Opening of the Academic Year 2025: “Hanken’s impact in Finnish society is more vital than ever”

Finland once ranked among the countries with the highest proportion of higher education students globally, but today it falls below the OECD average. While the current proportion of higher education students is under 40%, the goal is to raise it to 50%. Björkman noted that Hanken has already contributed to this goal for several years by significantly increasing student intake. Between 2010 and 2024, the number of new bachelor’s and master’s students at Hanken rose by 77%. 

“Hanken is taking increasing responsibility for educating Swedish-speaking business graduates to meet the country’s needs. While the number of new students with Swedish as their native language was 207 in 2010, it had risen to 276 by 2024. At the same time, the number of Finnish-speaking students grew even more rapidly. In particular, Hanken’s Swedish-language bachelor’s programme – where around 25% of the students today have Finnish as their mother tongue – offers an excellent opportunity for these students to strengthen their Swedish skills before entering working life,” Björkman said. 

This year, the number of applications to Hanken’s degree programmes broke all previous records, and the English-speaking bachelor’s programme was the most popular of its kind in Finland. 

“We also have a record number of students transferring to Hanken from other universities in Finland, further confirming the high domestic reputation of Hanken. The conclusion is clear: Hanken’s importance to both Swedish-speaking Finland and the country as a whole has never been greater,” Björkman stated. 

While student intake at Hanken has increased dramatically, the state’s basic funding per student has decreased significantly since 2010. University funding in Finland now lags clearly behind the rest of the Nordic countries. 

“A key message I want to convey to policymakers is that part of the very welcome public investment in research, development and innovation should be directed towards increasing universities’ core funding. An investment in Finland’s universities is an investment in the country’s future,” Björkman emphasised. 

Hanken School of Economics is Finland’s only independent business school, and according to Björkman, this gives Hanken a unique opportunity – and responsibility – to remain responsive to societal change and to adapt its operations with agility to the changing needs of business and society. 

“As an independent, internationally recognised business school, Hanken is well positioned to contribute to the shared goal of Finnish universities: that by 2040, Finland will be one of the world’s leading countries in research and education,” Björkman said. 

During the ceremony, greetings were also delivered by Hanken’s Chair of the Board Christoph Vitzthum and Student Union President Alma Portin. In addition, Hanken alum and Finland’s Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, Nicola Lindertz, gave a ceremonial address. This autumn, Hanken began its 117th academic year in Helsinki and its 46th in Vaasa.