Global Signals 2014

Signals

Global

HAAGA-HELIA'S STAKEHOLDER MAGAZINE

2014

Reaching South Pole

and other targets in HAAGA-HELIA

26

Looking for international talents

Finland – The hub of gaming industry

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14

Uplifted

Page 6

Photo: Marek Sabogal

Sports and well-being are businesses on the rise in Finland, and the number of companies operating in the field has increased despite of the slower economic period. For those considering sports as a profession, HAAGA-HELIA offers a Bachelor’s degree programme in Sports and Leisure Management as well as a Master’s degree in Sport Development and Management. As a founder in the Sport Business School Finland, HAAGA-HELIA conducts various research projects in both national and international context.

FINLAND  5,4 million inhabitants  Places 8th among 142 countries on the Legatum Prosperity Index measuring wealth and well-being.  2

Global Signals 2014

(Nota Bene) HAAGA-HELIA hosts annually over 300 international exchange students from more than 20 countries. All of them come from over 200 partner universities.

In the same index Finland took 3rd seat in the category of entrepreneurship and opportunities.

CONTENTS

2 UPLIFTED 5 FROM THE PRESIDENT

HAAGA-HELIA globally HAAGA-HELIA operates on all continents.

In this issue we sojourn the following locations:

6 NEWS AND NOTES 8 - 13 GLOBAL TALENTS Hold on to international talent

Finland United Kingdom (p 6)

Russia (p 20)

Switzerland (p 21)

USA (p 22, 24)

Bite - and suddenly you feel at home

Saudi Arabia (p 19)

Bayer: Focus on internationality All corners of competence Maija Airas: Hidden competencies 14 FINLAND Let's play 16 CAREER Manager of the best

Malaysia (p 20)

Peru (p 20)

South Pole (p 26)

18 GLOBAL EDUCATION SERVICES Exporting vocational education

Hotel Haven in Helsinki was chosen as Small Luxury Hotel of the year. Manager of the hotel, Roni Saari, is an alum of HAAGA-HELIA.

21 Between Switzerland and Finland 22 FULBRIGHT Gaining and sharing cultural and professional capital 24 Crossing the US by bicycle 26 MEETING POINT At the top in Queen Maud Land

p

Photo: Matti Immonen

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Global Signals 2014

China (p 18)

16-17

From th e

Preside nt

International competence needed in business At HAAGA-HELIA we have a very strong focus on business co-operation and internationalism. Today, the two go hand in hand. The competence needs of businesses arise from international operating environments. These days, it is also a natural field for almost all Finnish companies.

Our University of Applied Sciences invests in producing this international competence needed by businesses. Firstly, we offer Finnish students an educational environment where they can gain international competence here in Finland. We have an international student population, a wide range of instruction in English and approximately 200 academic partners around the world, facilitating international exchange. We also support work placement abroad.

Secondly, about 10% of our students are international, coming from

96 countries. Around 20% of them were already living in Finland before entering HAAGA-HELIA, many having received their basic education in Finland. The rest have come to Finland for the express purpose of studying. Most of these students would like to stay and work in Finland after graduation. Finding a job is not always easy, but requires persistence.

There are many good examples of businesses realising the requirements of international competence and the potential of international students, and also of the employment of foreign graduates in Finland. In this issue of Global Signals, we present a few stories.

Ritva Laakso-Manninen President HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences

Signals

Global

HAAGA-HELIA Global Signals ▪ Publisher HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences, Ratapihantie 13, 00520 HELSINKI, Finland, tel. +358 9 229 611, www.haaga-helia.fi ▪ Editor in Chief Ari Nevalainen, ari.nevalainen@haaga-helia.fi ▪ Editorial team Lars Eltvik, Sirpa Holmström, Suvi Huovinen, Anne-Mari Karppinen, Kaija Lindroth, Ari Nevalainen, Pirkko Salo; Anneli Frantti/Otavamedia Oy ▪ Layout Otavamedia Oy ▪ Paper G-Print 170 g/m2 and 130 g/m2 ▪ Printing Newprint Oy, Raisio, Finland ▪ ISSN 2341-8117 (print), 2341-8125 (online) ▪ Cover Image Timo Moilanen.

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NEWS and

NOTES

Latest trends in Sports Marketing When it comes to sports marketing, the annual Future of Sports Marketing seminar is a place to be. This year it took place in Helsinki, at HAAGA-HELIA's Pasila Campus. The seminar offered presentations regarding themes such as Sport Business Intelligence, Sport Legacy Planning, Future of Sport Marketing, and Fan Management & Marketing.

One of the keynote speakers, Professor Douglas Michele Turco from Neumann University, pointed out the importance of looking at the big picture at a sports event.

“One of the finest example of this was the Olympics

Our new website The revamped haaga-helia.fi site was launched in January. The revamp is not just about appearance – the site is now easier to use and navigate. To improve HAAGAHELIA's customer service, the structure of the site was built with all of the school's different target groups in mind.

Separate sections serve applicants, companies, alumni, and those interested in international matters. The site is accessible through a variety of devices – computers, tablets and phones.

Social media channels play a large role on the site in the form of blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with options for sharing and commenting on the content. 

in Barcelona. The event changed the whole city; not just the venues but also for example public transportation, government and tourism changed. It was a new start for the city of Barcelona”, Turco underlined.

The seminar was organized by Sport Business School Finland, which is a common project of HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki and JAMK University of Applied Sciences. The idea of the project is to offer an education, research and development concept with higher education study programs both in Finnish and English in the field of sports management and sports marketing. The next seminar will be organized 13th to 14th of November, 2014, in Helsinki.

www.sportbusinessschoolfinland.com

A peek into HAAGA-HELIA's new website.

