Meet Me Monday: Roman Jürisaar

Introduce yourself briefly

Hey, my name is Roman Jürisaar. I come from Tartu, but my roots originate from the most Southern county in Estonia, which is Võru County. I proudly name myself a võroke. I am a third-year sudent majoring in Entrepreneurship and Business Administration. Challenges and surrounding myself with people who inspire me every step of the way is what I love. In addition to people, I like books and knowledge. I am especially interested in the world around me and I try to make it understandable for myself through psychology, philosophy, and other exciting fields. As a person, I am empathetic and I have a big heart.

Name three facts about you

1) As a big sports enthusiast I went to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Peking as a spectator and during the time there I saw how our Estonian discus thrower Gerd Kanter was crowned an Olympics winner. In addition, I managed so see the fastest man on the planet Usain Bolt achieving his world record for the 100m sprint and the USA national basketball team playing twice, with my role model LeBron James and from a recent helicopter crash deceased Kobe Bryant leading the team.

2) In 2019 I ran my first full marathon with a time of 3:56:17.

3) Only some time ago, I used willpower for achieving my goals and aims. I was very demanding of myself and others. Strong discipline and focus on goals took away the wellbeing and feelings of happiness, which would have enabled me to fully enjoy the process. I still do everything that I enjoy with determination and passion, but I am learning more and more to enjoy the process.

Why did you decide to come to study at EBS and what are you studying here?

Because I had made sense of what I wanted out of my life (in terms of a profession), it seemed only logical and the right choice to come to study at EBS. I found myself in a situation that required me, in terms of further development, to obtain higher education and widen my profession-related knowledge. EBS seemed to be the best possible solution. I have never considered myself to be an entrepreneurial person and entrepreneurship does not appeal to me the way management does. I believe that I have many good qualities to make the most of myself in a leadership role.

Estonian Business School and personal growth have made me see my true potential. EBS is like family! This school provides good friends, strong values, and the necessary tools to realize your abilities in the best possible way.

You also work alongside your studies, who do you work as and how are you able to combine school and work?

I work as a sales manager in Vedelgaas OÜ, a firm in the energy sector. We are specialized in servicing the industrial segment. The foundation of the companies’ core business is an effective and trustworthy energy system, which supports quick development and flexible changes in the production process. As a reliable partner, we are able to provide our clients with solutions tailored to their specific needs, so that they can focus on their core business carefree.

I like to divide myself between school and work. I can immediately apply in practice the knowledge obtained in school and try everything out on my own. Certainly, my education is necessary for the entire organization and the self-development of its people. Management in the current times has changed significantly and it is crucial to be by the side of these changes that EBS’s practical approach offers. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be able to work and study at the same time.

What is your greatest dream?

My greatest dream is to be the president of the Republic of Estonia 20 years from now. To support that dream I follow a thought: “Help others achieve their dreams and you can achieve yours.”

What does good education mean to you?

Russian educator and writer Konstantin Ušinski once said: “You can widen your knowledge only when you look directly into the eyes of the unknown.” In my twenties, I believed that I know everything and I am the center of the world. Over time develops the understanding of how much unknown regarding our world there is. There is always something exciting to learn and experience to broaden the mind. In my opinion, more important than education is the acquired knowledge and skills obtained during life itself. To confirm this claim I would use English mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead’s quote:

„Your learning is useless to you until you have lost your textbooks, burnt your lecture notes, and forgotten the minutiae which you learnt by heart for the examination,“ – Alfred North Whitehead.

 

What are your views and aims for the future?

I definitely wish to continue my Master’s studies here at EBS. I have considered enrolling in the Executive MBA program. I wish to realize myself as an authentic leader. Today I am obtaining practical managerial experience in the private sector, but to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, I find it important to do the same in the public sector. I find self-development to be crucially important and I am convinced that the best way to learn is by teaching others. That’s why the education sector and the profession of a school principal seem highly attractive to me for obtaining such experience.