Alumni Experience
Catarina Fant
Name: Catarina Fant
Major: International marketing
Minor: Language (English and French)
Year of examination: 1990
Current position: Corporate Brand Director at Vacon Oyj
Why is Vaasa a great place to study?
Vaasa is a great place to study if you want to study in a small town which still has all services. In Vaasa there are several bigger international companies and several universities with international students. This gives a nice flavor to the city. Everything is in walking distance for students and it is a safe city to live in. The city is bilingual and English is understood everywhere.
Have studies in Marketing or Entrepreneurship at Hanken been beneficial to you?
Studying marketing gives you a lot of possibilities. Depending on your interests you can work with different kind of jobs after your exam. You also get a new network of contacts. As products become more similar to each other marketing becomes even more important. That is why professionals in marketing are needed also in the future. Hanken has a good reputation and skilled professors that are recognized even globally.
Tamara Galkina
Name: Tamara Galkina
Nationality/Home town: Russia, St-Petersburg
Year of examination from programme: March 2008
Current occupation: Doctoral Student at Hanken
Why is Hanken an excellent option for a student?
Hanken is the only independent business school in Finland that uniquely combines long tradition and innovation in business education. The school is relatively small, which allows individual approach to each student. Despite the size, Hanken is the most international school in Finland and has partner universities all over the world, so students have plethora of possibilities to go for exchange studies abroad. The teachers are also constantly advancing their competences through international research projects and conferences, which makes the quality of the education very high.
Why is Vaasa a great place to study?
Hanken has its second campus in Vaasa - the heart of Ostrobothnia. Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Finance are the major areas of strength here. Hanken in Vaasa has an excellent network with local companies, and students often visit them to see how business works from inside and to solve real-life problems. Also, visiting lecturers from different countries are frequent guests in Hanken Vaasa.
Have studies in Strategic Entrepreneurship and Marketing been beneficial to you?
I gained a lot of practical knowledge during my studies within this programme. The most exciting was to develop my business idea into a real business plan and present it to investors. In addition, we visited different business incubators and innovation parks where we met entrepreneurs who were just starting up their businesses. Just by talking to them I learnt a lot about what it means to be entrepreneurial and risk-taking; it was very encouraging!
Raine Vasanoja
Name: Raine Vasanoja
Major: Management and Organisation
Minor: Marketing
Year of examination: 1997
Current position: Senior Business Advisor at Vasaregionens Utveckling Ab
Why is Hanken an excellent option for a student?
It is a small school with a strong brand, giving the students a lot of opportunities after examination. Hanken has strong research programs with proven results especially within the field of marketing. Teaching is carachterized by small groups and interaction between lecturers and students creating quality in the process.
Have studies in Marketing or Entrepreneurship at Hanken been beneficial to you?
Certainly. The studies pinpoint some critical success factors for the students, like the relevance of branding, active networking, strategic alliances, strategies and entrepreneurship mindedness. We got tools to use when we graduated for sure, but Hankens greatest contribution were these values and an entrepreneurial or market oriented attitude.
Jens Wiklund
Name: Jens Wiklund
Major: Management and Organisation
Minor: Economics
Year of examination: 1999
Current position: Senior Vice President, Head of Administration, Financial Control and Risk Control at Svenska Handelsbanken
Why is Hanken an excellent option for a student?
Hanken is a leading, internationally accredited university offering a first-class internationally competitive education in business administration and economics that will give you plenty of career opportunities after graduating.
Do you think studying Strategic Entrepreneurship and Marketing could be beneficial?
Business leaders are currently operating in a global, competitive and highly unpredictable environment. Today, more than ever, increased importance is being placed on Strategic Entrepreneurship and the ability to "lead entrepreneurially." Access to this knowledge and experience can be a competitive edge for organization's continued growth. The programme and its opportunity to gain international experience in different parts of the world makes it an interesting development opportunity for future challenges, both from a student's perspective as well as from an employing organization.