Hanken School of Economics

Age: 102

History: For the last 100 years Hanken School of Economics has shaped the future of many successful leaders. It is one of the oldest leading business schools in the Nordic countries. The school has been awarded two international accreditations – the EQUIS and AMBA accreditations. The MBA programme was established in 1997 and has rapidly become a leading part-time executive education programme.

Address: The campus is in central Helsinki (Arkadiankatu 22, 00101 Helsinki, Finland).

Ambience: People-driven. The MBA programme and class structure is conducive to an informal and interactive mode of learning, and the students and faculty members are “focused on building a community for professional and social benefit”. Helsinki was chosen as the third best city for business in Europe by Fortune magazine, and is known as a centre for technology and design.

Vital statistics: The two-year, part-time Executive MBA consists of 20 modules with three specialisations: International management, Finance, and Service and relationship marketing. The programme is taught in English, and the school is accredited by both AMBA and EQUIS.

Added value: The integrated MBA programme, geared towards strategic management, gives graduates a platform for transforming organisations. Hanken is famous for its research in service marketing, so it stands to reason that students should receive first-class customer service themselves.

Easy to get into? You need at least a first degree, and five years of relevant work experience. Individual interviews are held after the submission of a written application.

Glittering alumni: Robert Andersson, executive vice president, Nokia; Petri Kokko, country manager, Google Finland; Björn Wahlroos, CEO, Sampo Group, Henrik Lax, former member of the European Parliament; Mikael Lilius, former CEO, Fortum; Robert Paulig, founder and chairman, Robert's Coffee.

International connections: All faculty members have extensive international experience. 40 per cent of the faculty come from abroad, and all students complete an overseas module at a partner university.

Gurus: Christian Grönroos; V. Kumar of Georgia State University; Kaj Storbacka; Karl-Erik Sveiby of Hanken and Sveiby Knowledge Associates.

Student profile: The average age on the MBA is 39 with a male to female ratio of 65:35. Almost a quarter are international students.

Cost: €28,000

Return on investment: An average salary increase of 60 per cent, as well as a lifelong network of personal and professional contacts.

Who's the boss? PhD Annika Vatanen is director of Hanken School of Economics MBA programme.

Prospectus: Contact Tuula Aaltonen at attuula.aaltonen@hanken.fi or +358 (0)40 352 1462 to hear more about the next programme starting in January 2012; www.hanken.fi/mba; hankenmba@hanken.fi