Hanken School of Economics

Hanken is a leading, internationally accredited university with over a hundred years of experience in education and research in economics and business administration. Our research is of an international high standard and is the foundation for all education. Hanken has close ties to the business community and an active alumni network with over 13 800 alumni working in more than 70 countries. The study environment is international and we have campuses in Helsinki and Vaasa, Finland.

The mission of Hanken is to create cutting-edge knowledge and educate responsible professionals for the global economy and changing society through research activities characterised by academic excellence and corporate world relevance. In the areas of strength in particular, the research conducted is cutting-edge. research-based education that provides Hanken graduates and executive education participants with an ability to think analytically and critically and to act in a global environment characterised by continuous change embracing the statutory responsibility for educating business graduates fluent in Swedish, while simultaneously offering programmes for international students integrating social responsibility and sustainability in all activities embracing a high degree of internationalisation in spirit, content and actions All activities are characterised by high quality, integrity, openness, responsibility and efficiency.

Hanken is acknowledged as a Nordic business school with a distinctive research, teaching and learning environment promoting cutting-edge research, effective research-based education and the development of global competences for the benefit of its graduates, of the corporate world and of society at large, i.e. a Nordic benchmark for business schools world-wide, attracting top academics, students and business partners.

Hanken School of Economics has since 1994 appointed areas of strength within research and education for a period of five years at a time. An area of strength is defined as an area where the research conducted is of an internationally competitive level. These areas are prioritised when deciding upon investments to research and are appointed by the Board of Hanken for a period of five years at a time.

The appointment of the current areas of strength is based on the evaluation an external committee, consisting of distinguished international academics, undertook of the research at Hanken in 2012. The committee conducted a systematic and objective analysis of the research conducted at all of Hanken's 10 areas of research.

The long-term strategy Hanken 2025 defines directions for decision-making by setting the strategic objectives for Hanken. The mission defines Hanken’s core purpose and the vision defines Hanken’s long-term goals. The strategic profile forms the basis for Hanken’s activities.

The substrategies define the long-term strategy more explicitly in the selected areas of Research, Teaching and Learning, Human Resources, and Marketing Communication.

The short-term strategic action plan operationalises the long-term strategy and the sub-strategies for a four-year time period. The short-terma strategic action plan includes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which are continiously monitored by the Board and by which development is measured.

To support the strategies, Hanken has a Language Policy and a Quality Policy that outline the management of quality and standards at Hanken.