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The business and economics alumni association Kauppatieteiden Kandidaattiyhdistys ry has made a donation to the School of Business targeting their donation to the school’s international student exchange program.  With its donation, the association wants to support the internationalization of students at the School of Business and the creation of international networks, as well as help increase students' social capital.

Vuokko Skyttä, Chairman of the association says that she got the idea for donating after visiting the School of Business website.

‘I noticed that the school is turning 110 years and that they have a related fundraising campaign going on. As the financial situation of our association is good, I made a proposal to the board for a donation to the school’s international student exchange program. The board got excited about it and accepted the proposal unanimously,’ says Skyttä.

‘It was important to us that the target of our donation be concrete and future-oriented. Experiences abroad are wonderful and expansive. Studying abroad develops social courage as well as the courage to ask and learn from the answers one hears. However, money is often tight for students.’

Lobbying and having fun

The alumni association Kauppatieteiden kandidaattiyhdistys ry was founded in 1925, and all their members have a higher university degree in business administration or economics. Initially, only alumni of the Helsinki School of Economics were accepted as members of the association, but later graduates from other Finnish business schools have also been able to join.

In the early days of the association, lobbying was a key part of its activities and it did a lot of work to raise the profile of the university degree in business. Festivities and fun have also been in the program since the beginning, and until the 1970s the association was responsible for organizing the Helsinki School of Economics’ promotional dances, among other things.

In recent decades, the association has focused especially on organizing activities of leisure. According to the association's secretary Kristiina Linnoinen, the annual spring and autumn trips, company visits, and theater and other cultural trips are always filled with participants as soon as the registration opens.

‘The members of our association are similar in that they share the same kind of memories from the student days and in that they are interested in business life and all societal development. In our meetings, conversations set off quickly, as like-minded people connected by a similar background are gathered together.’

Although very active at the moment, the association, which will be 100 years old in a few years, is not actively recruiting new members. There are plans to close the association after the centenary year.

‘Young people today live in a very different world, so perhaps young alumni will eventually form an association of their own. We, however, aim for the 100th anniversary celebrations and then put up the shutters. It may be that we at that point want to make a new donation to the School of Business’, says Kristiina Linnoinen.

Vuokko Skyttä encourages others to donate as well.

‘I believe that donating to the School of Business is in the interests of other associations and communities as well, as supporting education contributes to the success of individuals, businesses and the society as a whole. And when you target a donation to student exchange, you can give students great experiences and excellent skills for life.’

Thank you for the donation!

Webpage of the association: