.

The Magnet Hospital quality system is an internationally respected nursing quality model that evaluates hospital units in areas such as quality of care, patient safety, nurse job satisfaction and organizational development structures. The Cancer Center received the recognition as the first hospital in the Nordic countries – the result of years of persistent development work. Kaira took part in the final phase by assembling the required evidence and supporting teams in preparing for the audit. His role focused on ensuring that the unit’s good practices, successes and development work were clearly presented.

Alumni of the Year recognition: "A surprising moment"

Kaira was genuinely surprised upon hearing that he had been selected as the Alumni of the Year. He describes the moment as warm and even touching – a positive surprise in the midst of a demanding work year. Last year, the daily work of the staff had been burdened by the co‑operation negotiations that shook the entire healthcare sector, increasing uncertainty and work pressures at many levels. His surprise was further strengthened by the fact that, in his view, many active and accomplished professionals have graduated from LAB and built successful careers. This made receiving the award feel even more meaningful.

He donated the award money to the Cancer Foundation to support Finnish cancer research. The reason was clear: “I know firsthand how important the work of cancer organizations is.”

"Learning is a lifelong journey"

Kaira’s view on lifelong learning has become a guiding principle for both his career and studies. He says he approached his study years as an opportunity to grow, try new things and build capital for the future. He has followed this principle after his UAS studies in his master’s degree and now as a doctoral researcher in nursing science.

The same attitude is reflected in the advice he gives to students. Kaira encourages them to take on new tasks boldly, participate in different projects and learn through doing. You do not need to know everything in advance – the most important thing is to dare to jump in. He also reminds that studying is a unique phase of life during which one can genuinely focus on self‑development and build a path toward future work roles. Continuous curiosity and courage to explore are values that, according to him, will continue to reward long after graduation.

LAB University of Applied Sciences congratulates the versatile and warmhearted Alumni of the Year!

Sources:

Sources: HUS. 2025. BNCT research treatments for cancer patients have begun. Accessed 10.2.2026. Available at https://www.hus.fi/ajankohtaista/bnct-tutkimushoidot-syopapotilailla-ovat-kaynnistyneet

Text and photos: Luca Eskelinen /LAB Studio