NCBE 2024 – Nordic Championship in Business and Economics Victory for Team Probba

05.11.2024

Team Probba secured victory at the NCBE 2024 competition, bringing the Nordic championship in business studies to Finland for the first time. The event, held in Stockholm on November 1-2, was marked by excitement and showcased high-level expertise.

NCBE 2024 Team Finland

“The competition was an overall fascinating experience that pushed us to challenge ourselves and test our learning,” says Alexandra Taranenko from the winning team.

NCBE, or the Nordic Championship in Business and Economics, is an annual competition for business and economics students from Finland, Sweden, and Norway. This year’s competition in Stockholm tested participants’ financial and business skills through an academic exam and case tasks that required problem-solving abilities.

Each participating country sends the top three teams from their national championship. From Finland, the top three teams from the BizPotential were sent: Team Boomi from Tampere University, Team KY from Aalto University, and Team Probba from Aalto University’s Mikkeli campus.

The outcome was a celebration for Finland, as, for the first time in the competition’s history, the championship trophies were brought home by Team Probba. The winning team members were Alexandra Taranenko, Nicolas Noel Perheentupa, and Phan Chau Anh Bui. Team Boomi, comprising Immu Koskinen, Noora Myyryläinen, and Pirkka Perkola, secured second place after a highly competitive contest. Team KY, featuring Belinda Puutio, Iulia Peret, and Nirmal Sugavanam, achieved an impressive fourth place.

The Competition Began with an Academic Exam

The first day of the competition kicked off with an academic exam. The teams had two hours to complete the test, which included questions covering all major business subjects.

“From the judge’s perspective, it was truly impressive to see the level of skill among the Nordic business students throughout the weekend. We might even need to make the academic portion a bit more challenging in the coming years, as the competitors demonstrated exceptionally strong knowledge,” commented Lotta Pennala, special adviser in education policy at Suomen Ekonomit and one of the competition’s judges.

Following the exam, the competition’s sponsors, Akavia and Grant Thornton, presented their organizations to the participants. The evening concluded with an international networking dinner.

Day Two: Case Tasks and the Super Final

The second day began with case tasks where creativity and teamwork shone. “You should be boldly creative and seek out-of-the-box solutions,” advises Noora Myyryläinen from Team Boomi.

“We already had experience from the BizPotential in Finland, so we approached the task with a clearer plan. Presenting was stressfull, but I felt proud of myself and my team,” says Iulia Peret from Team KY, recounting their case experience.

Teams Probba and Boomi advanced to the NCBE Gala’s super final, where they tackled multiple-choice questions that demanded quick decision-making in front of the audience. After a fierce competition, Probba emerged victorious.

“One of the biggest lessons is that, in the end, you shouldn’t fear taking risks. Even if you fail, you must keep trying. We didn’t succeed on our first attempt and had no idea we’d end up here,” reflects Nicolas Noel Perheentupa from the winning team.

Suomen Ekonomit congratulate the Finnish teams on their success. Next year’s representatives for NCBE will be selected in the BizPotential competition held in the spring.

More information:

Pennala Lotta
Special Adviser, Education Policy
p. +358440660384

Last updated

Last Spring despair overtook at times the summer job market – have the fears come true?

17.09.2024

The results of Suomen Ekonomit’s -Business Schools Graduates Finland- summer job survey reveal what the summer job situation was like for business students in the summer of 2024.

Business students, or kylterit in Finnish, have traditionally found summer employment quite easily. In the summer of 2023, as many as 91 percent of them had some form of summer job.

However, last spring, the summer job market took a clear turn for the worse. In May, we reported that business students felt that obtaining a summer job in 2024 was much more difficult than usual. 1 300 students responded to Ekonomit’s survey on the matter in Spring: 80% of them stated that securing a summer job was tougher than in 2023.

So, how did the summer actually go? Fresh results from the business students’ summer job survey show that the situation was indeed worse than previous summers.

The number of unsuccessful applicants more than doubled

This past summer was particularly poor when it came to finding a job: the number of unsuccessful job seekers more than doubled. Ten percent of kylterit applied for jobs but were unable to find employment. Last year, that figure was just four percent.

