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President of Aalto University Ilkka Niemelä has decided that an English-language Bachelor’s Programme in Economics is being established in the School of Business. ‘Finland has a desperate need for those skilled in economics. We need specialists who are able to understand complex human decisions by using strong analytical skills in economics with data processing skills. The demand for highly qualified economists is growing both internationally and in Finland’, says Professor of Economics Juuso Välimäki, Programme Director during the preparation phase of the English-language Bachelor’s Programme.

The decision to establish the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics (Helsinki GSE) is a response to the need for economic specialists trained at postgraduate level. The new Bachelor's Degree Programme in Economics, for which 40 students are being selected, also ensures the flow of good students into the masters and doctoral programmes. Additionally, it offers an interesting major subject to students who are interested in developing their quantitative skills in the modelling and analysis of social phenomena.

At present, there is no English-language Bachelor's Programme in Economics in Finland. Students who have been accepted for the general Finnish-language Bachelors Programme in Business have been able to choose economics as their major subject. The exact learning objectives of the programme and its structure and courses will be decided upon during the academic year 2018–2019.

The Economics Brain Drain to Foreign Countries from Finland

A growing number of Finnish upper secondary school students leave after the matriculation exams to study abroad. In recent decades the number of Finnish students abroad has more than doubled. In the 2015–2016 academic year, 2 586 began studies abroad and over a quarter of these are studying economics or business studies.

A recent investigation by the Finnish National Agency for Education showed that only 24% of those Finnish students going overseas intended to return to Finland after their graduation. The brain drain is especially serious in IB upper secondary schools (IB = International Baccalaureate) whose pupils have studied in English, many specifically economics.

Further Information:
Professor Juuso Välimäki
tel. +358 40 353 8182
juuso.valimaki@aalto.fi