Four days of pure Finnish happiness

The in-person Masterclass

at a Lakeland region resort in Finland

4 days | 4 themes | 4 coaches

The Masterclass of Happiness is a four day crash course for a happy lifestyle in the world’s happiest nation. Selected applicants get to learn from a wide variety of experts from different fields – a truly unique opportunity to finding their inner Finn. Stay tuned for more content & follow our social media channels for a whole lot of Happiness.

Meet your coaches

The Happiness Mix

Food & Wellbeing

Unique flavours combined with actual health benefits are the ingredients that make up Finnish food. Through hands-on cooking, recipe development and foraging sessions, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of what makes the Finns so happy when sitting down to eat.

Alex Nurmi

Food & Wellbeing

Alex Nurmi is a renowned chef who has been in the culinary industry for over 20 years. His food philosophy is based on fresh tastes and healthy ingredients. Born in Stockholm to a Finnish mother and a Nigerian father, he moved to Turku at the age of three and has lived in Finland for the past 40 years.  
 
After graduating as a chef, he started on a culinary journey that earned him many titles, such as TV chef, food stylist, food consultant, food producer, cookbook author and food designer. However, the most important thing for Alex has been learning more from each challenge and being continually inspired by the most basic ingredients. His dishes often feature a mix of high-quality ingredients, inspiring presentation and the joy of learning something new.  
 
Alex has also made numerous appearances on television, including a 16-year stint as a TV chef. He has also been involved in the production of 2 800 episodes of the popular Finnish cooking show Mitä tänään syötäisiin. Over the years, Alex has been involved in a plethora of food-related projects and has a wealth of stories to share.

The Happiness Mix

Health & Balance

Balance is key when it comes to figuring out your happiness journey. The Health & Balance day shows you all the essential methods to fostering your inner Finnish spirit. Let the therapeutic benefits of nature and a diverse range of outdoor activities take you closer to your inner Finn.

April Rinne

Health & Balance

April Rinne is a “change navigator”, speaker, investor and adventurer whose work and travels in more than 100 countries have given her a front-row seat to a world in flux. She is ranked one of the 50 leading female futurists in the world by Forbes and is a Harvard Law School graduate, a Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum, a Fulbright Scholar, a member of the Silicon Guild and Thinkers50 Radar and the author of the international bestseller Flux: 8 Superpowers for Thriving in Constant Change. April's Finnish father taught her to go off the beaten path and imbued in her a Finnish way of looking at the world. 
 
April is a trusted advisor to well-known start-ups, companies, financial institutions, non-profits, think tanks and governments worldwide, including Airbnb, Nike, Intuit, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, AnyRoad and Unsettled as well as governments ranging from Singapore to South Africa, Canada to Colombia and Italy to India. Earlier in life, she was a global development executive, an international microfinance lawyer and a hiking guide. As a certified yoga teacher, she can often be found upside-down, doing handstands around the world.

The Happiness Mix

Design & Everyday

Your inner Finn understands how inspirational the surrounding world can be. Urban living harmoniously coexisting with nature is not in fact utopia – let us prove that as we delve into the heart of Finnish design philosophy and learn about traditional design techniques and modern innovations.

Taina Snellman-Langenskiöld

Design & Everyday

Taina is a design professional who has been working extensively in marketing and corporate social responsibility within the design and fashion industry for the past 20 years. Taina is best known as the founder of the Finnish company Tikau, established in 2008, and has since been a pioneer in responsible design thinking. At the core of Tikau's philosophy is “Design Helps!”, which offers a framework for addressing societal challenges through sustainable and beautiful design and products. Last year, Tikau launched the Ülle collection, made from Finnish wool to promote domestic handicrafts and manufacturing as well as utilizing high-quality Finnish wool. 
 
Taina has also lectured extensively on the subject and curated exhibitions and content related to more responsible and helpful design, both domestically and internationally. Taina is the creative director of Billnäs Gård, a hotel and event space that focuses on the well-being of both nature and people, set to open next summer. 
 
In her free time, Taina loves old houses, animals and country life. She prefers to spend her free time with animals, gardening and interior design projects. Taina finds inspiration in beauty, whether it's in nature, design, art, or buildings.

The Happiness Mix

Nature & Lifestyle

By delving into the great outdoors and nature, you'll begin to understand your inner Finn's everyday building blocks. Through highlighting our quirky and unique ways, we invite you to discover the secrets of the Finnish lifestyle.