Fifty-three percent of business students managed to secure full-time summer jobs. The previous summer, this number was 65 percent.

In total, 83 percent of business students landed some kind of summer job. This is a noticeable drop compared to last year’s 91 percent.

The biggest challenges kylterit faced during their job search were standing out from the crowd and securing an interview.

Making the most of the summer

For students, summer jobs are an important way to gain work experience and earn money to supplement their income during the academic year. A poor summer job situation is disappointing for many reasons and can be stressful.

Lotta Pennala, special advisor in education policy, hopes that despite the challenging financial situation, students were able to make the most of the summer or focus on resting.

“Many universities offer a few summer courses, so students can use the time to advance their studies. On the other hand, studying is often pretty intense, so it’s not a bad idea to take it a bit easier during the summer, if possible,” says Pennala.

Sources:

Business Students’ Summer Jobs Survey 2023: 1,222 respondents
Business Students’ Summer Jobs Survey 2024: 1,464 respondents

Last updated 7.10.2024

University students struggling – financial support cuts and summer job availability seemingly at a record low

20.05.2024

The financial situation of students raised concerns and sparked discussions at the Suomen Ekonomit’s union conference on Saturday, May 18th, in Hämeenlinna. The chair of Suomen Ekonomit, Jukka-Pekka Kokkonen, urges employers to reconsider whether it would be possible to hire a summer worker for the upcoming summer.

Of the 1,300 business students who responded to our survey, well over half reported that changes to housing benefits worsened their financial situation. A quarter said their financial situation would significantly deteriorate.

A quarter of the students declared understanding the how and why of the cuts, but that the timing is particularly challenging for their livelihood.

Here are some of students’ comments:

“The cuts themselves wouldn’t be so bad, but combined with the difficult summer job situation, my financial situation is worrying, as I won’t accumulate savings over the summer.”

“I think cuts to student benefits are a good thing. But when considering what other budget lines aren’t getting cut simultaneously, the cuts seem unfair and unreasonable.”

Employers should reconsider hiring summer workers

This year’ summer job situation has been poor for business students. A staggering 80% of students reported that getting a summer job has been more difficult than last year.

Business students have traditionally been well-employed during the summer. Last summer, 91% of respondents to the Business & Economics students – Kylteri – summer job survey found employment. Only 4% had unsuccessfully applied for summer jobs. The Kylteri summer job survey is conducted every fall, and in 2023, it had 1,222 business student respondents.

Now, it looks like more and more students will have to get by without summer job income.

“Weak financial support often also challenges mental health, and this already affects the entire society. We can’t afford to lose these young people. Last week there were positive economic growth signals, and that’s why I appeal to entrepreneurs: consider once more if hiring a summer worker is possible. For many students, summer earnings are a crucial part of their financial support during studies and allow for more effective studying. This way, students can graduate on time and young professionals can enter the workforce,” says Jukka-Pekka Kokkonen, chair of Suomen Ekonomit.

Here are some of students’ comments on their summer job search this spring:

“I sent close to 50 job applications to a wide range of places (from cleaner to store cashier), and I wasn’t selected for any. It’s frustrating that the poor financial situation of a student is entirely blamed on the individual.”

“I applied for almost a hundred summer jobs, and only then did I get one. Each summer job had hundreds of applicants, and I eventually got a job that wasn’t even publicly advertised.”

“The summer job search has been much harder. I have two bachelor’s degrees and two master’s degrees in my field, even though I’m 23 years old. Yet, I didn’t get into any job in my field, despite making about 40 applications.”

More information:

Pajoslahti Anton
Career Coach
p. +358504381399
Erämaja Elias
Chief Economist
p. +358407471854
Last updated 30.5.2024

The team of Svenska Handelshögskolans Studentkår (SHS) won the Biz Potential 2023 competition

15.05.2023

The SHS team was declared the Finnish champion of business and economics in Jyväskylä on May 12–13, 2023, after claiming the first place at Biz Potential 2023.

