Podcast Studying in the International Business Management Degree Programme
[SeAMK Jingle]
Elisa Kannasto
Today at the SeAMK Master School podcast, we’re talking about our international business management programme. And I am the head of degree programme, Elisa Kannasto, and with me we have our wonderful study counsellor. Essi Hauta, hello there.
Hi, and in this, how would I say it, series or podcast episode, we’re going to describe what our programme is all about and tell all the cool details. So let’s start with the programme in itself. It’s called international business management.
How many years we’ve been running it?
Essi Hauta
Now you’re asking the tough ones, because I’ve been working here since 2020, so I would say we have had it at least 10 years now.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, and this programme, we start a new group every year. And it’s organized in a blended mode, which means that there is both online learning, hybrid learning and in-class learning.
And it depends quite a lot on different teachers, professors and the classes that you’re taking, whether you’re in class or working on your own independently online.
Essi Hauta
Yes, I was about to remind you about the independent work, which has a quite huge role in our study courses.
Elisa Kannasto
And before we go into that, first of all, to be eligible for the programme, you need to have a bachelor’s degree. Yes. And then you need to have two years of work experience within the field of business or management.
And sometimes we’re approving also engineering, I think.
Essi Hauta
Yeah, especially if you have completed your bachelor’s degree here in Finland, then we can be a little more flexible with the working experience. But if you are coming from abroad, then you need to have the working experience exactly from the fields of business or management.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, and it is 24 months and it’s required by Finnish law, so there’s not a lot of flexibility in how we count the work experience. But this is also something that prepares you very well for the studies, because the studies are planned in a way that they are very connected with the working life.
Essi Hauta
Exactly, because we want to make sure that, of course, when we are adding your experiences to the studies, you will get the most out of those.
Elisa Kannasto
Exactly. And the way the curriculum is built, first, you have those studies that you have to, that everybody does in the whole class, that we kind of see as the important business context foundation that is actually needed for everyone. And that gives you a good…
Essi Hauta
Core competencies.
Yeah, good core competencies like international marketing management. Human resource management, strategic management.
And then it’s the financial management as well. And then in addition to that, you choose your own track. You can go and study more marketing or you can go and study project management or leadership.
And this kind of defines, gives you a good career based on if you already know what you’re aiming at. And then you can focus on that and really take advantage of the high-level courses that we offer.
Essi Hauta
Yes, but of course, because you have the freedom to choose the paths when you want to take the elective courses. It gives you the possibility to either like dive deeper to the expertise you have already mastered or then you can just broaden your views and, you know, open new doors maybe for the new career paths.
Elisa Kannasto
Yes. And Essi, you are the study counsellor. So tell me, how do you step in this process when the students are starting to plan their curriculum?
Essi Hauta
Yes, of course, we and I will be there in the orientations where we can go through all the basic steps how to get to studies, you know, started here at SeAMK. If you have any questions or if you have some maybe master level studies completed, maybe in your own home country, then we will have a look at those, of course, in the beginning. But after that, the students can just send me an email or book a meeting and then we can discuss more about the needs or maybe the requirements they are wanting to gain when they are studying with us.
So I’m trying my best to help to find the right career paths and study paths so you can just proceed in the way you want with that, of course, within the regulation of our degree programs. But yeah, we have quite a good amount of choices to make.
Elisa Kannasto
And so you’re kind of looking at individual study plans with the students, right?
Essi Hauta
Of course, of course. And like you said before, we have the mandatory courses which are necessary to take for everyone. But there is the possibility to choose and have electives, of course, we want to support the students’ decisions wherever they want to go.
Elisa Kannasto
And what I also think is great is that it’s not only what we have been able to offer for the students, but we also have a wide range of courses available from other universities in Finland, right?
Essi Hauta
Yes, and I think that’s one of the wonderful things we have here in Finland, that, you know, different universities, they could have networked and made a little more for the students by offering all the courses they are having, because of course we can offer everything. So, we have our own strengths, and then we can see if our students can accept, for example, we have this course with Centria.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, we’re connecting with another University of Applied Sciences, that’s our strategic partner, and they are offering change management is one of those courses that we offer with them.
Essi Hauta
Yes, so Centria is offering the change management, for example, which also gives students who are looking for positions, maybe in the leading or management side, a little more views.
Elisa Kannasto
And at the same time, we are offering other types of courses for them. And then we have this really big offering for project management, right?
Essi Hauta
Yes.
Elisa Kannasto
I think you know a bit more about it than me, but isn’t it so that they can actually do like a certificate on project management while doing that?