University of Westminster

to train HAAGA-HELIA staff

Fans are the heart and soul of a sports event.

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Global Signals 2014

An agreement has been reached with the University of Westminster in London, for a collaborative doctoral programme mainly aimed at HAAGA-HELIA staff members.

HAAGA-HELIA is aiming to increase the number of its employees who hold doctorates. The agreement will initially run for the next three years.

“This is a learning process for both parties, focusing on personal development of staff members and joint delivery procedures”, says Dr Ritva Laakso-Manninen, President and Managing Director of HAAGA-HELIA. Professor Barbara Allan, Dean of Westminster Business School, described it as an exciting opportunity. ”We hope this doctoral programme will lead to other initiatives in the future.”

ALUMNI The wine for your meal The latest application in the world of wine makes it easy to choose the right wine to go with your food. Matchart asks a few questions about the meal and based on the answers displays a list of recommended red and white wines sorted by type and country.

The Matchart wine selection app is a joint development effort between HAAGA-HELIA, the Hartwall beverage company and Trimalkio Catering.

“There is no other application like this on the market,” says Risto Karmavuo, a wine writer and HAAGA-HELIA teacher who was involved in developing it. “Matchart makes wine recommendations based on ingredients and cooking methods.”

A trial version of a similar application was created in the early 2000s. The idea was revived and completed three years ago with InnoCatering in a project that aimed to develop restaurant innovations and also involved Karmavuo.

Others who developed content for the application include Juha Lihtonen, a sommelier once chosen as the best in the Nordic countries. The technical side was handled by two HAAGA-HELIA IT students.

The Matchart wine selector was launched last October, and can be downloaded from Google Play, Nokia Store and Apple’s iStore. The application has also been marketed to restaurants and wholesalers, aiming at international markets. 

A legacy of 22,000 alumni ❯❯ Currently, there are more than 22,000 alumni in the HAAGA-HELIA database. We want to stay in touch with all of them.

We hope that, as an alum of our institution, you will want to maintain lifelong contact with us and your fellow students. Remember to update your contact information at www.haaga-helia.fi when you move from one place to another or change your job. Wherever you happen to be around the world, you will automatically receive our stakeholder magazine Global Signals - which you are now reading - and the monthly alumni newsletter e-Signals.

You will also have the opportunity to participate in various events and meetings.

We like to give willing alumni chances to help current students by being guest lecturers or serving as mentors in the various mentoring programmes of HAAGA-HELIA. Our partners also include many alumni-owned businesses.

More information: www.haaga-helia.fi.

Get together with other alumni Would you like to organize a meeting, a get-together or a night out with other graduates living near you? An invitation in the HAAGA-HELIA official alumni group or Facebook group might be a good start. Alumni coordinator Teemu Hentunen can also forward your e-mail to other alumni near you.

Contact: alumni@haaga-helia.fi

A chance to visit Helsinki again If you are looking for an excuse to visit Helsinki again during 2014, you are more than welcome to attend the Alumni Gala on the 9th of May. Check out the photos from last year’s gala on our Facebook page. Find out more about the gala and other alumni activities we organize from our monthly newsletter e-Signals or at our alumni webpage.

We’re looking forward to seeing you again in Helsinki!

Get the alumni newsletter e-Signals in English – update your contact information by sending an e-mail to alumni@haaga-helia.fi

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GLOBAL

TALENTS

Alexandra Pasternak and Susanna Dunkerley:

Hold on to international talent The Finnish economy has opened up substantially in the last 20 years. Global companies have established a Finnish presence and Finnish companies have gone international.

“Business pioneers believe that employing global talents is an investment for the future, but far more companies need to realize this,” say Alexandra Pasternak and Susanna Dunkerley, both of whom came to Finland several years ago.

By Anneli Frantti | Photos Pekka Nieminen

A

s multicultural and well networked individuals, they are aware of the internationally skilled people around them. Some have permanent positions but others are homemakers or do odd jobs and would like to find proper employment.

“They are a valuable resource that businesses should quickly grab.”

With Finnish roots Raised in the United States, Alexandra Pasternak settled in Finland five years ago after being

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Global Signals 2014

recommended for a job by family friends. Her mother is Finnish and her old grandmother was still living in Helsinki.

"My background is multicultural so leaving for Finland was quite easy. I had studied international affairs in the United States and Russia and lived abroad almost all my childhood. I had a chain of jobs behind me, nothing stable, and I wanted to spend time with my aging grandmother. My spouse was really supportive, and so we moved.”

After a while she was appointed to her current position at Amcham

Finland, the American Chamber of Commerce, where she develops business programs and networks for over 300 member companies.

The multifaceted work now binds Alexandra tightly to Finland.

Susanna was living in Australia.

Her mother is a Finn and she came to Finland when her younger brother wanted to do his military service here.

"I am a journalist by profession and had worked for the Australian parliament for five years. Finding a job in communications in Finland was hard, even hopeless.” But just

before her planned return, she found her current position at the European Chemicals Agency, an EU body based in Helsinki.

"At the moment I am working as a secretary for a scientific committee in the agency. I feel I am in a melting pot of Europe because Australia is quite disconnected. I enjoy the social aspect of my work. I have dozens of different nationalities as my colleagues, and I change the way I communicate depending on the nationality of the counterpart.”

Alexandra and Susanna were surprised at how hard it was to find companies that needed global talents.

The jobs seemed to be offered only by word of mouth.

The labour market is severed between companies and resources.

In order to maintain economic growth, Finland has to take advantage of the existing talent, they believe.