“The competition was extremely competitive, and the winner was chosen by a very small margin. The winning team impressed the judges with their in-depth analysis and effective structure in solving the case task,” commented Max Liikka, the Chairman of the Jury and an education policy expert at Suomen Ekonomit. 

Biz Potential is a competition organized by Suomen Ekonomit and Danske Bank, for students of business and economics. The competition tests students’ knowledge of economics and business through a theory exam and problem-solving case tasks. The winning team from SHS received a prize of €3,000 and the title of Finnish Champions of Business and Economics. 

The team of Enklaavi ry came in second place and received €2,000, while the team of KY ry came in third place and received €1,000. 

The top three teams from the competition will represent Finland in the Nordic Championship of Business and Economics, a competition for commerce and economics students in the Nordic countries, which will be held in either Norway or Denmark in the fall of 2023. 

“We came to Jyväskylä with the goal to finnish in the better scored half of the teams but the win undeniably feels very good. The competition was very well organised and it was fun to get to take part in it. Jyväskylä as a city was also a positive surprise!” said Sebastian Ståhlberg, the captain of the winning team. 

The Biz Potential 2023 competition was open to all student members of Suomen Ekonomit. In the qualifying round, 42 teams competed for a spot in the final weekend, which took place at the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics. During the final weekend, 15 teams took the theory exam and a challenging case task, and the top four teams advanced to the fast-paced superfinal. In the superfinal, these teams took the stage and answered multiple-choice questions at a rapid pace. 

For the first time, representative teams from all Finnish business student organizations participated in the final weekend. “The goal of having every business student organization participate in the competition was fulfilled, which was fantastic. It was great to see teams from different cities compete against each other. Hopefully, we will continue to see the same active participation in the coming years,” commented Aku Buckbee, the project manager of the event. 

More information: 

Last updated

A student should study, not wait for treatment

01.11.2022

The Kylteri Chairs’ network is concerned about the insufficient resources of the Student Health Service. The queues are long and the students’ health is deteriorating. This cannot continue.

The statutory task of the Student Health Care Foundation is to organize health and medical services for students, promote the students’ health and ability to study, and promote the well-being of the study environment and community. At the moment, however, it seems almost impossible to fulfil the statutory task because of insufficient resources. Access to non-urgent healthcare may take an unreasonable amount of time. While students are queuing up for services, their problems and challenges deteriorate.

‘The fulfillment of the statutory task has failed if students’ coping is at stake and appointments are not available around Finland. This cannot continue’, snaps the Kylteri Chairs’ network Chair Emilia Winqvist.

The lack of resources needs to be addressed now

In particular, access to mental health services is clogged. The students may have to wait for the first treatment contact for months, unless it is a life-threatening, critical situation. This is particularly difficult for those students who already struggle to cope and who need to work hard to seek help. Some of them may give up seeking help, because they feel like they spend all their time on the telephone, listening to the muzak of the YTHS customer service.

However, this is not the fault of the YTHS’s skilled staff or students using their services. This is a question of resourcing. The services were already congested before the UAS students joined the services and the situation has only worsened. In order for the YTHS to be able to better serve its customers, i.e. students, resources must be reviewed. State funding must meet the needs of students, because we cannot afford to lose any young people to mental health problems or other diseases.

Part of the funding of the YTHS comes from the YTHS contribution, which each student has to pay twice a year, even if they don’t not use the services.

‘In this situation, it is worth considering whether it is fair that every student has to pay a YTHS contribution without guaranteeing that help will be available when it is needed’, Winqvist continues.

Last updated

We need more success in Finland – international students will help Finland succeed

19.01.2021

During the last year numerous discussions in Finland focused on education- and work-based migration without demonstrating a winning narrative for an ambitious Finnish future.

Kuvituskuva

In the 2019 OECD report Finland ranked 4th in attracting university students. We should make good use of this talent availability. The effort should be on how to help open doors for international students from policy-making to quality services and retention of graduates. 

Currently around 5 000 international degree students graduate annually in Finnish universities. This amount should rise quickly to at least quadruple. Many major labour market and educational organisations have promoted raising the amount significantly.

Why does this matter? 