Essi Hauta
Yes, definitely. We have a few courses like trying to train the students to take the final professional qualification course, where you can try to achieve like a student version of one of the project management certification tests. So that’s quite good benefit for the students who are looking for jobs in the project management.
And of course, we have one of our huge SeAMK strengths, which is focused on entrepreneurship. So that’s another good and interesting option for the students to go for if you have any interest or like business ideas you would like to try to take up.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, actually SeAMK offers quite a lot of these like business case competitions or business idea competitions during the school year. And even those are open for our master school students as well.
Essi Hauta
Yes. And if you want to try, for example, to build up your own business, we have also help for you for that.
Elisa Kannasto
And in addition to that, we have some of our main professors in our master school are these same people that have been doing 10 or maybe 15 years of business transfer research here at SeAMK . And I’ve heard that they incorporate these tools that they are developing while doing R&D here, research and development projects, that they bring those then in class and they help our students to understand these tools and then incorporate them maybe even with their thesis or just their own entrepreneurship development and everything.
Essi Hauta
Yes. And like you really get to have the latest results of the RDI processes.
Elisa Kannasto
Kind of like the latest development and latest research that’s out there. Yes. Have you met any of our professors?
Essi Hauta
Oh, yes, I have. And I think that we have really professional and highly expertised, but still, they are really warm and, you know, not like easygoing, but, you know, it’s easy to reach out and they are approachable. So, I have made a few friends here within our professors.
Elisa Kannasto
And I think we have a really cool mix of these professors that have been working with SeAMK for years and years. Yes. And then we have professors who come here from our partner schools, for example, from Germany or the US.
And we have the professors that we hire from other universities in Finland that are only maybe teaching one course because they are the absolute experts on that field.
Essi Hauta
Yeah. And overall, I think our IBM is multicultural and international in itself. So that’s something which I’m looking forward to every year when we have a new group that, you know, you will get to know people from all around the world.
Elisa Kannasto
Definitely. We do get a good mix of people from different nationalities and at the same time, people with very different backgrounds. There are entrepreneurs, there’s bankers, there’s people who’ve been working in the clothing industry or fashion or media or whatever.
What else? This was just a mix that I was reading this year from the application videos and it’s very exciting. And then when we start working with their thesis, for example, they bring that expertise and they’re developing their topics alongside with the theory they’re learning from our classes.
Essi Hauta
Yeah. And not only in the thesis process, but exactly in the classrooms, you know, you get to hear all the cool experiences from different fields, which is personally, as a study counselor, very interesting and inquiring, especially for me. So, it really gives a broader view of what you can do when you are a master of business or what you would like to, for example, pursue after the degree.
Elisa Kannasto
Absolutely. At this level, learning is really not just about writing what the professor is saying.
Essi Hauta
Or reading.
Elisa Kannasto
It’s about applying it to your own context and taking what you understand and then kind of building from that.
So, from what I’ve understood in our lectures and in the classes that they have, they’re really just more of developing ideas together, innovating together and kind of bringing their own expertise in and seeing.
Essi Hauta
And one important point of view is that it requires a lot of reflection, you know, reflecting your own ideas, your own past experiences and how you can use the information that you gain from the classroom to the practicalities which you are going to work with.
Elisa Kannasto
Definitely. And then we have these very interesting course options as well, just like one of my favorites is the Global Master School, where we have a partnership with the German University and the U.S. University Amsal. And from Germany, it’s the Aschaffenburg University. And there we take turns organizing an intensive week where we always have a theme and then we have a real work-life problem or project or something that the company wants to develop.
And we have these multicultural groups that are coming from the U.S., from Germany, from our university, and we put them together. And for a week, we’re doing lectures and we’re working together. We have great free time program as well.
Essi Hauta
Company visits. I think those are one of the… Yes.
Elisa Kannasto
And then in the end of the week, the company gets to see what the students have been developing and the results are usually amazing.
Essi Hauta
Yes. And the companies, they have been really satisfied with the end results of the students. And usually, they get to choose maybe one or two, which they want to implement in their company.
But I think they have a good struggle to choose, you know, because all the students are really putting effort.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah. And I think many times these things have been applied to the actual operations of the company. But all in all, these bring amazing memories for the students who are participating and this experience again for an international context and working together, maybe even a little bit of a high-pressure environment.
The week is kind of hectic.
Essi Hauta
And intense.
Elisa Kannasto
But still, the results are good.
And I really think this has been going on for over 10 years now. And it is one of our absolute gems of this program. Yeah.
Essi Hauta
And one thing I want to highlight also from the GMS is that you get to spend time around with the professors. So at least for me, when I have participated with the conversations with the students, those have been deep and intensive and broadened all the views. And you get to know the students.
