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How can institutional investors better balance return targets with solvency risk in an increasingly complex market environment? New research shows that that using advanced cross-prediction methods makes return forecasts more accurate for both stock and bond portfolios and helps improve portfolio design and risk management.

Can prediction reshape economics? New research shows that prediction is not just a technical exercise, it can transform how we understand and apply economic principles.

How do we meet the challenges of a changing world – that was the topic as Hankendagen and Hanken & SSE Executive Education celebrated their 20th anniversary.

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded this year to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt for their research on how innovations emerge and how they influence economic growth. Hanken professor Ari Hyytinen has collaborated with Philippe Aghion, Collège de France, on several occasions.

Students and tech enthusiasts gathered at Hanken from 9–11 October 2025 to take part in the Quantum x AI Hackathon. During the event, organised in collaboration with Ultrahack, participants developed tools that converged artificial intelligence, quantum computing, portfolio optimisation, and cybersecurity to shape the future of finance.

The new national entrance exam F, in which applicants to Hanken participate, will be held on Wednesday 4 June 2025 at 9.00. This year, the exam will not be held at Hanken's premises, but in Helsinki at the Messukeskus and at the University of Helsinki's central campus. In Vaasa, the entrance exam will be organised at Åbo Akademi University and the University of Vaasa.

“AI requires a new kind of leadership. The biggest obstacle facing leaders today isn’t technology, it’s the mental models, the outdated ways you think about organisations, leadership and innovations”, stated keynote speaker Petri Kokko at a Hanken Insights event on AI held on 15 May.

Nationally 28 universities are asking their students about Exam, the e-exam system used in the Examinariums, the rooms dedicated to e-exams. What do you think about it, what is good, what is bad? Last year, 4200 e-exams were in the examinariums at Hanken. Therefore we are very interested in knowing your thoughts about Exam. Please, answer before 20.4.

Nationellt utförs en enkät om Exam, e-tentamensprogrammet som används i examinarierna - vad tycker du om det, vad är bra, vad är dåligt? På Hanken hade vi ifjol 4200 tentamen i examinarierna, så vi vill gärna höra vad studerandena tycker. Svara före 20.4

“The Vaasa region boasts a strong entrepreneurial spirit and numerous companies, but engaging students has been somewhat challenging. To address this, the Vaasa Consortium of Higher Education has decided to collaborate on entrepreneurship initiatives to better support and involve students”, says Nina Ingves, operations manager at Hanken Business Lab in Vaasa.

This year’s winners of the Sustainable Finance in the Quantum Era Hackathon arranged at Hanken School of Economics developed a quantum optimisation algorithm focused on the logistics industry. Their findings show improvements in both problem-solving efficiency and time reduction.

In his doctoral thesis, Alexander Back and co-authors propose and examine new statistical models of financial volatility. The research develops methods that can help practitioners evaluate the risk-profile of companies with an evolving business model or financial structure.

Hanken School of Economics has been granted over 200,000 EUR by The Finnish Research Impact Foundation (FRIF) for a research project that will involve logistics companies in the development of circular economy business models.

AI has been a hype since important advances were made in machine-learning, huge data sets became available, and speed of computing power steeped up. In a blog post, Professor Frank den Hond explores the question: What do humans lose when we let AI decide.

Posti Group is the most recent company to join Hanken's partner programme. The focus is on close collaboration with Hanken Business Lab, the university’s incubator. “We are looking for people who have the passion to build new, sustainable business ideas”, says Oskari Tinkanen from Posti.

Hanken School of Economics invited donors and representatives from Hanken’s partner companies to the university on Wednesday May 29 as an expression of gratitude and a celebration of successful collaborations.

Hanken student Robin Perälä was awarded a prize of 5000 euro for his master's thesis "Forecasting Stock Returns with Supervised Learning: The Battle
Against Data Snooping" from Suomen Arvopaperimarkkinoiden Edistämissäätiö.

The studies at Hanken are international in many ways, not least thanks to the unique mandatory exchange semester for all bachelor-level students. Meet four students who are on exchange in different parts of the world during the spring semester 2024.