By increasing the amount of international degree students and better integrating them to the labour market, we enable success. By having a big enough, diverse and skilled talent pool, we can upkeep welfare, increase human capital and promote more jobs and investment in Finland. 

”International students will help Finnish organisations compete in the increasingly global war for talent. The winning narrative includes the Finnish DNA of offering everyone an equal chance for common good which in the long run retains Finland its position as a champion of innovation, prosperity and equality”, career development and employer relations project manager Kamilla Sultanova states.  

Demographic ageing trends in the OECD countries leads to an increased global race of attracting young international talent. In contrast, in 2030 Africa will be the only continent where the amount of young adults will continue to increase.

A more comprehensive approach is needed 

“Finland needs ambitious national goals for education- and work-based migration. A shared and deeper commitment enables building up a vigilant will to mobilise stakeholders and to make change happen”, special advisor Ted Apteremphasises.

Companies, unions, NGOs, universities and public sector enablers can help to sustainably increase the total amount of international students. The key to drive successful attraction and retention is to secure ethnically diverse professionals in all planning and implementation. With increased resources, a common goal and a diverse team of change-makers, we can deliver on an ambitious national goal and reap benefits for everyone.  


Ted Apter
Special Advisor
the Finnish Business School Graduates 
Tel. 0400 602 439, ted.apter@ekonomit.fi

Kamilla Sultanova 
Project Manager, Career development and employer relations
Tel. 040 451 7080, sultanova@gmail.com


Additional information:

The Finnish Business School Graduates – Growth company policies


Kamilla Sultanova, 

Employing international students in Finland through university talent management programs 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/matching-dream-employers-employees-vice-versa-kamilla-sultanova/

International student helping Finnish companies succeed during COVID 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx4TzvJLv_o 

Last updated

What should you pay a summer employee? Read our new pay recommendations and what students earned last summer

16.12.2020

Our recommendations on the summer job pay of business students have once again been published. They also include a recommendation on the starting salary of recent graduates as well as thesis pay or remuneration.

Despite the summer job situation being worse than before during the past summer, the average monthly earnings of business school students increased from last year. However, annual income dropped at the same time.  

The earnings of female and male students matched on an annual level: the median annual income for both was €10,000. In 2019, the figure stood at €11,000.  

The median annual income for both was €10,000. In 2019, the figure stood at €11,000.  

As regards the comparison of salaries paid to men and women, there was an interesting swing: In 2019, female students earned more from their summer jobs on average than their male counterparts. The median salaries for men and women stood at €2,100 and €2,149, respectively. This year, men had a clear lead over women. The median salary for men was €2,200, while the women’s median stood at €2,100.  

The factor that can help explain the substantially wider gap is that the majority of the women who participated in the students’ summer job survey worked in customer service and sales tasks, which do not pay very well.  

These factors increased summer earnings  

Summer workers in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area earned significantly more on average than students who worked anywhere else in Finland. In the Metropolitan Area, the median pay was €2,205 while elsewhere in Finland it was €2,060.  

The number of credits the students had accumulated increased the pay level. The median salary was €2,046 for those who had fewer than 120 credits and €2,359 for those who had more than 220 credits.  

The amount of pay was also affected by whether or not the summer job was in the student’s own field of study. For business students, most of whom worked in their own fields, the median pay was €2,200. If the summer job did not match the student’s field at all, the median pay stood at €1,950. The difference increased significantly from the previous year.  

Pay recommendations for 2021 

The annual recommendations on students’ summer job pay are issued by the Finnish Business School Graduates’ working life committee. The new recommendations are listed in the table below. The recommendations are based on the business students’ summer job survey and the forecasts released by Akava Works.  

Visit our pay recommendations page for the recommendations on thesis pay or remuneration and the starting salary of recent business school graduates.

Text: Ida Levänen

Last updated

Business needs healthy professionals – student associations provide grass-roots education on mental health

15.11.2020

Finnish Business School Graduates works to support student associations and will be participating in the Mental Health Week activities between 15 and 22 November.

The mental health first aid courses include information and discussions about mental health issues. The intention is to reduce the stigma of mental health issues and make it easier for business students to seek help.