Commitment to studies Alexandra and Susanna are both studying Communication Management at HAAGA-HELIA. For Susanna, her course is an even stronger motivation for living in Finland than her job. She thinks that a Finnish degree is also a plus when assessing commitment at her job.

The course at HAAGA-HELIA is on top of the workloads of Alexandra and Susanna, but they regard it as worthwhile. The COMMA programme aims to deepen leadership skills needed in the field of global communications.

"My fellow students have helped me understand how things work in companies. In addition, we visit a great number of places and meet guest speakers. We all connect and build a network,” says Susanna.

Alexandra believes that her professional skills will improve by applying theory to practice. “The course led me to restructure my work, and even my team is involved. They volunteer to take part in my assignments, which benefits all of us. It is really rewarding.”

Every now and then, they reconsider the pros and cons of Finland, and whether to stay.

"Finland is beating the United States so far,” Alexandra concludes. “The people in our lives – family and friends – are here, and with them we will raise our children. Finland is easy in many ways. It is clean and safe with all its services, and the quality of life is in balance. I am free to be here.” 

COMMA Master’s Degree Programme in Communication Management  Enhances the competency of marketing and communications professionals  Courses mirror everyday business and offer practical learning assignments  Contact: hanna.rajalahti@haaga-helia.fi

Alexandra Pasternak (left) and Susanna Dunkerley would like to see Finnish companies jump on international talent.

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GLOBAL

TALENTS

BITE

– and suddenly you feel at home

By Anneli Frantti | Photos Anna Melgin, Bayer

T

"Beside professional skills and he BITE degree programme stands for Business Information Technology and has the knowledge, working with people mission of educating future business, sales from different cultures and and service oriented IT professionals – and to backgrounds was one of my best provide Finland with a proficient workforce. experiences at the BITE program."

BITE attracts hundreds of applicants annually. Of the 70 Visar Sadriu admitted, nearly half are Finns and the others multinational.

Software Engineering Analyst They are taught practical business IT skills combined with Accenture Technology Solutions an extensive theoretical basis.

Courses are also arranged with partnering IT companies, which provide practical training.

“The work with partnering companies integrates the students into Finnish society and working life during the 3½ years of studies. Many have the idea of returning home afterwards, but after graduation their friends, work and network are all here,” says Programme Director Jarmo Peltoniemi.

He believes that the high quality of the programme plays an important role in integrating the students.

Provided with good professional Programme Director Jarmo skills, they can easily find a training position and summer job opportunities and later be Peltoniemi believes that high employed by the same companies. quality of the programme and “There are pros and cons to working alongside studies. Some might prefer working and the culture within the group play try to postpone graduating, but we make sure that instruction continues and the students an important role in integrating complete their bachelor’s thesis in proper time. Our graduation rate is increasing and in the students into Finland.

2013 we made an all time high of 50 graduates.”

BITE students have a strong team spirit. Starting from the first term, there are a plenty of opportunities to meet classmates, and the springtime BITE Summer Opening brings students and teachers together for lunch and a game of pétanque or mölkky, the Finnish version of it in the Kaisaniemi Park in the center of Helsinki. 

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Global Signals 2014

Bayer charts personnel skills

Focus on internationality

T

he Bayer Group is a global enterprise with a presence in almost every country and over 100,000 employees worldwide.

To maintain its international outlook, the company identifies mobile people among its personnel, encourages employees to network with colleagues abroad, and employs talents with an international grasp.

“We want our personnel to make future plans with the world in mind. Career development discussions tell us about the mobile employees we have. This is the personnel pool from which we choose candidates for suitable open positions,” says Markku Eloranta, HR Business Partner Finland at Bayer.

“Personnel follow-up reflects company policy. The talents of individuals should be at the disposal of the whole company, not just the heads of their current departments. We are very open – most of our international positions can be found on the Bayer intranet job board.”

Short, medium and long In short-term assignments, people usually change country for a couple of months in order to network and learn new ways of working, or to teach others about a new product. A medium-term assignment might include expert work in a project, while a longterm assignment means several years of working abroad as a local employee or expatriate.

“Personal interests and management performance determine how one’s international career continues.”

Bayer tries to discover the potential of every employee, even trainees.

“We point out future possibilities inside Bayer, even if the current position does not require an international background.

We appreciate exchange studies or multinational study groups on a CV. We value social and language skills, including rare languages. Young applicants with an understanding of the world are valuable to us.” 

Twenty-five startups

❯❯

Study groups and projects sometimes come up with good business ideas. But how do you actually start a business?

HAAGA-HELIA StartUp School helps students on their way to becoming IT entrepreneurs, personal trainers, coffee

shop owners, or whatever their aspirations may be. The school produced a total of 25 new enterprises in 2013.

“A discussion about the student’s background and goals gives us an idea of how to go on, and we can provide the student with individual coaching.

Everyone develops into an entrepreneur at their own pace,” explains programme manager Tommo Koivusalo.

“We ensure that the new entrepreneur interacts with the future customers and aquires the necessary resources and knowhow. It’s hands-on all the time.” 

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GLOBAL

TALENTS

All corners of competence How international is Finnish working life today? Why (and how) has it changed in recent years?

What elements are included in a definition of international competence (and where does curiosity fit into it)?

Illustration: CIMO

T

hese questions were addressed by a recent survey conducted by CIMO, a Finnish organization promoting international mobility and cooperation, and Demos Helsinki, a policy institute. Their report “Hidden skills” surveys the many aspects of international competence and the unsung role of the curious alongside the creative. Recruiters have not yet recognised the importance of people who are interested in the world around them.

