About Us
Our Story
Current educational systems around the world are based on the principles of mass production – they are standardized, prescribed, teacher-controlled, and students are separated by age. We need a new approach to education – one that prepares students for an unknown future. As stated in the World Economic Forum’s Schools of the Future Report (2019), educational systems should be providing interactive methods of learning that promote students’ critical and individual thinking.
“The current model of education is outdated. We need to rethink the way we teach and inspire young people and anticipate the skills they’ll need in the future.”
“Only by changing education can our children compete with machines. We need to move away from teaching knowledge to teaching something unique that machines won’t master: soft skills such as teamwork, strategic thinking, empathy, and more.”
New Nordic School was founded in Finland in January 2018 by Pia Jormalainen, Suzanne Perkowsky, and Janne Jormalainen.
We at New Nordic School are transforming current systems of education through our pre-K to grade 12 system, the New Nordic School Educational System. The system has Finland’s renowned curriculum at its core, enhanced with best pedagogical practices from around the world to create an interdisciplinary, personalized, and locally relevant system. Through each of our partner schools, we provide personalized and purpose-based learning that creates a unique learning path for each child and prepares them for an unknown future.
Our Team
Co-founder & CEO
An internationally experienced leader with over 20 years of diverse experience in business and marketing, both in corporations, agencies, and start-ups. Prior to co-founding New Nordic School, Pia helped start-ups scaling and internationalizing their businesses and completed her eMBA at Hanken School of Economics. Pia has lived and worked in Germany and Finland.
Co-founder & Head of Education
A passionate educator with extensive global experience in teaching and educational leadership in Finland, India, Singapore, China, the U.S.A., Saudi Arabia, and the UK. A strong belief in the renowned Finnish education system has led her to teaching and leadership certifications from Finland and the UK.
Co-founder & Chairman of the Board
A true serial entrepreneur and angel investor. Janne is a Chairman Emeritus of the Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN) and the President of the European Business Angels Network (EBAN). He has lived and worked in the U.S.A., Europe and Singapore.
Chief Education Officer
An international leader with over 20 years of experience working in government and private educational sectors. He has worked at a senior board level leading annual leadership improvements, change management, professional development, coaching, innovation, start-up, digital strategy and the future of learning in the MENA region, Finland and internationally.
Chief Commercial Officer
An international business developer with over 20 years of experience in business development, leading sales, opening new markets, building partner networks and driving growth in global corporations. Tobias has lived and worked in several markets around the world such as the Nordics, Asia-Pacific, Middle-East, and the U.S.A..
Chief Operating Officer
A versatile business developer with over 15 years of experience in process and operations development, marketing, account and project management in professional services and consulting industry. Kirsi has worked for several years in global and EMEIA teams.
Director of Sales and Business Development, India
A seasoned strategist and business development executive with over 10 years of experience in initiating new business, setting up complete operations for regions, hiring and handling larger teams while working across different industries. Ashish has an MBA from ESADE Business School and has lived and worked in Spain, Dubai, India, and Singapore.
Marketing Director
A marketing professional and Masters' graduate from the Hanken School of Economics with over 4 years of experience working in marketing roles in start-ups. Originally from Finland, Emilia has experienced a variety of international education systems during her 17 years as an expat, having lived in Germany, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Zealand, the U.S.A., and the Netherlands.
Educational Lead, India
An ardent educator with experience in research, collaboration, and execution of projects with international teachers. As a graduate student in educational sciences at University of Jyväskylä, she immersed into the Finnish educational system and intensively researched on teacher training and pedagogy.
Director of Professional Development
An education expert with a Master's Degree in Education and over 10 years of experience teaching in Finnish schools. Laura has trained thousands of educators and worked as a coach in schools mentoring leaders and teachers on Finland’s renowned education system and curriculum implementation.
Sales and Marketing Manager, India
A business professional with over 8 years of experience in the education sector. Deepika has acted as a mentor to industry professionals, postgraduates and high schoolers. She has also worked as a marketing and sales strategist for international business schools and universities.
Director of Curriculum
An experienced education leader with more than 25 years of experience. Juha’s areas of expertise include school management, curriculum reform, school quality assurance, and organizational dynamics. Juha has been involved in school set-up projects and school management in the Middle East, Asia, South America, Africa, and Europe.
Project Manager, India
Experienced project management professional with more than 9 years of diverse experience and a demonstrated history of handling various projects in the manufacturing and education industry. His expertise lies in defining scope, processes, estimating budgets, vendor selection and on-boarding, identification and mitigation of risks, and approvals.
Director of Digital Learning
An experienced educator in digital technologies and researcher that has led various research projects together with institutions such as The OECD, The World Bank, The LEGO Foundation, and the Finnish National Agency for Education. Chris has lived and worked in New Zealand, Nepal, Germany, and Finland.
Educational Lead, India
Education transformation expert and visionary with over 25 years of experience in education. Shalini has been associated with various names like; VIBGYOR Schools, G.D. Goenka Public School, the Heritage School, Excelsior American School, and GEMS Education. Her unconventional vision and wisdom find roots in her attempt to break the stereotypes that education is pinned down with.
Finland is the #1 leader in providing future-skills education and #1 in well-being and happiness.
(Economist Intelligence Unit, 2019; UN World Happiness Report, 2018, 2019, 2020)
Our values guide everything we do
Be bold
We are not perfect. Take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them.
Collaborate
We believe best results are reached by collaborating. Respect and trust yourself and others to achieve common goals.
Empower
When empowered, you make things happen. Generate confidence in everyone to shape their future.
Innovate
Creativity is at the core of everything we do. Challenge beliefs and employ creativity to forge original solutions.