Over the course of the Mental Health Week, Finnish Business School Graduates will be providing students with a variety of information and content in cooperation with mental health specialists. The aim is to demonstrate that factors such as education, title or personal characteristics do not define who can fall prey to mental health issues and burnout.

 Burnout is becoming more commonplace among students

An increasing number of students suffer from fatigue and even burnout. Many find themselves overstressed and unhappy.

Yet very few seek help because mental health issues remain stigmatised. This is alarming.

“The business sector needs motivated, healthy and capable professionals who tackle their tasks with the appropriate enthusiasm. This means that employers and employees alike must ensure that any possible challenges are spotted and addressed as early on as possible,” says Jari Elo, operations manager at Finnish Business School Graduates.

Jobseeking is equally stressful as studies

The worries of finding employment and accumulating work experience add to the study-related pressures of students.

“At the same time, students need friends, stimulating recreational activities and other fun things to do alongside their studies and possible work tasks. That is a lot for one person to handle,” says Kalle Kahanpää of the Turku School of Economics. As the chairman of the student association, Kahanpää is one of the campaign’s originators.

Dubbed Healthy mind, happy student, the campaign is an important indication that students want to have their say and spark discussion about this vital issue.

The courses on mental health first aid are an excellent way to ensure that business school graduates begin to discuss the promotion of mental health alongside physical health more openly.

Additional information

Kalle Kahanpää
Puheenjohtaja, Kylteripuheenjohtajien verkosto
040 5252330

Veera Hellman
Asiantuntija, työmarkkina- ja yhteiskuntapolitiikka
050 3858229

Last updated 16.11.2020

‘Kylli’ student contact person at your service

31.08.2020

‘Kyllis’ are employees of the Finnish Business School Graduates organization working on business school campuses. Their mission is to help all student members tap into the best benefits of their Finnish Business School Graduates membership.

Your place of study has its own kylli to whom you can turn for help in various questions. He or she serves as an expert and mentor for both individual students and the economics student community as a whole.

Kyllis give advice, arrange events and spread information. To stay best updated, follow your local kylli on social media.

Kyllis have been trained to provide career advice and work on education policy and labour market affairs. Kyllis can help with a variety of working life issues, such as job search and salary negotiations. Kyllis can also lend support when it comes to writing job applications and CVs or getting prepared for a job interview. Therefore, do not hesitate to turn to your local kylli whenever a need arises.

Kyllis also make sure to swiftly inform the students when something significant happens on the labour market or society as a whole. During the corona spring, for example, kyllis spread information about employment contracts and lay-offs related to summer employment.

Kyllis also arrange and help arrange events, from small-scale get-togethers to larger spectator events. They organise CV workshops, training events, theme weeks and competitions, for example.

Kyllis receive support from the Finnish Business School Graduates office and its experts, who also happily visit various events and provide training. Kyllis can also be requested to come and speak at events and training sessions.

Kyllis happily answer any questions about Finnish Business School Graduates membership and related services. Whether you are a fresher or nearly graduated, we are always there for you.

How do I know if I am a student member of the Finnish Business School Graduates?

  • Students of economics sciences are members of the Finnish Business School Graduates organization through their own student communities.
  • If you study economic sciences in a multisectoral university, your membership is activated as you join the economics student association of your own university.
  • If you study at the Hanken School of Economics, you become our student member automatically.

Follow your local kylli on social media

Helsinki: Hanken SHS Facebook / Instagram

Helsinki: KY Facebook / Instagram

Joensuu: Optimi Facebook / Instagram

Jyväskylä: Pörssi Facebook / Instagram

Kuopio: Preemio Facebook / Instagram

Lappeenranta: Enklaavi Facebook / Instagram

Oulu: Finanssi Facebook / Instagram

Pori: PorKy Facebook / Instagram

Tampere: Boomi Facebook / Instagram

Turku: Turun KY Facebook / Instagram

Turku: Merkantila Klubben Facebook / Instagram

Vaasa: SSHV Facebook / Instagram

Vaasa: Warrantti Facebook / Instagram

Last updated 9.11.2021