TRADITIONAL INTERNATIONAL COMPETENCES  language  focused networks  grasp of international business like commerce  able to work with people who have diverse backgrounds  history of study or work abroad

EXTENDED INTERNATIONAL COMPETENCES  ability to think outside comfort zones  multidisciplinary networks  learns and grows in leisure time  functionality unrelated to geography or language  follows global media

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Global Signals 2014

– conclusions from a study

by Demos Helsinki and CIMO

W

hen we asked Finnish employers in the autumn of 2012 how they rate international experience in recruitment, only just over half of international businesses said they regarded international experience as important. Among those employers who do not operate abroad, the percentage was hardly above 10%.

The percentages were lower than in a similar survey in 2005.

Our first reaction to these results was astonishment: Is it really so?

Should not the percentage be higher and the trend entirely reversed in our globalising world?

In our view, the need for skills and competencies is rapidly changing in the labour market, and no job in the future will be independent of the impact of the following four global megatrends: - changing demographics - resource scarcity - technological planetarism - global economy These megatrends affect not only our lives, but also the environment in which companies and employers hope to succeed. In the megatrend era, every job is international, as is illustrated by the case of a Finnish farmer who logs on to his computer daily to trade in the futures market, where his growing grains can be sold in advance at a set price. This example

shows us that a new set of skills and competencies is required to succeed in the global megatrend era.

Towards an extended understanding of international competencies Although the research data initially seemed to indicate that employers had little regard for international experience, another more encouraging picture began to emerge when we analysed the research material in more detail.

Overall, employers regarded international experience as a good thing: 90 % had a positive view of it. When we asked employers what kind of competencies they value when recruiting, and then asked what kind of competencies they thought people acquire through international experiences, there were many similarities in their answers. Many of the key competencies sought from new staff members were the same as those they linked with international experience, such as creativity, networking ability, and general interest in new things.

These competencies differ clearly from the competencies traditionally associated with international experience, such as language skills and cultural understanding, tolerance and broad-mindedness. Through analysis of the research data we were able to add three new attributes to highlight

Photo: Satu Haavisto/CIMO

Maija Airas

Hidden competencies

Maija Airas Head of Unit Higher Education Cooperation Centre for International Mobility CIMO

the hidden aspects of international competencies: productivity, resilience, and curiosity. These factors form the basis of the extended understanding of international competencies.

Together, these three factors help us understand what today’s employers perceive as the value of international experience. They also speak for the necessity of international skills and competencies in modern working life.

Our research calls for employers to develop a better understanding of the new skills and competencies needed in workplaces. They must also come to understand the key role international experiences play in developing those skills and competencies. The same challenges face students, graduates, and higher education institutions: How does one articulate the skills and competencies students acquire while studying or working in an international context?

One main conclusion from the research is that international experience can be a potent indicator in helping to identify important qualities that employers appreciate. And it seems that this crucial connection is still not understood in Finnish working life. ď‚&#x;

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FINLAND

Let’s play!

For a country of its small size, Finland is a giant in designing and programming electronic games. And the games are some of the most popular in the world, with billions of players.

By Terhi Rauhala | Photos Supercell, 10monkeys, Slushmedia

◀ The men in the front line: founder and CEO of Supercell Ilkka Paananen (left) and the Mighty Eagle of Rovio Entertainment Peter Vesterbacka are synonyms for the Finnish gaming industry’s success.

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Global Signals 2014

I

n October 2013 a Helsinki-based start-up Supercell attracted the biggest investment ever for a mobile application developer, when a Japanese telecom giant SoftBank paid 1½ billion dollars for 51 percent of the company. The same wave of the magic wand made Supercell the highest-valued mobile app company in the world.

Preceding Supercell’s success, the global gaming community has embraced such Finnish titles as Angry Birds by Rovio Entertainment (more than 2 billion mobile uploads) and the legendary heroes Max Payne and Alan Wake by Remedy (10 million sold copies), to name a few.

Fertile ground How did a nation of 5.4 million people become a hub of the gaming industry? The business and financial market news provider Bloomberg listed “a unique combination of mobile-game addiction, excellent education and the happy circumstance of being home to one of the early global leaders in mobile technology” as fertilizers to the flourishing industry.

All true, but the list isn’t complete without including patient government funding for game start-ups.

And then there’s the digital infrastructure. Finland has long standing in the global games industry, but it was only the digital distribution revolution that made the market genuinely accessible and sales exploded.

A clear majority of Finnish games are developed for mobile platforms, most feasible for start-ups. Other platforms, such as PC, consoles and online, are also supported. And there is more to game content than distraction and entertainment. The learning games sector is on the increase, exporting Finnish educational excellence via titles such as Ten Monkeys and Math Ahoy.

Sky is no limit The high quality and versatile know-how have attracted big international game publishers, such as Disney, EA Maxis, Ubisoft and Playground Publishing as well as game engine producer Unity, to set up offices in Finland.

There are more than 180 companies developing games in Finland.

Almost 40 percent of them are start-ups. The industry continues to double – or even triple – in size each year. According to Neogames, the local games industry organization, turnover from game development, which is the main business area, tripled in 2012–2013 from 250 million euros to 800 million.

With franchising, foreign investment, mergers and acquisitions included, the industry’s estimated total value reached 2.15 billion euros in Finland last year. The growth has been significantly faster than that of the global game market. 

SAP gains fresh insight from HAAGA-HELIA ICT Innovators

❯❯

Autumn 2013 brought an interesting task for HAAGA-HELIA’s ICT Innovation students: renewing SAP Lab’s Business Communication Management software in co-operation with the company’s experts. Students concentrated on the service’s user interface and improving the user experience. Results were what SAP had ordered: new ideas and fresh insight.

