NEWSLETTER 4-17 FROM HANKEN SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS
From International Talent to Local Strength Integrating international students and talents into Finnish business life is challenging for both universities and companies. There is no direct link for incoming talents with leadership ability to become key contributors to the future success of Finland. This autumn Hanken has launched a new initiative – International Talent Programme (ITP) – connecting international students to Finnish companies seeking to strengthen their competitive edge. Universities have both a great opportunity and an important role to play in the integration of international talent for the benefit of Finnish industry. Six corporate partners are participating and over 50 students applied to the programme in the first round. The companies commit by assigning a personal mentor for each student they take on.
The mentor follows the student throughout their two years of study, linking the study programme to work life. By combining mentoring and studies, the student is familiarised with the company and the Finnish corporate world already during the studies. The participating companies benefit by gaining an international perspective, getting cases and assignments done as the student progresses through courses. To educate and hire exceptional people is a demanding process. Through ITP, Hanken is also developing the student recruitment efforts in co-operation with the corporate world. It provides excellent opportunities for our students as well as giving businesses an international reach for staffing through local onboarding.
HANKEN FOUNDING PARTNER IN HELSINKI GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS The demand for top-level experts in economics continues to grow. To meet this demand in Finland, Aalto University, Hanken School of Economics and the University of Helsinki are preparing a new unit. The announcement was made in September by the PM Juha Sipilä together with with Finnish Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics, Bengt Holmström. The unit will expand cutting-edge economic expertise in Finland. Its research activities and doctoral programmes are to cover all the key areas of economics. This will allow an increase in the number of master’s and doctoral degrees and respond to the demand for experts. The Helsinki GSE will be an international graduate school and research unit, competing for the best researchers and students with the world’s top economic units. Once the Helsinki GSE has begun to function in its full capacity by 2022, there would be approximately 50 percent more masters and twice as many doctors graduating from the universities in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The universities consider the Helsinki GSE central and necessary to Finnish success in the field of business: both the public and private sectors need top-level expertise at an international level.
M I N N A M A RT I K A I N EN D E A N O F E D U C AT I O N
HANKEN GRADUATES SATISFIED WITH THEIR EDUCATION
SOCIAL MEDIA SHARES DEFINE BRAND IMAGES The final seminar of the research project Brand New was arranged on 19 October. At the seminar the project findings on understanding the dynamic construction of corporate brand image from the perspectives of personnel, customers and management were shared. The keynote Nicholas Ind, Writer & Partner at the Norwegian company Equilibrium Consulting shared his experience of the transformation from brands with a heritage to corporate heritage brands.
The association The Finnish Business School Graduates conducts a yearly survey among all graduates in Finland. According to the latest results Hanken is clearly on the right path. Graduates from Hanken are younger on average and students here progress faster in their studies than elsewhere. As in previous surveys Hanken graduates are more satisfied with the quality of their education and the skills they achieved than the average. Furthermore, they consider themselves better prepared for entrepreneurship and to have a better knowledge of the second national language than graduates from other business schools in Finland. Lastly, the corporate contacts and internationalisation at Hanken were also rated higher than the national average.
The findings from the project demonstrate that brand image is increasingly created by customer experiences shared in social media. This means that the corporate management and marketers have less and less control over the brand image that prevails. Hence, staff in customer service have a key role in building the corporate brand image.
PETER SARLIN NEW PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE
PIONEERING COURSE ON SUSTAINABLE BRANDS
BUSINESS ANALYSIS AND SLUSH
Peter Sarlin is Professor of Practice at Hanken as of this autumn. Dr. Sarlin specializes in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), with a special interest in applications for financial, economic and societal disciplines. In addition to his extensive academic involvement, Sarlin is also very active in bridging research with business practice. He is the founder of several AI-focused companies and a research centre. Currently, Peter is the Executive Chairman and Chief Scientist of a leading AI as a service venture Silo AI. In his role as Professor of Practice, Dr. Sarlin will work as a conduit between Hanken researchers and organisations, particularly in the financial sector with focus or aim at AI applications. He will also continue to be active in his own research and supervisory activities.
The creation of sustainable brands brings together students and companies that have sustainability at the core of their brand. This new course is delivered in cooperation with the communications group Miltton and involves companies such as Alko, Finnair, Kesko, Neste and Wärtsilä through real work life challenges. With support from Hanken’s faculty, the students work on actual company challenges and learn to deploy core theories on sustainability practices. The overall aim of the course is to create tomorrow’s professionals, able to identify, analyse and reflect on sustainability-related challenges and issues as well as having a deeper knowledge of strategic brand building. Miltton contributes with its long experience in sustainability practices, leadership and communication.
This autumn, Hanken launched a new course that teaches business valuation with the help of corporate strategy analysis, growth investing and financial statements. - The course is a unique combination of perspectives from strategy, innovation, accounting and finance. We think that this crossdisciplinary approach well reflects the reality our students meet after they finish their studies, says Benjamin Maury, responsible for the course. The international startup event Slush will be a key element in the course, as the students will choose startup companies that participate in Slush and analyse them before, during and after the event. The guest lecturers include Mårten Mickos, HackerOne, Petteri Koponen, Lifeline Ventures and Philippe Vanrie, EUREKA.
THE ANNUAL “HANKENDAGEN” The annual homecoming day “Hankendagen” gathered some 100 alumni at Hanken in Helsinki. Keynote speakers this year were Nils Torvalds, Member of the European Parliament and Henrik Dettmann, Head Coach of the Finnish basketball team, and the man behind its current success story. After the keynote speeches, participants could choose between ten different workshops. The topics included Social marketing for NGOs and companies, Knowledge transfer in online and digital services and Humanitarian logistics in conflict zones. The Alumna of the Year was also announced – film producer Annika Sucksdorff.
FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR VISITING HANKEN Hanken is happy to host Professor Peter Matthews as Fulbright Distinguished Chair at Hanken during the academic year 2017-2018. His current research is in experimental and behavioural economics, with applications to, among other fields, labour economics, political economy, preferences and norms, consumer finance and philanthropy. He is at present serving as the Charles A. Dana Professor of Economics at Middlebury College in Vermont, USA. At Hanken professor Matthews is starting a new long-term project that will exploit Finland’s rich administrative data. The aim is to first calculate variations in intergenerational mobility, or opportunity, over time, space and groups and then to explore the consequences of this variation on individual preferences and outcomes.
THE PRESIDENT OF FINLAND VISITED SEMINAR AT HANKEN
HANKEN AT A GLANCE
A seminar on Finland’s financial future was held at Hanken in November. Leading economic experts and visionaries covered topics such as the low employment rate in Finland, the need for reforms in the labour market and the budget deficit. One of the speakers was President Sauli Niinistö. Niinistö advocated a stronger EU, pointing out that the EU lacks a strong leader comparable to the ones in the US, Russia and China. The European values of democracy, human rights and equality need to be brought forward and advocated through a joint leader in order to be heard.
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HANKEN IN FIGURES »» Founded in Helsinki 1909 »» Operations also in Vaasa since 1980 »» Students enrolled for bachelor’s and master’s degrees – 2428 »» Number of doctoral students – 121 »» Academic staff – 123
AREAS OF STRENGTH »» Economics »» Finance »» Management and Organisation »» Marketing
NEW BILATERAL EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS Hanken has signed a new bilateral exchange agreement. Our new partner is: University of Cologne.
PARTNER PROGRAMME The Hanken Partner Programme builds long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships that strengthen the connection between Hanken and the corporate world.
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