Taro Malinen

Taro Malinen has worked at University Properties of Finland Ltd (SYK) as Property Development Manager for 18 months. Taro graduated as a construction engineer and transferred from the employ of Hämeenkyrö Municipality to SYK. He feels that his job is of national significance. Since last August, Taro has been the head of the Property Development Team.

“None of the working days is the same. The days consist of many different entities such as property development, contract management and project development. In the role of supervisor, my team and I ensure that the objectives set for property development are met, and that our methods are developing. As a property development manager, I’m responsible for managing investment projects, and steering their planning and implementation,” Taro says.

Projects never cease to be of interest

Taro has always been fascinated by construction projects. The project nature of the jobs and extensive stakeholder cooperation guarantee the work’s meaningfulness and interest.

“I live for projects and developing things. Every project is different when you’re building something new or renovating an old property at the university campus. It’s inspiring,” Taro says.

In the future, it will be important for Taro to increase the productivity of construction work and focus on low carbon emissions. Taro is enthusiastic about new innovations in the real estate industry and pushes things forward vigorously. The aim behind everything is to allow the customers to focus on their core competences in peace.

“SYK is a property owner of national significance. People follow our example, and we must continue to try to be a pioneer in the sector,” Taro says.

The coronavirus moved the workplace to the sofa at home

Where 2020 is concerned, the first thing that comes to mind is the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of the exceptional circumstances, Taro’s home became his workplace. It was easy to switch to remote work, although finding a new rhythm and working method took time. Having his firstborn in homecare brought an additional challenge to work: occasionally the baby was watching Taro work behind his back.

However, Taro is concerned about the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the university sector and the world of real estate. How will the pandemic affect premises’ future needs?

“It can already be seen that remote studies will become part of teaching. At the same time, the continuation of lecture auditoriums and their need are being discussed. Time will show what changes will take place and how long-lived the changes will be. I’ll follow the development of the situation with interest,” Taro says.

Open and encouraging work community

The open and intimate work atmosphere at SYK has also played a key role during the remote work period. Joint meetings are continued as virtual meetings where discussion is free, and everyone is genuinely present. The new values jointly created by the personnel are visible in operations every day: people genuinely speak up and listen at SYK. According to Taro, SYK is an ideal workplace that gives permission to develop both matters and oneself.

“I was studying for a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences when I moved to SYK. Combining work and study was successful. I think it aptly describes the work community. As an employer, SYK incentivises and enables new things,” Taro says.