“The younger generation has a different way of using the Internet and social media. Utilizing gamification and social interaction with other employees through SAP BMC are examples of ideas we’ll take along from this co-operation,” said Arto Koponen, Chief Product Owner from SAP Labs Finland. “This was definitely time well spent!” 

Sharing knowledge made easy

❯❯

Leap’s project management platform is now streamlining work between students, teachers and companies at HAAGA-HELIA’s Porvoo Campus. During its first year in use, it has considerably lessened the number of e-mail attachments, eased the revising of project documents and made the working process altogether more efficient. The environment is built on Microsoft SharePoint 2010.

The studying method in Porvoo Campus is project-form and most projects are assigned by HAAGA-HELIA’s partner businesses.

“Via Leap the companies can follow and comment on documentation, revise and add tasks, take part in conversation and send messages to students and teachers.

Companies can also start new projects and market them via this platform,” explains lecturer Kalle Räihä, who participated in the development of the Leap platform.

LEAP is part of a wider Visible Digital Competence initiative. 

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CAREER

Manager

of the best Roni Saari graduated from HAAGA-HELIA with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration a decade ago and has had a remarkable career in the Finnish hotel business ever since. Last October his Hotel Haven was chosen as Small Luxury Hotel of the Year.

By Linda Pynnönen Photos Matti Immonen

L

ast autumn hotel manager Roni Saari took part the annual meeting of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World. Halfway through the meeting he was about to go and buy a bottle of water when he was intercepted.

The prize-giving was just about to start. There were many different awards being distributed but I didn’t expect us to win anything. Little did I know, the next moment I was standing in front of the audience, holding the main prize, Saari recalls.

In the years leading up to the award, he had done a lot of work in the Finnish hotel business. It’s in his blood. His parents created and are still executives of one of the Finland’s leading restaurant and hotel companies, Royal Restaurants Ltd. Hotel manager Roni Saari is reaping the rewards of trusting his personnel.

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Global Signals 2014

Optimism keeps him going Roni Saari’s career at the family company’s hotels goes back to 1996, when he worked as a summer employee.

The crucial turn in his ongoing career with the company came in 2004, when he was chosen to head a project to open new hotels.

"It covers a lot of different areas, from the overall to the specialist. I deal with safety and security issues, space management, decoration, the breakfast menu, luggage trolleys and even the coat hangers. Good planning is really important - every pretty detail must also function in practice. Recruitment is another important aspect."

Within a year the company will open a third hotel just across the street.

"One challenge in Finland is that hotels don’t have the opportunity to hire as many employees as in countries where labour costs are low. Even so, we certainly don’t want to compromise on service. That is an issue we have to deal with every day."

In addition to his work on new hotel projects, he runs the hotel business group and manages two hotels, the Haven and the Fabian. It’s his dream job, he says.

"I’m an optimist by nature. Winston Churchill put it well: "The optimist sees opportunity in every danger; the pessimist sees danger in every opportunity."

Personalized service and great team spirit The jury for the Hotel of the Year award looked at reservation systems, club membership and activity in marketing and sales. Saari believes that an important reason why Haven won is its excellent, personalized service and of course the employees behind it.

We certainly don’t want to compromise on service."

At Haven the staff monitor customer preferences constantly, so as to be able to give personalized service to everyone. This extra consideration can mean choosing the right fruits for the breakfast tray or offering a room with a shower instead of tub.

As a director Saari wants to give his employees the power to make decisions independently and also tools for it.

"There is a lot going on in a hotel 24 hours a day, so it’s not possible for me to be around the whole time. I try to let my staff know that I trust them and I try to instil confidence in them."

It seems to be working; the staff at both hotels has changed little since they opened.

"Every now and then somebody gets the chance to move on with their careers. I always encourage them in these situations. Sometimes people have to move even though they’d prefer to stay."  Hotel Haven was rewarded for its personalized service.

Roni Saari’s career: 1996 2001 2001 2004 2006 2009 2010 2015

Summer receptionist at Holiday Inn Double degree in Business Administration at HAAGA-HELIA and in Great Britain Salesman at Holiday Inn Key account manager at Hotel Crowne Plaza Key account manager of Royal Restaurants Manager of the hotel business group, Hotel Haven opens Hotel Fabian opens Hotel Lilla Roberts to be opened

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GLOBAL

EDUCATION SERVICES

A B O

L

GL

Exporting vocational education

By HAAGA-HELIA GES team | Photos HAAGA-HELIA

HAAGA-HELIA Global Education Services Ltd. • • • • • •

Established in 2011 as a subsidiary of HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences Coordinates and supports the export of education services Produces customized education and training solutions for foreign markets Active member in the national education export programme Future Learning Finland Focuses on international business management, hospitality and tourism management, sports management, management assistant training, information technology and vocational teacher education Contact Mr Lars Eltvik, Managing Director, lars.eltvik@haaga-helia.fi, +358 40 488 7585

Finnish experts develop Chinese education A memorandum of understanding, signed last autumn with Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, will bring Finnish expertise in vocational education to China’s busiest commercial and financial city. The partners on the Finnish side are HAAGA-HELIA, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium, Omnia Joint Authority of Education in Espoo Region and EduCluster Finland.

The Finnish delegation to Asia was led by Minister of Education and Science Krista Kiuru. In her speech in Shanghai she highlighted the importance of quality vocational education to the success of all nations.

In Finland’s experience, motivated teachers and flexible learning paths are crucial cornerstones of high-quality vocational education. Close cooperation with employers ensures that training meets the needs of working life.

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Global Signals 2014

Minister Krista Kiuru at the signing ceremony. Lars Eltvik, Managing Director of HAAGA-HELIA Global Education Services Ltd signed the agreement on behalf of HAAGA-HELIA University of Applied Sciences.

