Halliki Põlda: As a lecturer, I am most motivated when my students understand that they are learning

Halliki Põlda, Doctor of Linguistics, Associate Professor of Lifelong Learning, Tallinn University School of Educational Sciences

After secondary school, I wanted to become a teacher of Estonian language and literature, but then people started talking about computers as the next big innovation. I had also graduated from an advanced class in mathematics and physics with additional courses in programming. So, I followed the trend and went to study IT to become an automation engineer.

After graduating from university in 1994, I moved to Kuressaare, where I did not have a lot of opportunities to apply my newly studied skills. I found work at a mobile phone and network store. I was the store’s manager, but I also often worked with clients. I sold new phones and repaired old Finnish cell phones. Often, I combined parts from three non-working phones to make a working one. I also had to regularly teach people how to use a phone.

As I was already familiar with mobile communication, it seemed natural for me to pivot into radio communication. I assumed the job of director for Saaremaa’s radio station Kadi. This position allowed me to combine my IT knowledge and interest in language and communication.

Seeing work at a radio station up close gave me a good understanding of how media works, how public messages are formed and how a media organisation works internally. The managerial position was a huge opportunity for personal development, as it allowed me to leave behind the Soviet-era behavioural norms and adopt a managerial style that was more humane, open and collaborative. I realised that language and words were behind everything, like how respectful, clear and thorough my messaging was.

I could host talented, successful and intelligent guests on a radio talk show, which paved the way for my further interest in science. I enjoyed listening to their stories and analysing what helped them realise their talents and how their communities had supported them. These ideas fostered my future interest in science and became the reason I am now a talent researcher.

I got the idea to return to university in 2009, when our choir stopped in front of Tallinn University during the Song Festival parade. There was a large poster on the building that said, ‘Come to university!’. I was thinking about that invitation during our whole march to the Song Festival Grounds. I eventually concluded, ‘Why not?’. After all, I was 39, back in Tallinn and I had just sold the photo studio I founded a few years ago. My career in that field was doomed by the massive sudden popularity of digital cameras, so I decided it was time to step out of the business. As such, I was open to new challenges, and I felt like Tallinn University was my opportunity to learn something new and make a radical career change.

As part of the application procedure for the Master’s programme in communication, I had to write an essay and attend an interview. At the interview, I said that I was motivated to study by the dream of eventually teaching at the university. Most members of the interview commission were surprised by that, but one of them, Professor Krista Kerge, looked me straight in the eye and said that these were the kinds of people they were looking for at the university. She eventually became my PhD thesis supervisor. Her ability to see my potential greatly supported me in my career.

It was challenging to study again. I was excited, as in communication, I could take a step closer to my old dream of working with the Estonian language. However, the school system had changed a lot in the meantime. For example, I had no idea what ECTS were. I was also intimidated by the fact that many study tools were in English. In Saaremaa, I had not had to use any foreign languages for years. Additionally, I had to consider the everyday challenges of studying. I worked during the day, attended school in the evening and supported my teenage children who were still getting used to a new city and school. My backup plan was to study for one semester and see how I could manage.

The challenges I was afraid of were soon replaced by great joy. The lectures were fascinating, I felt supported by the lecturers and fellow students and everything I started became a success. Studying at the university made me feel happy, which filled me with energy. This feeling still resides within me.
I often see the same mix of uncertainty and motivation to study in the eyes of my students. Thanks to my journey, I can relate to them better. I believe that I can relate to the feelings of both young students who just came to study for their first degree as well as older and more experienced students. It was not initially my plan, but as an associate professor of lifelong learning, I am a perfect example of lifelong learning.

A decisive moment that showed my potential as a lecturer and scientist was when I received a message from Krista Kerge. It was concise, saying: ‘I am sick and cannot give the lecture tomorrow. I have attached the slides. Please do it for me.’ As such, I had to give my first lecture on a topic I did not fully comprehend myself. I was given 100 slides, 80 of which I could not make heads or tales of. I studied all night to bring myself up to speed.

The students attending the lecture were not surprised at all by me standing in front of the auditorium. I was hit by a certain kind of happiness from getting to start my journey as a teacher in that precise moment and manner. The lecture itself was extremely awkward, as I made one mistake after the other. However, it felt right. I realised that I could not be a lecturer in a field I was not a scientist in, which motivated me to strive forward.

As a lecturer, I am most motivated when my students understand that they are learning. At the radio, I was acknowledged as a leader who would allow others to work independently. Now, I try to be a lecturer who lets her students do the same. Their grades do not concern me, as long as I can see that they are advancing in the subject and also learning things not in the curriculum. I also feel happy when I can create an environment that allows the various skills and talents of students to develop.

Thankfully, I can see a change in why people come to study. They do not only study to start a career anymore but increasingly for themselves. Society develops most when people are happy and content.

My biggest joys as a lecturer and scientist:

• Science – I like applying and introducing others to a science-based life and thinking.
• Studies – I enjoy teaching and studying.
• Development – I find it important to make a contribution to our education system in general.

Career:

• Mobile communication store manager – 5 years
• Photo studio manager – 2 years
• Radio Kadi director – 5 years
• Scientist – 16 years

Education:
2019 Tallinn University, Doctorate of Linguistics
2012 Tallinn University, Master’s in Communication, cum laude
1994 Tallinn University of Technology, engineering degree in computers and computer networks