That’s really high value for me.
Elisa Kannasto
And who wouldn’t want to hang out with professors?
Essi Hauta
Of course!
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, no, it’s true. I mean, you really get to know the students in a different way in these trips. And of course, we get to organize our own here in Seinäjoki every two years as well.
So it’s kind of nice also for us to be changing the environment every time we do this in a different setting.
Essi Hauta
Yes. And not to mention that we also have the double degree possibility for our IBM students, which is interesting. Like you mentioned, the Aschaffenburg before.
Elisa Kannasto
Elisa Kannasto
And now we have Ansbach as the new.
Essi Hauta
Yes, Ansbach also in Germany. So our students really have the international possibilities.
Elisa Kannasto
So what is a double degree then?
Essi Hauta
So double degree is a possibility that students complete a degree within SeAMK and meets all the requirements. But in addition, they go for a short period of time, usually one semester, for example, in Germany.
And during that time, they complete a certain amount of courses and the thesis, which is supervised within the boat organizations. And in between all that, you get two degree certificates from two different universities of applied sciences.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, it is a great program. And it’s also like we for that one semester, we have a grant for those who are doing the double degree because it’s an Erasmus program as well. So it’s really nice.
And I’m hoping to see other double degree programs arise as we continue doing more and more international collaboration.
Essi Hauta
Yeah, maybe in the future. And of course, if you want to have like an exchange experience, that’s also possible for the master’s students.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah. And every year we also get exchange students that want to come here in Seinäjoki for also our master’s school.
Essi Hauta
Yes, usually for one semester, maybe there have been someone who has been like the full year, but they really gives you the like a different point of view again to come with their backgrounds.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah. I mean, in a way, master’s degree, it’s only 90 credits and 30 of it is the thesis. So it goes by really fast.
But during that like year, year and a half that you’re doing it, you have all these really nice opportunities and you can really expand the international knowledge and the international experience that you’ve come here to acquire.
Essi Hauta
But on the other hand, because the degree is quite short, like you said, you have to be quite fast if you want to take part of the double degree program, for example, because otherwise you have already done the whole degree within us. So, you need to have certain amount of studies completed before you can enter. But of course, you need to have something to complete when you are taking part of this.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah. Now I feel like we’ve been just listing all these great opportunities. Does it get overwhelming for the students?
You discuss with our students every day, and does it get overwhelming for them? Is studying a master’s degree in international business management hard?
Essi Hauta
Sometimes the students are amazed by the amount of choices they get to make, because in some other UCS, for example, in Finland or elsewhere, you don’t get to choose that much from the variety of courses, for example, or the possibilities to pursue with the double degree or the exchange program. So yes, sometimes it may cause some hesitations or need for discuss with me, but that’s why I’m here. I’m trying to help them to figure out what they want, what helps them the most and how they can pursue the goals they want to set for themselves.
Elisa Kannasto
And what do you think? Is it very well scheduled? I mean, does it get balanced throughout the year or is there some time when the workload is really a lot or what are the students experiences?
Essi Hauta
It depends a little about the students electives, because if you choose certain electives, then it may cause some peaks for the stress or the deadline amounts, for example, closer to Christmas or closer to the end of the spring. But it’s also possible to have quite good balance and get to divide the amount of work for the whole academic year. So it really depends about the student and his or her goals, how soon or how fast they want to, for example, to have the degree completed.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah. And when the students start, we have the whole schedule for the year done. So they can also see that when they’re planning the courses, right?
Essi Hauta
Yes. And that’s the most important part to spend some time planning what you want to do, how you want to do it and in what time you want to complete your studies, because it also affects and builds up during the academic year.
Elisa Kannasto
And we’ve already touched a little bit of the topic that the studies are organized in a variety of ways. One, I wouldn’t say complaint, but one remark that I often hear from the students is that they write quite a lot. And that’s true.
Yeah, a lot of the assignments are done in writing and in scientific writing and they need to write references and things like that. Have you heard any explanation why that is?
Essi Hauta
Well, from my point of view, I think one of the best ways to evolve your thinking is by writing about it, because then you really must go through the topics, read some books, read some articles and collect and gather and maybe filter something out from there. So, on the other hand, I think it’s quite Finnish way of having assignments done, because we are used to that from the elementary school or from early on. But it really gives you the tools for thinking.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, personally, I also think that that is what can make you an expert, is that you are reading a lot from different sources, you learn how to combine information, you learn to kind of reflect what seems true, what is valid, what kind of authorities of knowledge there are. So like you kind of learn to see also that different things are being published and how to reflect what is true. How do you define something when two different sources are defining it in another way?