Saudi Arabia studies e-Learning Two e-learning training programmes were arranged for Saudi Arabian teachers in Helsinki last autumn. Conducting the courses were P채ivi AarreniemiJokipelto, Irmeli Pietil채 and Petja Sairanen. Dr. Aarreniemi-Jokipelto, who coordinated the two programmes, says that information flowed both ways as the trainers also learned about the Arabic culture.

On the last day of their stay in Finland, the Saudi participants received certificates and celebrated the event with HAAGA-HELIA instructors and managers.

Internatonal strategy in action

Zhejiang principals study teacher training In October 2013, a group of Chinese principals and headmasters from the Zhejiang province participated in an intensive tailored training programme.

The two-week event focused on Finnish teaching methodologies and institutions.

Theoretical presentations and school visits gave the participants an overall picture of the secondary-level vocational education in Finland.

Dr Jari Laukia talks about the tasks of a principal. The students in the class were principals and headmasters from the Zhejiang province.

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EDUCATION SERVICES

From left: Juha Virtanen, Ambassador of Finland in Peru, Lars Eltvik of HAAGAHELIA Global Education Services Ltd, Vanetty Molinero of the Ministry of Education in Peru and David March, Lead Expert from EduCluster Finland.

From left: Dr. Koo Wee Kor, Pasi Halmari, Sue Koo and Gwee Sai Ling from Disted College.

Programme Manager Pasi Halmari hosted the group.

Peru peruses Finnish education In October 2013, at a one-day seminar in Lima, Peru, the Finnish education system was explained to more than 100 representatives from local universities, vocational schools muncipalities and the ministry of education.

The seminar was arranged by the Nordic Chamber of Commerce and supported by the Finnish Embassy and the Peruvian Ministry of Education. Lars Eltvik represented HAAGA-HELIA and David Marsh spoke on behalf of EduCluster Finland.

Malaysian partner pays a call A delegation from Disted College in Penang, Malaysia came to visit in November 2013. Disted wants to deepen co-operation with HAAGA-HELIA’s hospitality programme, and visited both the Haaga and Porvoo campuses. The guests were especially interested in culinary arts.

From left: Vice President Ilja Kuperman from the Modern University of Humanities, Training Manager Jutta Paukkonen and Vice President, Dr. Lauri Tuomi from HAAGA-HELIA, President Valeriy Tarakanov and Development Director Aleksandr Ryakin from MUH.

Distance training in Russia A letter of intent has been signed with Russia’s Modern University of Humanities, a state-accredited institution that provides distance-based study courses and vocational education.

Jutta Paukkonen, HAAGA-HELIA’s Russian-speaking training manager, believes cooperation will get off to a brisk start in spring 2014: “We are beginning with student and staff exchange, networkbased training services and shared research projects.”

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Global Signals 2014

Training for Chongqing vocational teachers Dr Jari Laukia and Lars Eltvik from HAAGA-HELIA meet representatives from Chongqing Municipal Education Commission to discuss collaboration in training of teachers from eight vocational colleges in the Chongqing region.

Between

Switzerland and Finland

Patric Masar Business Manager Marketing Ingram Micro, Switzerland

Business Manager Patric Masar from Switzerland ran into HAAGA-HELIA’s eMBA programme online, and became interested because he wanted to increase his knowledge on service as well as boost his English. For two years, Patric flew in from Zurich for every in-class period and finished the programme’s 20 modules on schedule – with excellent grades.

By Ari Nevalainen | Photo Ingram Micro 1) Why would someone living in Switzerland choose HAAGA-HELIA’s eMBA Programme?

When I was looking for a study programme, I knew it must focus on services because they are becoming even more important. No such programme was available in Switzerland. Studying abroad was always an option for me, not only because I could profit from the study content, but also because I could learn about a different culture at the same time. The HAAGA-HELIA eMBA programme was right for me. The monthly three-day courses allowed me to commute to Helsinki. Besides, I have always had an affinity with Finland and had visited the country on several occasions already. The Haaga-Helia programme was the perfect fit.

2) How did you manage to study and work at the same time?

I think the best way of avoiding stress is to do everything as soon as possible. After and before each course there was some work to do, which I usually did immediately. My goal was always to have the work finished before the following course began. Because of that, the work did not build up and I was able to focus on the current course. But naturally,

studying while you are working is timeconsuming and means you have less leisure time. And eventually it’s less stressful if it is interesting and fun.

3) What new things did the eMBA programme contribute to your work?

Basically it gave me a different outlook on work, duties and business as a whole. I’ve learned to question things; doing something the way it has always been done is not necessary the best way. It also gave me some additional perspectives on business situations.

I changed my job six months ago. I think I would have handled the new position differently before the eMBA studies. I’m much more confident in what I’m doing now than I was before, even when there are new areas that I’ve never had to deal with before.

4) You have had an opportunity to see Finnish working life and the way of doing business. What was it like?

This was definitely a cultural experience.

An interesting thing is that Swiss and Finnish cultures are very similar, by and large. The differences are in the details. However there are differences and I believe it’s an asset to be aware of them. When you are doing

business with people from a country where the culture looks very similar, you can easily forget to take the differences into account.

This doesn’t happen when the differences are obvious. Generally speaking, the Finns seem to be more pragmatic and take decisions quickly, whereas the Swiss often need to have long discussions first. Both ways have their advantages and disadvantages but it could cause misunderstandings if one party is not aware of how the other acts.

5) Would you recommend our eMBA programme to others?

