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The Aalto University School of Business is a member of CEMS, the Global Alliance in Management Education, an alliance of the world’s leading business schools and large corporations. Each of the community’s 30 member universities also has its own CEMS Club.

According to Programme Manager Arja Sahlberg, the purpose of CEMS Clubs is to support networking among CEMS MIM (Master’s in International Management) students and increase awareness of CEMS and CEMS MIM. CEMS Clubs also support students in their studies and help them get acquainted with the local culture and working life. CEMS Clubs work in close cooperation with the universities’ CEMS offices and each CEMS Club has its own management team. Marleena Kurki was the President of CEMS Club Helsinki in autumn 2016.

CEMS Club Helsinki was voted the second best CEMS Club in autumn 2016. Marleena, what do you think that tells us about the club in Helsinki?

CEMS Club Helsinki has for a long time been one of the most active clubs in the CEMS network and this year, we were especially successful in organising high-quality events to our present students, alumni, corporate partners and future CEMS students.

The awards are aimed at highlighting best practices and new ideas, and it is excellent that we were chosen as one of the exemplary clubs this year. I believe we have a lot of expertise here at Aalto and in Finland that others can learn from us. Students at Aalto really have unique conditions for organising high-quality events, even if you compare them with universities abroad; our operation would not be possible without the support and resources from our student unions AYY and KY.

What kind of activities are there at CEMS Club Helsinki?

CEMS Club Helsinki organises events with the aim of bringing together the different parties in the network, generating new ideas and life-long friendships, and offering opportunities for personal development. A wide range of events are organised, including case exercises, visits to companies and different informal social events.

For example, last autumn we organised a breakfast event to which we invited the recruiters from our corporate partners to discuss the future of work with our students. In March, we organised the CEMSies on Stage event, in which CEMS alumni from all over the world shared inspiring stories about their careers with all students of Aalto.

Does CEMS Club Helsinki cooperate with CEMS Clubs in other countries? If it does, how?

Yes, it does. We share best practices between us and also communicate information about interesting events and seminars organised by other clubs across Europe. For example, we have organised joint programmes with the CEMS Clubs of Stockholm and St. Petersburg.  

The voting on the best clubs is arranged every six months as the term of the board is six months and CEMS students move to a different university every six months because of how the programme is organised. The voting comprises two stages. In the first stage, students in each university evaluate the activities and events of their own club. In the second stage, an international jury consisting of representatives of students in the programme assesses each club by giving them points for the effectiveness, quality and uniqueness of their events.

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