My journey from Human Resource to Sustainability Leadership
Sital Pokhrel’s student blog text from Master’s degree programme of Sustainability Leadership.
Every individual journey starts with that single spark. For me that spark came when I was pursuing Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA). I vividly remember attending a seminar which shaped my future education and professional journey. In that seminar, I got opportunity to understand the concepts and prospects of Human Resource (HR). Until then I was not familiar with the term “HR”, and I thought to myself there is so much more to learn. This elevated my curiosity and encouraged me to pursue an MBA in Human Resources. Subsequently, I worked for seven years in the field of HR across diverse companies like publication, manufacturing, trading, recruitment, hydropower and auditing. My job roles from HR Officer to HR Manager allowed me to gain hands on experience from recruitment, payroll to employee engagement, training and policy development. This experience gave me a strong foundation in understanding how people and organizations function together.
The turning point for my career came after joining hydropower company, there I got to know about the “Sustainability. “My job role required me to draft and implement the sustainability guidelines, but it felt like it was just another requirement. However, after attending training and workshops, I began to see that sustainability is not only about environmental policies. It is also about people, communities and future generations. I came to realize that sustainability is not just corporate checklist but was a necessity. Being HR, we focus on creating balance between employees and management, in the same way sustainability focuses on creating balance between economy, society and the planet. These learnings encouraged me to take another big step in my career. I believed that if HR had shaped the first chapter of my career, then sustainability would be the next.
I started searching for opportunities to enhance my knowledge on sustainability. I found the Master’s Degree Programme in Sustainability Leadership at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) matched with what I was looking for. The program is research based thoughtfully designed by experts in the field of sustainability focusing on leadership, circular economy, sustainable entrepreneurship, explaining what past scenario was, what is being done at present and what are prospects of sustainability. Furthermore, Finland’s global image in sustainability also added in convincing me that this university is the right place to grow personally, academically and professionally. As I wanted to learn from the place that integrates sustainability into everyday life not only as mandatory policy but also as a way of living.
From the very beginning, UEF supported my transition through online orientation, tutors, and program coordinators. All of them provided constant guidance and made me feel welcomed even before arriving in Finland.
I still can remember the feelings on the very first day of class. I felt both excited and overwhelmed looking around my classmates who were well experienced professionally and academically. There were moments of self-doubt for me. I even asked myself: Am I even prepared enough to be here? The biggest challenge I faced was getting used to digital learning systems. Each and everything from finding course, course registration to assignments submission, communication with faculties was done online. Since I was used to more traditional methods of learning, things were confusing to me. But with the guidance of personal study planner, professors, and classmates I was able to navigate these systems and got comfortable using them.
Personally, what excites me the most about this course is how practical the program feels. It has been both rewarding and challenging. Workshops, group discussions, case studies, presentations have stood out as some of the most valuable aspects of my learning journey in this first academic year. All these interactive methods of learning helped me to connect the theoretical knowledge with the real-world sustainability challenges along with the unique cultural and professional perspectives of my classmates. It is inspiring to see how this course has covered diverse information from different sources and has been built to respond to the urgent need of our time.
My journey from HR to Sustainability is not about leaving one path for another but it is about adding more values, foundation and expanding my impact. HR taught me about employees and organization now by this mater’s program I can extend that vision to society, environment and future generations. My vision is to contribute to creating a system combining my experience with HR and sustainability where business acts responsibly, respecting both people and planet. I believe that true sustainability must balance the social, environmental, and economic needs and I want to be the part of shaping that balance.
Looking back from the first day till the end of one academic year in Sustainability program. It has been the journey of exploration, transformation and growth. I look forward to the impact I can make in the years ahead.
Sital Pokhrel ([email protected])