The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland has awarded a grant of 200,000 EUR for a project to research the matriculation examination in the Swedish language and literature, the test results, and the language of the examinees. This is a joint project between Hanken School of Economics and the University of Helsinki.

Students will soon be able to take one entrance exam and use it to apply to several universities and fields of study. The reform will significantly reduce the number of entrance exams. This will make it possible to adjust the schedule of admissions so that those selected through certificate-based admission do not need to prepare for the entrance exams.

Hanken School of Economics’ new Bachelor in Business programme has attracted 1376 applicants in the first joint application. In addition, Hanken's master's programme in English breaks the all-time record with 1833 applicants.

It’s increasingly important that students learn to think like entrepreneurs even though they may never want to start their own company. Hanken School of Economics supports students in recognizing there are good opportunities to implement a startup mentality and spark excitement from within an existing organization, through the research area of corporate entrepreneurship.

The space industry is on the rise worldwide, and Hanken School of Economics is aiming to promote Finland's aerospace economy. A new Nordic project intends to increase understanding of the versatile opportunities satellite data offer.

There are upcoming training sessions for the databases Capital IQ, Factset, Orbis, Refinitiv (LSEG) Workspace and WRDS during the weeks 41-42. Check the times and links in the post!

Det kommer skolningar för databaserna Capital IQ, Factset, Orbis, Refinitiv (LSEG) Workspace och WRDS under vecka 41-42. Kolla tiderna och länkarna i posten!

The Board of the Hanken Support Foundation has appointed Mia Bengts as Ombudsman for the Foundation from 1 August 2023. Mia Bengts is a Hanken alumna and has a law degree from the University of Helsinki. The Foundation's current Ombudsman Paul Taimitarha will retire on 1 September 2023.

Styrelsen för Stiftelsen Svenska handelshögskolan har utsett Mia Bengts till ombudsman för Stiftelsen från den 1.8.2023. Mia Bengts är ekonomie magister från Hanken och jur.kand från Helsingfors universitet. Stiftelsens nuvarande ombudsman Paul Taimitarha går i pension den 1.9.2023.

The application round for QTEM exchange in spring semester 2024 is now open. The application deadline is 5.6.2023

“It's been about 15 years since I was at Hanken, and I needed a few more tools in my toolbox. Something tangible since questions around strategy and leadership are coming up in my work daily.” These comments stem from President and CEO of the Ahola Group, Ida Saavalainen, who currently attends the Hanken Executive MBA programme.

Assistant Professor of Marketing, Mekhail Mustak, has co-written a research paper exploring the threats and opportunities of deepfake technology.

“We are still at an early stage in a complex digital world of finance. There are huge opportunities for making finance cheaper, faster and safer”, says Bengt Holmström, Nobel laureate in economics and Hanken Foundation Distinguished Fellow Professor.

Hanken’s Bachelor degree in Swedish in Vaasa has attracted a record number of applicants this year. In the joint application in spring 2023, a total of 739 applications was submitted to Hanken in Vaasa.

The application round for QTEM exchange in autumn semester 2023 is now open. The application deadline is 5.2.2023

All students interested in the QTEM Masters Network are invited to join the online forum on ‘Understanding and preparing for the GMAT exam’, which has been jointly organized by QTEM and GMAC, the maker of the GMAT exam. The webinar will take place on 3rd November at 3 pm CEST (4 pm in Finland).

CERS was represented in the Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference in Montery, AMA SERVSIGS conference in Glasglow and Frontiers in Boston this summer.

The universities will decide on the reform of the scoring model for certificate-based admission in 2023. The new model will be introduced in 2026. The aim is also to increase collaboration related to entrance examinations among universities.

Hanken’s bachelor degree studies in Swedish attract applicants from both Finland and Sweden. One third of all applicants for Hanken in the joint application in the spring of 2022 are Finnish speaking.

Earthquakes, storms, floods, forest fires - natural disasters have a firm grip on our world. In order for us to handle disasters in the best possible way, two things are needed: cooperation and trust.

Dr. Daniel Pasternack has on 1.10.2021 been appointed Professor of Practice at Hanken for a period of three years. Pasternack has a background as an entrepreneur and is the CEO of the asset management company Elite Alfred Berg.

KvarkenSat is a joint small satellite between the Ostrobothnian provinces and Västerbotten. It is due to be launched into space in just over a year, with drawings by children and young people on board on the satellite. The small satellite is the result of cooperation across the Kvarken. It also demonstrates that the conquest of space is not just for space superpowers.

Finnish universities’ vice presidents for education agreed on launching a joint development project to develop student admissions. Entrance examinations will be digitalised, their content developed, and their number significantly reduced. The needs for development were identified jointly by the universities particularly as a result of admissions carried out over the course of the national state of emergency. The development work will be discussed at universities during the autumn.

New digital technologies such as 3D printing, 3D modelling and scanning technologies and AI technologies is changing how designs are created and digitalising thewhole creation process. New research points out that not all works created digitally deserve intellectual property protection in the EU.

The EU waste directive mandates the member states to establish a separate collection of used textiles by the year 2025. Finland is aiming to start textile collection earlier, by the year 2023, which is 1,5 years from now. In this blog post, Emppu Nurminen from Nextiili, the organisation from Tampere which is part of the textile collection pilot taking place now, tells about their pioneering work.

The results from the joint entrance exam in economic sciences have now been published for Hanken’s Bachelor degree programme in Helsinki and Vaasa. In June 2021 the entrance examination for future BSc students was arranged under strict security measures.

In Hanken’s third year of participation in the Aim2Flourish initiative, and after three nominations in previous years and four nominations this year, one of our student teams has received the Flourish prize for 2021.

Ett team bestående av studenter från Hanken har tilldelats pris i Aim2Flourish-tävlingen 2020 för innovativa berättelser om affärsverksamhet som stöder förverkligandet av FN:s globala mål för hållbar utveckling.

Professor Kaj Storbacka blir ny prorektor för fortbildning och näringslivsrelationer vid Hanken Svenska handelshögskolan. Som prorektor ansvarar Storbacka för utvecklingen av Hankens relationer till näringslivet och medelsanskaffning.

To freelance alongside paid work is becoming more and more popular. When should one consider delegating the accounting to an agency or consider whether it would be more profitable to establish a company? And what does one have to think of when hiring staff?

One third of all applicants for Hanken in the joint application in the spring of 2021 are Finnish speaking. Strong knowledge of both domestic languages ​​after graduation provides good job opportunities.

Why are universities holding on-location entrance examinations during the pandemic?
After carrying out careful assessment and risk analyses, Finnish universities have concluded that holding entrance examinations which require applicants’ physical presence and also involve careful safety arrangements is the best way to implement a fair student admission procedure that takes into account subject-specific special requirements and treats all applicants equally.

In its meeting on 1.3.2021, the Board of Hanken appointed Charlotta Collén, licentiate in social sciences, as the new director of the unit at Hanken that is responsible for research, corporate connections and international affairs.

MOT Kielipalvelu® includes the language tools you know from MOT – but completely modernized and with a lot of new content. You will be able to use the service easily on all of your devices, also outside of the university network.

The fourth input in our blog series is out! This week, Team_WU from Vienna University of Economics and Business presents their Sars Cov2 Testing Solution in Vienna, Austria.

The fourth input in our blog series is out! This week, Team_WU from Vienna University of Economics and Business presents their Sars Cov2 Testing Solution in Vienna, Austria.

Applicants will be informed of how the entrance examinations will be carried out by 16 March. Universities have continued to prepare student admissions for 2021, taking into account the current coronavirus situation. The aim is to organise the spring and summer entrance examinations on campuses or other physical facilities. The tests are supervised and follow strict safety arrangements.

A group of students, who presented a solution to how the indigenous community Wayuu in South America could secure access to safe water for hand washing and hygiene, have won the science competition organised by the HUMLOG Institute at Hanken School of Economics.

En grupp studenter, som presenterat en lösning till hur ursprungsfolket Wayuu i Sydamerika kunde säkras tillgång till tryggt vatten för handtvätt och hygien, har vunnit första pris i en vetenskapstävling arrangerad av Hankens HUMLOG-institut.

Fresh results published by a research project led by Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki show that travel restrictions are one of the most effective methods to stop the spreading of Covid-19. Travel bans have however, also resulted in serious disruptions in the transportation of medical supplies.

Kaj Storbacka, som specialiserat sig på marknadsstrategier, har tillträtt som professor på Hanken den 7.9.2020. Han kommer att arbeta deltid under åtminstone en treårsperiod fram till 2023.

Kaj Storbacka, who is specialized in marketing strategies, has joined Hanken as a professor on 7 September 2020. He will be working part time for at least a three-year period until 2023.

How does one become an entrepreneur or a business person in general? Experiential learning, which basically means learning by doing (and reflecting on what you did), or simply “getting out of the building” in this context, is perhaps the strongest single paradigm in entrepreneurship education at the moment.

Global shortages of medical equipment and problems with supply chains have during the ongoing Covid-19 crisis once again shown the strong need for global cooperation in medical supply chain management. According to experts at Hanken School of Economics governments and international organisations have failed to learn several lessons from earlier disasters and epidemics.

How could we increase sustainability in urban last mile deliveries? Can innovations both reduce the negative effects of e-commerce and simultaneously create a top delivery system for consumers? Hanken School of Economics is coordinating a Nordic research project that will dive into these questions.

New research discusses that the politics put forth in times of disaster tend to represent the interests of the powerful actors, rather than those of the marginalized people worst affected by the disaster.

Hanken’s and Åbo Akademi’s Swedish language test originally planned to be organized on 14 April 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic. Alternative ways for applicants to prove their Swedish language skills will be organized at a later stage only for those applicants who otherwise are about to be offered admission.

Two new Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) will be going live this spring on the social learning platform Future Learn, with millions of users around the world. The courses are open for anyone and everyone around the world.

The impact of policies on quantity and quality of entrepreneurship in a country depends on the informal rules of society, e.g. culture of not registering business activities, in that specific country, concludes Ashkan Mohamadi in his doctoral thesis.

Artificial intelligence for the growth agenda was one of the themes on Hanken's International Alumni Day in Stockholm in May.

Imagine a world in which management without reflection implements decisions recommended by complex algorithms. These algorithms have evolved into black boxes beyond managerial cognition; yet business requires them to remain competitive.

Föreställ dig en värld där ledningen utan eftertanke förverkligar beslut som rekommenderas av komplexa algoritmer. Algoritmerna har utvecklats till ”svarta lådor” bortom ledningens fattningsförmåga.

Två bilder av Jyrki Ilva, Nationalbibliotek, visar att Hanken är en av de ledande open access institutionerna i Finland.

Two slides by Jyrki Ilva, the National Library of Finland, indicate that Hanken is one of the leading open access institutions in Finland.

The Helsinki Graduate School of Economics (Helsinki GSE) works to increase the quantity and quality of economic education and training in Finland, as well as promote cooperation between economics and other academic fields.

The new eight storey building in Arabianranta, Helsinki, combines student housing and state of the art sports facilities.The building accomodates apartments on the lower levels and a sports center including a fitness gym and a test laboratory on top.

By matching foreign students with mentors at local companies, the Hanken International Talent initiative is a win-win for business in Finland.

Quantitative Techniques for Economics and Management, QTEM, is a network that gives students valuable international experience and network.

Just in time for spring’s application round to the PhD programme has Hanken’s Academic Council decided to discontinue to demand a GMAT/GRE test from applicants who have completed their for eligibility qualifying degree in a EU/EEA country.

Hanken School of Economics is to launch its first MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) later this month as the ‘Principles of Service Management’ goes live on online social learning platform, FutureLearn.

Do you want to know more about pitching? Do you need tips on how to make a presentation that makes an impact? Join us for a pitching session arranged for researchers at Hanken on 5 September 2018 at 10-12.

Hanken received a total of 1254 applications (2017: 1114) within the deadline for the integrated BSc and MSc programme in Vaasa and Helsinki this year. The application period ended on 28 March 2018.

