FRIENDS IN THE NORTH

The University of Hull has a new exchange link with the Turku School of Economics and Business Administration in Finland. Steward Arnold, Lecturer in the Department of Management Systems and Sciences, was involved in forging this new link.

"We offer degree courses in Management and Business Studies. Most of our graduates enter management careers, and we recognise that an appreciation of the international dimension will become increasingly vital for them to succeed in the future. Of course, we could incorporate international aspects into courses taught at Hull but we feel there is no substitute for a period of study abroad."

Students in Hull's four-year BA Management International programme can spend a year studying at an overseas university in either the USA, Australia or Finland. The United States and Australia sound like pretty straightforward choices, but why Finland?

"Basically, we would like to expose our students to other cultures, too, and Finland is, to most, quite unfamiliar. Additionally, Finland's unique pivotal role between East and West is attractive to students seeking an alternative perspective on business, management and trade. This exchange with the Turku School of Economics offers the students a choice to view management and business practices close at hand in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe."

According to Mr Arnold, this knowledge provides the students with an additional dimension to their knowldege, particularly relevant in the Hull area where trading links with Scandinavia and the Baltic go back centuries. "Indeed, it could be argued that the very prosperity of Hull and its environs is founded on this historic trade. As Finland and Sweden have joined the EU and the rest of the Baltic area has opened up for trade, it is fitting that the University of Hull should have an educational stake here, too."

The first students and teachers under this new link will be exchanged in the next academic year.