EUROPEAN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMME (EBA),
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EVTEK School of Business Administration has over ten years experience in arranging international degree programmes. Already in 1993 the European Business Administration Programme was launched with Hogeschool Holland, now the School of Economics Amsterdam/Diemen, INHOLLAND University. We have had the opportunity to follow the career development of fifteen graduated entering groups in international business life. From year 1998 the School of Business Administration has arranged European Business Administration programme also with the University of Wolverhampton in England. EBA is an international double degree programme. On successful completion of this programme the students will receive a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (BBA) and the corresponding degree, Bachelor of Business Administration from Holland or the British Bachelor of Arts (Hons) degree. The EBA programmes are so called sandwich programmes, where the first, second and fourth study year is full time studies and the third study year supervised practical training. The language of tuition is English.

Students graduated from the EBA programmes have successfully found employment in international labour market, however, mainly in Europe. The strengths of this degree are excellent language skills and familiarity with working in multicultural environment. Living, studying, and practical training abroad support the student’s personal and professional growth and develop their problem solving and negotiating skills.

Goals of the Degree Programme

The aim of the first two study years is to learn to master various tools needed in business life and to familiarise the student with the different functions of a company. The students will perceive a general picture of marketing, financial accounting and HR management. By the end of the second study year the students have gained knowledge and skills that will support the practical training that lasts the whole third study year. During the practical training the students will develop further their knowledge of the chosen field and their applied business skills.

During the fourth study year the students will deepen their know-how of marketing, HR management, economics and financing or information technology. The students will reach sufficient knowledge of research methods and will write a Bachelor’s Thesis.

The thread running through the whole study time is personal and professional growth; this is emphasised in the content and implementation of the study units and in study guidance. An orientating study unit is arranged for those who will complete their practical training abroad.

The objective of the EBA programme is to provide the students with versatile abilities to work as specialists in demanding duties in international companies in Finland and abroad.

Studies

The extent of the EBA Degree Programme is 210 credits but depending on the partner institution the curricula and mobility differ from each other slightly. The following table shows the semesters studied in Finland and those studied in the partner institution. During the first two years the groups are in Finland at the same time only during the spring term of the first study year. After the practical training during the autumn term of the fourth study year the studies are carried out in one group.

In EBA/Holland programme the students will study their first semester in a new country. They will study business administration in English in a multicultural institute. The studies in Holland are in the form of lectures, independent work and information search. There are also projects that integrate the studied subjects.

In the EBA/England programme the studies of the first study year are arranged in Finland and the autumn term of the second study year is implemented in England. The students appreciate the British university traditions: the study unit implementations and independent work and information search for which the Wolverhampton Business School has exquisite facilities. Over the years the curricula have developed into unities where the transfer from one institute to another is smooth. For example the teachers with different backgrounds enrich the double-degree studies. They represent different nationalities, they have different business and research background and thus they also use different teaching methods.

All in all the studies contain several assignments and projects that are completed either in groups or independently. This requires that the students are active and motivated to invest both in the diverse working methods and in working with very different people. Thus both the content and the methods of the study units prepare the students excellently for working life.

In both EBA degree programmes the last semester will be studied in the partner institute and the final project will be carried out according to the regulations of the partner institute.

			EBA/HOLLAND	EBA/ENGLAND
Year	1	Autumn Semester	Holland	Finland
		Spring Semester	Finland	Finland
	2	Autumn Semester	Finland	England
		Spring Semester	Holland	Finland
	3	Autumn Semester	Work Placement Work Placement	Work Placement
		Spring Semester
	4	Autumn Semester	Finland	Finland
		Spring Semester	Holland	England

Practical Training and Bachelor’s Thesis

The third study year consists of ca 12 months (60 credits) practical training, during which the students will apply the gained knowledge and skills in practice, and they will determine the subjects to be studied in advanced level during the fourth study year. It is advisable to complete the practical training in another country than the country where the studies are carried out (Finland or Netherlands/England), because the aim is to gain international experience as much as possible. Many students participating in EBA/England programme will carry out their training in Holland and vice versa. Students have been in practical training also in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Spain, Malaysia, Peru, France, Germany, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, Estonia and in the United States.

Research method studies are placed to the autumn semester of the fourth study year and the Bachelor’s Thesis will be guided until the research scheme and literary analysis in Finland. The supervision of the Bachelor's Thesis itself is carried out during the last study year in the partner institute, in Netherlands or in England. The Bachelor’s Thesis is a research or survey project, which is often done for a company. It is done independently and it is the most important demonstration of skill that, combined with practical training, familiarises the student with practical work assignments.

For more information

Arja Hannukainen
Director of Degree Programmes
E-mail:arja.hannukainen@evtek.fi

Mari Rupponen
Degree Programme Assistant
E-mail:mari.rupponen@evtek.fi