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COMP A curriculum redesign offers g the p perfect opportunity for a Finnish pp y business school to strengthen its g connections to industry. onnections C urricular development is a university's most important core process, one that helps ensure that its programs reflect the ongoing realities of business. At HAAGA-HELIA, a university of applied sciences in Helsinki, Finland, we've found that a curricular redesign is also an opportunity for a school to strengthen its corporate relationships. Although our faculty have long histories with many of our industry contacts, we wanted to adopt a more proactive, organizational approach to corporate relations to ensure we were seeking out new partners on an ongoing basis. As part of our recent curriculum redesign, we took steps to involve industry more closely in our programs and create more opportunities to interact and pursue common goals with our corporate partners. In the process, we've made cooperation with industry a true hallmark of our program, which helps 46 July/August 2013 BizEd us better prepare our students for real-world business. The Finnish Factor Strengthening our corporate relationships was especially important given our school's national context. Scandinavia, which comprises Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, is home to a population of only 24 million people; of that number, Finland has only 5 million. These close quarters drive especially strong relationships between education and industry. In addition, hierarchies in Scandinavian companies tend to be quite low, making access to corporate leaders easier than it might be in other parts of the world. The Finnish higher education system consists of two types of institutions: universities of scientific research and universities of applied sciences. The country's 20 universities of scientific research focus on research-based instruction, while its 26 universities of applied sciences focus on practice-based education that supports the labor needs of the regional market, including degree programs, professional specializations, and adult education. Universities of applied sciences also conduct research and development activities linked to the needs of industry. That Finland formed these institutions to address the needs of business shows how deeply this country is committed to graduating students with real-world skills. Serving 10,000 students on six campuses, HAAGA-HELIA is one of Finland's largest universities of applied sciences and one of the largest providers of business education in Europe. We offer 12 BBA and MBA programs in English, Finnish, and Swedish, in areas related to business administration, management assistant education, journalism, hospitality management, information technology, and sports management. Our 210-credit bachelor degree generally takes three and DAVI D AR KY/G LOW I MAG ES BY TEEMU KOKKO