Programme overview
The Business Lead Programme is a unique integration programme for educated refugees and immigrants that benefits all stakeholders involved, immigrants, company partners and Finnish society at large. The programme consists of five live modules addressing the Finnish and
European business landscape and organisational culture, strategic leadership, project management, finance and a sales and service mindset. The participants in the programme also have access to a virtual learning environment and will have the opportunity to take part in mentoring. The programme will end with a 3-month internship in a company in Finland.
Through participating in the programme, educated refugees and immigrants can quickly contribute to Finnish business and advance their career. Hanken & SSE runs the program together with Hanken School of Economics.
Business Lead won the award for best Talent Development program in Europe by EFMD in 2018.
Content & structure
- 10 days of live learning
- Topics include Finnish and European business landscape, strategic leadership, project management, finance, sales and customer excellence
- A virtual learning environment
- Group mentoring
- A 3-month unpaid internship in a company in Finland
Who the programme is for
The program is for unemployed academically educated refugees and
immigrants, who have English language skills and relevant work
experience and that hold a valid residence permit in Finland.
The aim of the program is to introduce and integrate educated refugees and immigrants into Finnish working life.
Benefits & value
- Participants benefit from an integrated live and virtual learning
experience, mentoring and a 3-month internship in a company which will
help improve future opportunities in working life
- New business capabilities and cultural understanding
- Expanded network
- Developed business skills and vocabulary
- A chance for further career opportunities
Programme Director
Pernilla Gripenberg
Pernilla Gripenberg (Ph.D.) is a
Programme Director at Hanken & SSE Executive Education, guest lecturer
at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki and a Hanken EMBA
facilitator.
Pernilla has close to twenty years of experience of business
education from basic to MBA and executive levels in a variety of areas
in management and organisation.
Her recent focus has been on leadership issues, self-leadership and
personal efficiency, leading for top performance, change leadership, and
communication and presentation skills. Her research has centered around
virtual organising, she has also worked in the areas of work well-being
and innovation. Pernilla is a co-editor of the Routledge-book (2012) :
‘Challenging the Innovation Paradigm’.
As programme director with a strong pedagogical approach she has been
highly appreciated by clients and participants. She has worked with
companies from a variety of industries, like banking, telecom,
engineering, retail, retail property management, construction and the
food industry.