The Business School In The Happiest Country On Earth

There is great wisdom at the dinner table. And however much universities act as the world’s centres of research and knowledge creation, there are occasionally moments where the two worlds meet.

As Timo Korkeamäki, Dean of Aalto University School of Business in Finland, recollects, “I was working on a piece of research a few years ago. After it was published, I told my wife about it over the dinner table at home. She was quiet for a while. And then she said, ‘Interesting, but why does it matter?’ I thought that was a fair question.”

In the words of Jimi Hendrix, “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.”

“The research we do at Aalto, and business schools more broadly, definitely has an impact,” insists Korkeamäki. “But researchers aren’t trained to think about how people outside their academic circles will react.”

That Aalto research has a real-world impact is well-established. The Sustainability and Business Research Group recently celebrated its 30^th birthday, and Aalto University School of Business alumni have gone on to become co-founders and CEOs of startups at the cutting edge of developing new sustainably-driven technologies in the fields of carbon capture and sustainable textiles, as well as following more ‘traditional’ paths into large companies.

“A big part of the School of Business’s DNA is the entrepreneurial spirit on our campus, explains Korkeamäki. “It’s a cross-cutting theme across everything we do at Aalto University as a whole. And it’s not just learning how to start a business. You can have an entrepreneurial mindset in a large company, so it’s more a way of thinking. And we have some great role models here. I think the Aalto University campus is number two in Finland in terms of patent creation.”

When the School of Business Dean was an undergraduate, he remembers fellow students wanting to get big company jobs and eventually retire from them. “Now it’s very cool to be an entrepreneur and that is definitely showing on our campus.”

When it comes to teaching entrepreneurship and sustainability, it is crucial to develop students’ creative thinking skills. After all, a fertile brain is the seat of innovation. Aalto University School of Business occupies a dynamic position alongside five other schools under the umbrella of the overall university, making full use of this opportunity to share knowledge, with a strong element of cross-discipline interaction on its programmes.

“There are a lot of project-based courses where students are by default mixed with peers from other disciplines.” Timo Korkeamäki recognizes that these can be very challenging experiences for the first few weeks, “when the students don’t have a common language or a shared set of goals. But there are huge journeys of growth because of this.”

“In a traditional sense, graduates go through something similar when they start their careers,” he argues. “Because, as a finance expert, you don’t just interact with other finance people or accountants. But we get students used to this while they’re doing their studies, which widens their horizons and opens them up beyond the narrow silo they have chosen to study.”

One such point of intersection is the Master’s in Creative Sustainability programme, organised jointly by the School of Business, the School of Arts, Design and Architecture, and the School of Chemical Engineering. It is the sort of programme that simply did not exist 25 years ago.

“When you’re thinking about the late ‘80s, early ‘90s, the world looked so different that it was almost as if sustainability didn’t exist as a concern. I’m happy there were smart people thinking far ahead about the future. Here in the Nordics, I don’t think it would now be possible to survive as an institution if you completely ignored sustainability. It’s a slightly cliché attitude, but if not us, then who will do what must be done?”

The environmental sustainability of the school itself is a key commitment to ensure that what is being taught is also being practiced. The School of Business building is home to 70 geothermal ground wells and 156 solar panels.

“Luckily, the world is moving in the right direction,” says Korkeamäki, “and Aalto University School of Business is moving forward in the area by offering a new MSc program in sustainable entrepreneurship, with the first intake in 2024”.

“As teachers, we are always learning from our students. I think that is one of the best parts of our jobs. And our students are very good at voting with their feet. When we think about our programme portfolio, one of the best sources of information is where students are, which electives they take. For instance, when we see a lot of students who want to take coding as an elective, that’s a big signal for us.”

If the movement of students is a valuable indicator, much can be gleaned from the fact that many international students choose to stay on and work in Finland after graduation. Aalto University School of Business is currently collaborating with the Finnish Business School Graduates, the central organisation representing 25 regional associations and 13 student societies, to encourage small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to hire more foreign students as interns.

“In Finland, it’s very common for Master’s students to work during their studies. I’d estimate that over 90% of those completing their Master’s thesis are also working professionally, many of them full-time. As a school, we obviously want our students to graduate on time. Actually, the Finnish government provides a lot of incentives to ensure this happens. But, at the same time, a freshly minted Master of Science with no job experience is going to have a hard time finding employment. So, there are good reasons to embrace this approach,” insists Korkeamäki.

For the past six years, Finland has ranked as the happiest country in the world according to the UN World Happiness Report. The country also holds the number two spot in the Global Gender Gap index, a level of gender equality found in very few parts of the world. At the same time, Aalto University itself is second among the Nordic schools in the FT European Business Schools 2022 ranking.

“In Finland, it’s almost taboo to brag about our accomplishments. We’re more doers than talkers. At the same time, there’s so much potential in this country. We have one of the best education systems in the world,” Timo Korkeamäki reflects.

“A lot of our happiness is that we have a large amount of trust in the system, so to speak. In society. Even in the government. We don’t need to be looking over our shoulders all the time. That cuts down the level of stress and worry.

“And, it’s not a secret that Finnish society embraces equality. We’ve had a female president and recently a female Prime Minister. You notice in Finland in particular, there’s a lot of insistence on diversity in the leadership teams in boardrooms,” he adds.

Of course, business schools play an essential role in providing the training young women need to launch careers in stereotypically male-dominated industries, or climb corporate ladders into senior leadership positions.

Aalto University School of Business has a commitment to diversity, particularly boosting the number of women on its programmes. The school has engaged extensively with female high school students in Finland, with the message that a degree in finance or business can create wide-ranging career opportunities beyond financial markets. It is a key that opens many doors.

“You also get to make decisions on how resources are allocated, which provides wonderful opportunities for you to do good,” says Timo Korkeamäki.

Doing good, having positive impact, creating equal opportunities, all in the happiest country on Earth. Now those are accomplishments worth sharing.