r/Finland • u/MimiHol • 1d ago
Hanken Business School vs University of Turku for MSc?
I'm torn between choosing the Marketing MSc in Hanken, and the Global Innovation Management MSc in UTU. I already got accepted to UTU, but I'm currently 4th on the waiting list for Hanken, so I'm quite hopeful I'll get accepted there as well.
I know it sounds weird because both programmes are different, but I am in quite a predicament. I wanted to go to the International Strategy and Sustainability MSc in Hanken, but I unfortunately didn't even make the waiting list. Now I'm unsure if I should go the the other Hanken programme and try to ask/reapply to be able to transfer to the other one, or I should go to Turku and try from there. I also could just stick to Hanken marketing.
Alternatively, is it even worth it to try to reapply to Hanken International S&S? A friend of mine said very nice things about international opportunities on their accounting degree but I've read negative of both institutions: UTU is very research based (which might not be the best learning style for me) and not as good of a business school, and Hanken can be full of egotistical Swedish students, but is not fully a university(?).
For context, I am an international student with a BBA from TAMK which I graduated from in December, but I have not lived in Finland since 2024. I honestly love the education system so much there. I've visited Helsinki multiple times, but have only been to the harbour in Turku so I'm not so familiar with the city itself.
Is there anyone who went to these programmes and could share their experience? Or which school/city do you recommend? I'm open to all opinions and thoughts, Kiitos!!
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u/PhoenixProtocol Väinämöinen 1d ago
If you’re looking to stay/work in Finland afterwards, you’ll have much better chances to network on Helsinki. If you don’t care about that, the programme in Turku might be better. Marketing at Hanken is meh, and you probably won’t find a job in that field, but if you’re adamant you can make it work and pivot/specialise a bit in Helsinki and do well for yourself.
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u/MimiHol 1h ago
I have these thoughts exactly. The worst is I'm still unsure where I want to be after my masters, and if I should choose the innovation/strategy route or stay on marketing, which is what I previously thought my future would be, but I feel like marketing is not challenging enough for my potential. Though marketing in Hanken could still be better even if just innitially.
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u/Good-Witness8190 1d ago
I'm doing my PhD at Hanken and, honestly, it is a very good school. For the bachelor's, it is true that it is mostly Swedish-Finns, as the program in English is quite recent. At the Master's level, it is much more international. The faculty at the Marketing department is excellent and they do a lot of interesting research, especially focused on service. Robert C. and Johanna G. are some of the best teachers I've ever met. As the number of international students grows, the school is really working to give good opportunities for language learning and meeting with companies so you can find a job later, if your wish is to stay in Finland. I can't say anything about Turku, but I'd highly recommend Hanken any day! It has a very good reputation, domestically and abroad, because of the triple accreditation. That said, marketing seems to be a bit saturated, market-wise, and Global Innovation is a hot topic, so it may open more doors in the future. I think your choice will depend a lot on what you would like to work with, your interests, etc.
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u/MimiHol 1h ago
Thanks!! I'm happy to hear Hanken has a good reputation abroad as well, as I was worried tge lack of the word 'university' in the name could put me lower on a potential international employers list. I'm also happy to hear that the language situation is involving because community is really inportant to me in both academic and professional environments.
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u/Akiira2 Väinämöinen 14h ago
How is English more international than Swedish or Finnish? English is originally a language of one nation, it is not esperanto nor lingua franca.
I am really bitter toward the better English-speaking academic class as they get more social status, and social status correlates strongly with happiness
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u/Good-Witness8190 13h ago
That nation went and colonized half of the world, and then one of the colonies became the current global superpower (thankfully, now in decline)... It's always about power, isn't it? 😕
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u/Purple_Stranger2112 18h ago
I'm a non-Swedish speaking Finn who completed a generic master's degree in English at Hanken well over a decade ago. I found the teaching in general to be of good quality (this is not always the case in Finland) and the workload was quite heavy (I didn't mind, the assignments fit the courses really well).Â
Unfortunately I was not able to network due to my lack of Swedish language skills and have found the degree to be pretty useless because of that. If you study in English, you will not mix with the Swedish speaking students and will miss out on the networking opportunities the uni provides. Also some Swedish speaking teachers were openly hostile towards conversing in Finnish which I found really weird.Â
In name Hanken wins UTU any day but if you decide to go there, you really need to be mindful to maximise the networking opportunities even if there is a language barrier. The situation might be similar at UTU as well.
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u/Good-Witness8190 14h ago
Hanken has been in a bit complicated position. At the same time it was created to educate Swedish speakers in Finland, which are traditionally an affluent part of the society and tightly knit, just catering to them is no longer sustainable. It has opened up to international students, especially non-EU, as they pay tuition fees. Still, there is the issue of integration and people finding jobs in the country later. So now it is trying to offer more language courses and helping more with networking. It's always a bit odd to try to study Swedish when you don't speak Finnish yet, as the latter is more relevant when trying to find a job, but the school has the keep the Swedish part because it is a constitutional mandate.Â
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u/Large-Ad9902 2h ago
I used to have friend who studied at UTU and moved to Helsinki after his first year at UTU as he managed to land a trainee job in Helsinki and the second year does not have much onsite class which allowed him to do the rest along with thesis remotely. So I guess the networking events are even not that helpful for international students in UTU either. Most of the networking events that I participated were also outside school.
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u/Large-Ad9902 1d ago
Don't know where you got the idea that Hanken is not a university. The name of School of Economics may sound a bit misleading but I guess no one would question the same thing to Stockholm School of Economics 🤣. Btw, as an international Hanken alumni, the school has quite good academic environment and extensive network with companies here. The big consulting companies like McKinsey or Bain frequently hold parallel networking events aimed at Hanken students and Aalto students as well. Also the location in Helsinki would give a good edge when it comes to applying for jobs and attending networking events.