Petri Kokkonen

Nature & Lifestyle

Petri Kokkonen is a wilderness guide who lives in the remote Vätsäri area on the shores of Lake Inari. He has always been fascinated by the natural beauty of the forests and lakes of Lapland, and his love for nature led him to pursue a career as a guide and entrepreneur. Petri's daily routine involves using traditional hunting and fishing methods to obtain food, and his hunting dogs, Elli and Elsa, accompany him on his adventures in the wilderness. 
 
Four years ago, Petri made a major lifestyle change when he swapped his busy city life for the silence of the wilderness. Despite the demands of his job and living in the city, he always felt a longing to be back in the heart of nature where he spent all his free time. He decided to pursue his dream and traded his electrified suburban home near the centre of Rovaniemi for an old, electricity-free log house in the middle of the wilderness. He now lives on the shores of Lake Inari, far from neighbours and off the beaten track. He obtains water from the lake and food from the surrounding nature. For someone living in the wilderness, fishing, hunting, and self-sufficiency are an everyday way of life. 
 
After moving to the wilderness, Petri also began to think about how he could incorporate his lifestyle into his work. As a result, he started practicing year-round wilderness tourism and offering visitors authentic experiences on Lake Inari, the wilderness and the surrounding nature.

Mikaela Creutz

Nature & Lifestyle

Mikaela Creutz is a nature lover, hiker and photographer who resides in Northeastern Finland. She works and freelances in communications, digital marketing and photography, with a strong focus on nature. Living as close to wild nature as possible has always been a big part of Mikaela's dreams, and she feels most at home when surrounded by nature. 

For approximately 15 years, Mikaela worked in the finance sector in Helsinki. Exactly ten years ago, she fell in love with hiking and trekking during her first wilderness expedition, and there was no turning back. Later on, she moved to the North, as Helsinki began to feel too far away from everything, especially the great Northern outdoors. Mikaela has since explored new landscapes every month, and her adventures have taken her all over Finland, especially to the peace and quiet of Lapland and the North. 

Mikaela has also helped others discover Finnish nature and hiking through volunteer work. In 2018, she fulfilled her dream of living closer to nature and moved to Kuusamo to study photography. 

Mikaela actively travels and hikes, takes photographs and explores nature all over Finland, albeit with a particular interest in Lapland. She loves to pack her tent and go on hikes in the wilderness year-round, in both winter and summer. Through her photos and stories, Mikaela aims to inspire others to experience the beauty of Finland's nature and hiking opportunities. 

Study our timetables and themes

Monday 12.6. Nature & Lifestyle

Tuesday 13.6. Design & Everyday

Wednesday 14.6. Health & Balance

Thursday 15.6. Food & Wellbeing

Awaken your inner Finn at the Lakeland region resort

Lakeside luxury villa of your dreams

Kuru provides a unique, luxurious experience where the journey to finding your inner Finn can begin. The prestigious premises are surrounded by gorgeous Finnish nature. The lakeside villa is located in the midst of a beautiful pine forest, encapsulating you under the healing power of nature that has been proven in studies the world over.
 
You can experience nature everywhere at Kuru, even indoors, thanks to panoramic windows in all of the buildings. Every minute detail in the resort is designed to help you wind down and relax – fragrances, sounds and materials included.

Do sauna like a Finn and sleep like a Finn

During the Masterclass of Happiness, the selected attendees will be staying in their own private villas.

The luxury villas immerse guests into the surrounding nature where they can feel the rhythm of nature indoors as well as outdoors. This organic connection sparks energy and improves overall wellbeing. To further support the quest for resetting the mind, there are no televisions in our villas. While digital detox is a key component of the Kuru experience, we do offer in-room WiFi.

Good sleep is very important in nurturing your inner Finn. The villas introduce guests to an entirely new standard of sleep that adds another dimension to the experience, with lifetime benefits to reap. We’ve worked with sleep researchers, doctors and specialists to optimise the premises, including elements such as ideal bedding and sleep patterns that support serene rest.

All the villas have a private sauna and spa where guests can soak in a hot bath and take in the soothing ambience. You can even surround yourself with relaxing soundscapes or simply enjoy the silence.

What more could your inner Finn ask for?
General FAQ about the Masterclass

What is the Masterclass of Happiness?

When is the Masterclass of Happiness?

Where will the Masterclass of Happiness take place?

Will the Masterclass of Happiness be organised again?

Will the Masterclass of Happiness be available online?

If I'm chosen – what now?

What now?

Accommodation & stay

Expenses

Further details

What happens if I’m selected but can’t take part due to illness or unforeseen circumstances?

What happens if I get injured or sick during the Masterclass?

Is English required?

Do I need to somehow prepare for the Masterclass?

Terms & Conditions

Inspiration for your next trip

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