Sometimes it is good to take a break from studying and exercise. UniSport, which is a joint venture by Hanken, the University of Helsinki and Aalto University, offers sports and exercise services to a special price for students at Hanken.

The foundation stone of the new eight storey building on the Arcada Campus in Arabianranta, Helsinki, was put up on 17 January 2018. The new building will have have 103 student apartments and state of the art sports facilities.

At CERS, we have a light, white corner room with big windows that open to the neighbouring playschool’s yard. This fall a visiting researcher Stephane Thion from Toulouse, France, has been working in the corner room.

Peter Sarlin has been appointed Professor of Practice at Hanken as of this autumn. Dr. Sarlin specializes in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), with a special interest in applications for financial, economic and societal disciplines.

Next year Hanken joins the national admission to economic sciences in Finland. The entrance exam will also be renewed which raises questions not only among the applicants, but also among the companies arranging preparatory courses.

Since 2015, the Academy of Finland has provided special competitive funding to strengthen university research profiles, also to Hanken.

Hanken renews the admission to the BSc programme in 2018 and is the first Finnish university to admit students based on the Swedish national university aptitude test (Swe. Högskoleprovet).

Minister of Education Sanni Grahn-Laasonen has appointed Anne Brunila, Professor of Practice at Hanken, as Chair of a panel that will try to envisage the ever-changing needs within education.

The registration for Hanken Open University courses started on 9 August and attracted great interest. The Fast track-study places were quickly filled. The Fast track gives admittance to Hanken based on good study results, without an entrance test.

Hanken researcher Peter Sarlin is member of the world-first global project to analyse high frequency financial data. The project team consists of researchers from the UK, France, Germany, Finland and the US.

In its meeting on 3 May 2017 the Academic Council (AC) approved of 19 master’s theses. AC postponed its next meeting to 7 June 2017.

The supply of smart products is increasing at an enormous speed and is expected to reach 50 billion in 2020. Smartproducts are devices and appliances, for example refrigerators or washing machines, that are connected to the Internet.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has appointed Hanken Professor of Practice Anne Brunila as chair of a working group that is going to propose measures to strengthen the creative sector in Finland.

Undervisnings- och kulturministeriet har utnämnt Hankens Professor of Practice Anne Brunila till ordförande för en arbetsgrupp vars uppgift är att föreslå åtgärder som skulle stärka den skapande sektorn i Finland.

Guy Ahonen, who is an associated researcher at Hanken, has together with Ossi Aura, Tomi Hussi and Juhani Ilmarinen published their 6th report on Strategic well-being (SW) management in Finland.

Guy Ahonen, som är associerad forskare på Hanken, har tillsammans med Ossi Aura, Tomi Hussi och Juhani Ilmarinen publicerat resultaten för undersökningen Strategiskt välbefinnande 2016.

Hanken invested in efficient self-service in the library - Your task is to borrow the books at the machine.

The HUMLOG institute at Hanken partner in iTrack research project funded by the EU.

M.Sc. Sergey Osmekhin defends his doctoral thesis in Finance on Friday 22 April 2016 in Helsinki.

Hanken's fundraising campaign will continue until 30.6.2017 and has, with this donation included, so far raised close to EUR 3,9 million.

Fundraisingkampanjen HANKEN RETURNS pågår till 30.6.2017 och har med denna donation inkluderad hittills inbringat närmare 3,9 miljoner euro.

M.Sc. (Econ.) John Pettersson defends his doctoral thesis in Finance on Friday 14 August 2015 in Vaasa.

Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation has decided to donate 1 million euros to Hanken's ongoing fundraising campaign HANKEN RETURNS.

Jane och Aatos Erkkos stiftelse har beslutat att donera 1 000 000 euro till Hankens pågående fundraisingkampanj HANKEN RETURNS.

Hanken students awarded during the annual donor evening and the Rector’s List awards ceremonies.

Studerande premierades under den årliga stipendiesammankomsten och vid utdelningen av Rector’s List-stipendierna.

Are you curious about tests used during recruitment processes? Come and learn why aptitude assessment is used in the recruitment process at Fazer, what usually happens at an assessment day and what kind of tests and other methods are commonly used.