It was definitely worth the time and money I put into my studies. As usual in such programmes, not everything had the same relevance to me. In some courses I had more background knowledge while the stuff in others was completely new. But I benefitted from every course in one way or another. The lecturers were very enthusiastic about their topics. In addition to the regular lecturers we had the chance to listen to guest speakers who talked about their particular business and gave interesting insights into different industries. In short: yes, I would recommend the eMBA programme. 

Diploma Supplement renewed

❯❯

The European Commission has renewed HAAGA-HELIA’s Diploma Supplement Label, allowing it to issue graduates with a Diploma Supplement in line with the recommendations of the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. All HAAGA-HELIA students receive the Diploma Supplement automatically and free of charge when they graduate. It includes further information about studies completed and the degree earned, simplifying academic and professional recognition and promoting mobility. 

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Gaining and sharing

cultural and professional capital Between July and December 2013, HAAGA-HELIA was privileged to host two Fulbright grantees.

They enjoyed their half- year in Finland and felt that they gained personally and professionally from the program.

By Linda Pynnönen Photos Pekka Nieminen

How did you come up with the idea of applying to the Fulbright program?

I have always been interested in Finland’s design tradition and its technological advances. The Fulbright gave me a way of seeing it firsthand.

What did you do during the year?

This semester I assisted Amir Dirin, who teaches the Web Site Development and Introduction to Programming classes at HAAGA-HELIA. I also taught my own course in Information Architecture for Indiana University and for HAAGA-HELIA. My class had 25 students enrolled, 10 from Indiana and the rest here face-to-face.

The two campuses collaborated via our online course system on a project to produce a web site for a small public library in Indiana. Besides my regular teaching duties, I’ve given guest lectures in several courses. I’ve also had time to work with librarians here, to share and gain knowledge about my major profession.

Your Fulbright project was called Improving Business Services through Information Technology. What is there to improve?

Information architecture is usually summarized as website design, which is an essential business service, but there is often a disconnect between the services we want to provide and the technology needed to implement them. I also wanted to prove that information architecture must be aware of cultural differences. The web is an international medium. It can’t be treated as a “one-size-fits-all” experience.

What discoveries will you take home with you?

I am now more convinced than ever that Finland and the US have common problems and issues in education. We have cultural differences in the way we see and react to knowledge, but the ultimate aim is to obtain it and to improve ourselves for beginning a career or maintaining one. The Internet has become such an important shared medium that we have to do a better job of creating websites and web services.

William Helling  Information science  Specializing in information architecture, library and information science

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Global Signals 2014

What are the main differences in information technology between Finland and the US?

Finland is just as much in love with information technology as America is.

Finland adopted some practices before the US, such as mobile phone technology and universal high-speed Internet access. The US has developed quicker in other areas, such as innovative and popular web businesses, and social web services. The differences between the two countries lessen every day, and our mutual concerns and dependencies grow. 

I came here as a stranger and I am leaving as a family member.

Why did you apply for a Fulbright grant?

The grant allows the opportunity to exchange knowledge, expertise and experiences with other academics. The Fulbright program also provides an excellent opportunity to experience and explore the culture of the host nation. It helps forge new friendships that nourish the global academic community.

What expectations did you have for the Fulbright scholarship program?

I expected to have enriching academic and cultural experiences.

I also wanted to add to my knowledge and gain new friendships.

How did the time in Helsinki turn out?

The past five months at HAAGA-HELIA have gone by so fast that they seem like a wonderful dream. All my expectations have become reality. The faculty staff and students in the hospitality program practiced it as well as preached it. The people at the Fulbright Commission of Finland made us feel at home and provided wonderful opportunities to experience Finland.

I came here as a stranger and I am leaving as a family member.

Your Fulbright project was A Comparative Analysis of U.S and Finnish Hospitality Education. How did you implement this?

My approach to the research was ethnographic. I based it on my observations of the educational processes and on conversations with faculty staff and students. I will be taking the data I gathered back to my home institution, Southern New Hampshire University, and analysing it there. There are very subtle differences and quite a few similarities between US and Finnish hospitality educational systems.

Ravindra Pandit  Business and hospitality management  Specializing in marketing and strategy, program development and assessment

What was the most important experience during your stay?

That the people here are not as cold and dark as the weather!

I’ve met warm, compassionate people, who appreciate humour. 

The Fulbright - HAAGA-HELIA Scholar Award Program

NB

The Scholar Award enables American scholars to undertake teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level at HAAGA-HELIA for a period of 3-10 months. The award can be applied by scholars of any field represented at HAAGA-HELIA: Business, Information Technology, Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management, Tourism, Journalism, Sports and Leisure and Vocational Teacher Education. The application round for scholarships 2015-2016 starts at the beginning of February 2014.

Contact: sirpa.holmstrom@haaga-helia.fi, Head of International Services

23

Crossing the US

by bicycle

Laura and Pippu cycled 56 days and five thousand kilometers from the Pacific to the Atlantic. They collected money for charity and advanced their studies at the same time.

By Henni Aaltonen | Photos Laura Kähkönen and Pippu Ahvenainen

L

aura Kähkönen, 29, and Pippu Ahvenainen, 21, started in HAAGA-HELIA’s Experience and Wellness Management degree programme in autumn 2012. It was Laura who came up with the idea of a cycle journey that would also be the subject of their bachelor´s thesis.

“Maybe we are a little bit crazy,” Kähkönen laughs, half a year after the trip.

Before it began they sent out a hundred letters to get sponsors. Ultimately nearly twenty companies agreed to donate bikes, tents and clothes.

The girls also wanted to do something for charity.

“Unicef has a very handy web page where anyone can post a charity campaign,” Ahvenainen explains.

