St. Olaf faculty member named Fulbright Specialist for project in Finland

St. Olaf College Director of Business and Management Studies Sian Christie has been selected as a Fulbright Specialist for the 2025–26 academic year for a collaborative project in Finland.
Christie will travel to Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki to co-teach a three-week intensive course this summer titled Startup School Design Project as part of the university’s renowned entrepreneurship program. As a Fulbright Specialist, Christie will work with students to foster inclusive and innovative business education practices designed especially for international learners.
Through design thinking, multicultural teamwork, and field research, the course challenges students to reimagine the startup school of the future — one that centers inclusivity and support for international student communities while cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset.
“Haaga-Helia University has a robust business/entrepreneurship program and a deep focus on experiential learning, which is consistent with my pedagogical philosophy,” Christie said. “I am also very interested in studying the business curriculum to assess what opportunities we could replicate in our Business and Management Studies Program.”
Christie will co-lead the course with Antti Leppilampi, a Finnish entrepreneurship expert. The collaboration has already begun virtually, with both instructors sharing ideas to shape a dynamic and cross-cultural classroom experience.
Following her teaching engagement, Christie will use funds from the Randal S. and Lori S. Cassling Family Faculty Excellence Award — which she received earlier this year in recognition of her work with students and her leadership in the St. Olaf Business and Management Studies Program — to explore business, innovation, and entrepreneurship courses at Danish Institute for Study Abroad sites in Stockholm and Copenhagen. These visits aim to deepen her understanding of international business pedagogy and assess strategies that could enrich offerings at St. Olaf.
“Being named a Fulbright Specialist is truly an honor,” Christie said. “I’m excited to re-energize my own teaching, gain new insights, and bring back ideas that can enhance our students’ learning experiences.”
“Professor Christie is an exceptional teacher and networker. Much of what she will be engaged in at Helsinki resonates with the kind of hands-on, design-thinking approach that she has brought to St. Olaf’s Business and Management Studies Program,” said St. Olaf Provost and Dean of the College Marci Sortor. “There is no question that she will bring much to the University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki while she also gains new ideas and approaches. We have the Fulbright Foundation to thank for making possible these valuable opportunities to learn from one another.”
The Fulbright Specialist Program, part of the larger Fulbright Program, was established in 2001 by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The program pairs highly qualified U.S. academics and professionals with host institutions abroad to share their expertise, strengthen institutional linkages, hone their skills, gain international experience, and learn about other cultures while building capacity at their overseas host institutions.
Specialists, who represent a wide range of professional and academic disciplines, are competitively selected to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster based on their knowledge, skill sets, and ability to make a significant contribution to projects overseas. Those individuals that have been approved to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster are then eligible to be matched with approved projects designed by foreign host institutions from over 150 countries and other areas. Once abroad, Specialists partner with their host institution to conduct project activities in support of the host institution’s priorities and goals.
The Fulbright Specialist Program aims to provide a short-term, on-demand resource to international host institutions, giving them greater flexibility in how they participate with Fulbright. Specialists are strongly encouraged to continue to work with host institutions in the years following their initial exchange, creating opportunities for ongoing cooperation and consultancies.