And then obviously, this is a master’s program. So, the students who graduate from this one, they have the eligibility to apply for a doctor’s programs as well.
Essi Hauta
Yes, they do. And some of our students have been interested about the possibility to continue your studies in the doctoral programs, which is really cool and something that we want to encourage, of course. But yeah, that’s why I think we have most of the assignments as like final assignments in written form or…
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, it’s also good practice for the thesis, which is a big writing assignment at the end of the studies.
Essi Hauta
But like you said earlier that we use a lot of group discussions, a lot of group presentations.
Elisa Kannasto
Even video presentations.
Essi Hauta
So, it’s not only just writing.
Elisa Kannasto
Oh no.
Elisa Kannasto
And it’s not only alone. So a lot of times students are also working in groups, right?
Essi Hauta
Yeah. And I think that our IBM groups, they have had good atmosphere within the students. Most of them have become friends after the studies or during the studies.
Elisa Kannasto
Hopefully also during, yeah.
Essi Hauta
Especially during the studies. And yeah, I have heard that lifelong friendships have been made.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah. Now you sometimes have a lot more time to discuss with the students also outside their school related things. What do they name as their favorite things here at SeAMK?
Does anything come to mind?
Essi Hauta
Well, one thing is that usually the students, they think that our campuses are really like modern, and the premises are in a good shape, which I agree of course also. And the other is actually the library of SeAMK. That gets a lot of compliments.
We have a huge variety of different sources and databases that students get access to without any extra payments. That’s true. So that’s something really appreciated among the students and I think even among the staff.
Elisa Kannasto
Oh yeah, even I use it for my research all the time.
Essi Hauta
Yes, because they really have a good variety of the…
Elisa Kannasto
And having the access to these journal articles when you’re doing your thesis or when I’m writing a scientific article, it’s just like there’s no value to it. It’s amazing.
Essi Hauta
And many of the databases and sources, they can be used online, so you don’t have to be physical in the library in itself, but you can just access them within the computer.
Elisa Kannasto
Wasn’t there also like sports equipment or something that they are lending from our library? I have heard, but I haven’t used any, so not sure. I think our library is not just books or these articles, it’s also that they’re lending free time, I think games or sports equipment and things like that.
And also city libraries obviously are offering those.
Essi Hauta
Yes, and really, I think many of our students, they spend a good amount of time close to the library premises because they have different types of spaces for group work or just an independent work. So you get to choose and you are close to the books, so that usually helps if you are completing, for example, for certain tasks or assignments.
Elisa Kannasto
And now this year, I think we had like 20-25 students graduating in a year from our International Business Management degree program. That’s quite amazing.
Essi Hauta
That really is. And most of our students, they’re really, really happy and content with, for example, with the contents they have received during the studies. And also by the guidance and counseling regarding the supervision of thesis or how the studies are organized.
Elisa Kannasto
Yeah, everyone I’ve talked with have been very happy and many of them are actually asking, is there another degree I could do here?
Essi Hauta
Yeah, I want to continue with something.
Elisa Kannasto
But it is fun to work with our international programs and soon we have another one opening. We’re going to start another international program for the master level in the social and health care services sector. So that will be exciting.
Until this we’ve only been working with the International Business Management, but it will be fun to get another degree with some kind of like, how would I say it? Maybe some different kinds of students with different backgrounds again here on campus.
Essi Hauta
Yeah, and I think it will definitely open some new doors for our IBM students, but also for the health care and social services master students.
Elisa Kannasto
Definitely and probably some synergy between the programs. So maybe there’s going to be another specialization or another track for entrepreneurship in health care or who knows. But we’ll see what will happen in a year or so.
Anything else we want to add about International Business Management?
Essi Hauta
I think we have covered the basics of the program.
And like we have talked, it’s something that you need to see for yourself because you have the choice possibilities. And I think our program is constructed in a way that it really supports the students to pursue their career goals in a field of business. Whether it’s in marketing or it’s in human resources or leading and management.
Definitely. Or even in projects. So you really get to choose a good variety of new perspectives.
Elisa Kannasto
Yes, and because we have all that, then obviously there’s people who are interested in all of those. So you kind of meet a very nice mix of people as well. Anyway, I think at some point we need to dive deeper into the actual courses of our program.
But this was a good, nice general introduction of the programme.
Essi Hauta
Yes, like an overall view
Elisa Kannasto
So, thank you all for listening and thank you Essi for hanging out with me for this half an hour.
Essi Hauta
Thank you.
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