The beauty of nature When everything was ready, they flew to San Francisco, their starting point on 25 May. Their goal was to cycle 100 kilometers per day and to reach New York in 89 days.

The route crossed eleven states.

Neither girl had any extreme cycling experience before the trip, so it was mentally and physically challenging.

Kähkönen soon got a bad saddle rash and had to rest up for five days.

But the people they met were a great inspiration.

“Complete strangers welcomed us to their homes to sleep and eat,” Ahvenainen recalls.

“I loved the state of Utah. One moment you’re on rocky, dry terrain and the next you’re in the middle of the forest. It was so beautiful,” Kähkönen says.

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Global Signals 2014

The girls cycled through eleven states and saw rocky terrains and green forests.

They were delighted by the people they met; total strangers invited them to their homes to sleep and eat.

Besides the beauty of Utah’s nature, the girls also faced the power of it. One day they had to cycle 180 kilometers in a temperature of 38 Celsius and for the last 80 kilometres the wind almost pushed them backwards. It took true grit to reach their goal, Moab city.

Despite everything they arrived in New York well ahead of schedule after 56 days, having cycled 5161 kilometers.

Anybody can do anything

“Anybody can do a trip like this, but only if they really want to, because it was truly challenging. We´re dreaming of another project like this in the future,” they say.  Read the whole story of the trip from blogsite http://www.rantapallo.fi/cyclingsummer2013

After 56 days and 5161 kilometres, Laura and Pippu arrived in New York and Times Square.

Apart from making lifelong memories and meeting great people, they advanced their studies. Next summer they will relive their trip by writing a thesis from the experience.

The Unicef campaign also went well and produced almost 1000 euros for charity.

• The girls are studying at HAAGA-HELIA for a degree in Experience and Wellness Management in an international study group.

• The programme prepares students for management careers in: Destination and Resort Management, Sport and Fitness Mgm, Entertainment and Media Mgm, Aviation Mgm, Spa Mgm and International Studies.

• Study modules amount to 3½ years or 210 ECTS credits. Studies are in class, on-the-job or virtually, and in work placement.

• Laura focuses on International Studies while Pippa aims at Sport and Fitness Management. Their bachelor´s thesis will concentrate on innovative hospitality concepts.

• The Degree Programme Hospitality, Tourism and Experience Management starts in autumn 2014 at Haaga Campus.

25

MEETING

POINT

At the top in Queen Maud Land In December 2013, Mount Zuckerhut in Antarctica was conquered by a Finnish expedition, including Timo Moilanen, who teaches sales and marketing at HAAGA-HELIA. It was Timo’s first trip to the great southern continent.

By Sanna Leporanta | Images by the expedition and Aki Rask

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Global Signals 2014

M

ount Zuckerhut is in the Gruber Mountains of Queen Maud Land, a largely unexplored region of Antarctica. The goal of the expedition, led by professional Finnish explorer Patrick Degerman, was to climb this peak of 2525 metres.

Another member of the team was a hospitality and tourism entrepreneur and HAAGA-HELIA alumnus Pekka Holma, who had visited Antarctica twice before. Timo had previously helped Pekka and Patrick find partners and financing for their expeditions. Now he decided to join them.

Patrick and Pekka climbed the mountain and Timo handled the expedition’s contact with the outside world.

The expedition, Pekka Holma, Patrick Degerman and Timo Moilanen, travelled to an unexplored region of Antarctica. Patrick and Pekka climbed the 2525-meter Mount Zuckerhut, and succeeded on their fifth try.

Meanwhile Timo ensured their contact with the outside world.

The climb took 16 hours in total, three hours of which were the descent.

Land of three colours What made the greatest impression on Timo was the nature and austere beauty of Queen Maud Land.

Anywhere you looked, there were only three colours: the endless white of snow, the blue of the ice and sky, and the dark brown mountain tops.

Distances were difficult to estimate, because the mountains have good visibility and the air is extremely dry and rarefied. A journey that looked three kilometres long would turn out to be 13 kilometres.

The constant wind was a challenge and felt extremely cold.

Leaving the tent, you had to tie a rope to the tent guy lines in order to find your way back through the blowing snow. Losing a glove in the gale could result in a frozen hand in moments.

Success on the fifth try In an emergency, rescuers could have flown to a landing place 5 km away but if they were driving it would have taken them a week to reach

the camp. Fortunately, nothing went wrong during the trip. The expedition was well-prepared for the conditions and Timo felt safe in the company of two experienced explorers.

Pekka and Patrick first made two attempts to climb the south face of Mount Zuckerhut and then three attempts on the north. The third attempt on the north face was successful. The climb took 16 hours in total, three hours of which were the descent.

The trip also gave Timo inspiration for teaching and encouragement for students: “Think what you need to do to achieve your goal and do it! If you don’t succeed, find a new goal. There is no point in brooding over failures.

Doing is what counts. If you have a problem, don’t be shy about asking for advice.”

Planning and publicity The region is not easily accessible.

The necessary permits had to be arranged and financing organised.

The budget was approximately €75,000, and the participants also contributed from their own pocket.

Flights were organised by Turkish Airlines. Halti provided equipment, including clothes.

The expedition members photographed and recorded their journey, and blogged and updated a Facebook account about it. The expedition telephoned radio shows from the trip to NRJ Finland, and the Finnish broadcasting company YLE plans to show a 30-minute documentary about the expedition.

A book of photographs will also be published.

A new trip is already being planned for 2015.

“Next time, we could aim for someplace warmer, like a desert,” laughs Timo. 

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HAAGA-HELIA

eMBA in SERVICE EXCELLENCE Continuous admission available throughout the year, apply now!

Further information: www.haaga-helia.fi