In the autumn of 2020, the Master's programme in Management and International Business (MIB) at the School of Business will get a new student with an interesting educational background when Vivianne Ruohola, an early education teacher and a Master's student in education, starts her Master's studies at the School of Business.
‘The idea of applying for a Master's programme in business came to me during my studies in education, when I was writing my Bachelor's thesis in a research project for management of international early education, and working in education export. I also completed a few basic courses in industrial engineering and management as JOO studies*, and all of this boosted my interest toward business studies and Aalto University’, Ruohola says.
On the Aalto University website, she found an easily digestible package of information on the content of different programmes, as well as instructions for applicants, and decided to apply for the Master's programme in Management and International Business. The MIB programme offers students a comprehensive view of the challenges of business in a global economy, as well as skills and knowledge that will be expected of the managers of the future.
‘My impression of the Aalto University School of Business was formed through discussions with Aalto students in connection with student parties, for example, and by working as a volunteer at Slush. My mental image of Aalto University School of Business combines entrepreneurial spirit, solution-orientation, and internationalism.’
Her studies in the MIB programme will begin in the autumn of 2020 and Ruohola is approaching the start of her studies in a new field with optimistic curiosity.
‘It will be interesting to see how studies in education and business differ from each other. I have heard that there is a good community spirit at the School of Business, so I am very much looking forward to experiencing it. Based on what Business School students have told me, the studies appear to be very practical and solution oriented. I have also heard that the working life is very much present in the studies, in the form of case-studies that are used in the courses and which reflect the real world, for example.’
Ruohola already has several years of experience in university studies, and although her prior experiences are from a different field, she believes that they will be useful in her upcoming studies.
‘I believe that the skills for learning how to learn, the readiness for critical thinking and for the acquisition of independent knowledge that I got in the Faculty of Educational Sciences will also help me in my business studies.’
Ruohola expects that studying business will give her new perspectives and tools for work in the future.
‘My work with educational export has helped me understand how important it is to combine educational and business skills. I believe that by studying business I can achieve readiness, especially in considering the economic point of view. In addition, I hope to get tools for management and for creating strategies.’
Ruohola's dream for the future is to combine expertise in education with that in business.
‘It is also my hope to get work in the field of education and to get an opportunity to utilise both my educational and business skills and knowledge in my work. Business skills benefit educationalists when they work in planning tasks or as the heads of day-care centres. Business skills are also needed, possibly even essential, in education export. And skills in the field of business and in business management are certainly useful when working in connection with Finland's high-quality education export activities and in the internationalisation of education or the evaluation of early learning.’
Ruohola has clear advice for all of whom are interested in studying in a Master's programme at the School of Business.
‘The website is worth reading carefully to get a personal view of the content of the studies and the criteria for acceptance. Personal experiences of business students can be found in @aaltobiz-insta and you can also ask about them at student parties by stopping someone wearing a dollar-green overall. I like to meet new people myself, so it’s OK to ask me about applying for the Aalto Master's programme as well. Just go ahead and do it! If I managed to get accepted into an Aalto Master's programme, why couldn't you!’
We wish Vivianne Ruohola and other students starting their studies at the Aalto University School of Business in the autumn of 2020 the best of luck!
*JOO studies refer to Flexible Study Rights - that is, the possibility for graduate, and post-graduate students at Finnish universities to incorporate studies from other Finnish universities in their degrees. To apply for Flexible Study Rights and to complete studies at another university, students must be enrolled as attending their home university.
Application for Master's degrees at Aalto University starting in the autumn of 2021 will begin in December 2020. Schedules and instructions for applying will be updated on our website in the autumn.
Applications for Master's programmes at the School of Business are accepted from applicants who have previously completed a Bachelor's degree at an applicable Finnish university (admission group 1) or either an applicable lower degree at a Finnish university for applied sciences, or an applicable lower degree at a foreign university (admission group 2).
Vivianne Ruohola on LinkedIn:
Aalto University School of Business is one of the leading business schools in Europe and #1 in Finland. The school ranks among the 0.5% of Business schools worldwide with labels of excellence from the world's leading accreditation bodies.
We at Aalto University School of Business offer our students multidisciplinary learning experiences and opportunities to solve real-world challenges in an international context. We help our students develop into valued experts, innovative entrepreneurs and responsible business and societal leaders for the future.
Admissions to two-year master’s programmes at Aalto University are once a year.
The application period for studies beginning in the autumn of 2025 runs from 28 November to 27 December 2024.
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