Entrepreneurial university
Enterprise is the ability to recognize opportunities, to innovate, and to create something new. In the Entrepreneurial University, you learn by doing and experimenting together!
Enterprise is a state of mind
Through Entrepreneurial university of HAMK, you can develop your own business ideas, expand your business expertise, tackle business challenges, and work in a wide variety of teams. At HAMK, you have the opportunity to make choices and a difference in forging a study path that suits you!
HAMK delivers its Entrepreneurial University concept through optional studies, which are suitable for all HAMK students. Some of these study modules are available in both Finnish and English. We also have options in this area for those studying towards a master’s degree and for those studying at an open university of applied sciences. Check out our study offerings below and sign up in Pakki!
At Startup Business School, you get to implement solutions to either your own or a business opportunity or one provided to you. A business opportunity can be a product, service or even a business idea. This study package consists of three parts: finding a business opportunity, commercialising the idea, and modelling the business.
In the finding a business opportunity phase, the key things to consider are your intended customers, users, needs, and solution ideas.
The overall commercialisation of the idea includes the concept, value proposition, customer experience, and prototyping.
Modelling the business will includes exploring the operational model, economic prototype, experimentation, MVP (Minimum Viable Service), working hours plan, and metrics.
The Amazing Business Train (ABT) is literally the fastest course at HAMK, where student teams hop on board and transform their business idea from a mere concept into an operational model using various business design tools. The ABT is a unique train trip from Hämeenlinna to Oulu and back!
Next ABT is available only in Finnish.
Business Design studies focus on business design and development. In these studies, you will learn to apply the processes and methods of service and business design to a business challenge of your choice, and then create solutions to these challenges. This course focuses on the different steps of the so-called double-loop process: preparation, perspective selection, developing understanding, ideating and selecting solutions, prototyping, and business experimentation.
Service Design explores the design and development of services in a customer-oriented way. Businesses are increasingly interested in service design, which makes these studies highly relevant in today’s business landscape.
Service design studies provide conceptual models and new ways of thinking, practical methods, and tools for designing and developing customer-oriented services. The service design process is based on ‘design thinking’ and aims to design services that balance the needs of the customer, the user, and the company in a way that creates a high-quality service experience.
Project work is a very common way of working in today’s world. It is worth practising this way of working already during your studies, and cSchool projects offer you an excellent opportunity to gain experience of working on projects in various team settings.
cSchool projects are development projects of different types and sizes that seek solutions to business challenges faced by employers. During the projects, you will search for information and analyse and use this data to tackle a specific challenge. Students analyse the resulting development solutions together with their fellow participants. This allows students to build up a wide range of competencies and supports their development in terms of knowledge, skills, and mindsets. cSchool projects can be related to either marketing, business or events.
cSchool projects can be implemented as part of modules, as part of business studies, and as electives.
Get to know us!
Vesa Tuomela
Lazy Lecturer
About me: I’m colour-blind and that’s why colours and the contrasts between them are important to me.
My hot take: Business design leads to better businesses.
How I work: First I do. Then I think.
I know: By reading and listening to e-books. By doing and experimenting. By taking pictures. By watching and writing.
I want to be able to: Listen, integrate, experiment, fear.
My people: Curious learners and experts.
Jukka Raitanen
Community Clown
About me: I can’t build or even design anything physical.
My hot take: Business design leads to better businesses.
How I work: Reactive and conversational.
I know: By being interested in the world and reading more. I don’t really know anything about science, that’s why I have trouble designing mechanical things.
I want to be able to: Sports psychology and mindset, epistemology, systematic philosophy.
My people: interesting people whose world views help shape my own.
Anni Pajunen
Head of Protocol
About me: I’m not very creative. I’d rather improve the old than create the new.
My hot take: Working together is the best way to achieve the best result. Plus, doing and learning together is more fun!
How I work: You plan carefully, you make, you try, you fix, you try again and finally you polish, polish, and polish some more. I could endlessly polish and tweak everything that I’ve ‘almost finished’.
I know: By finding out. I ask, read, watch, and experiment.
I want to be able to: Be brave, curious, positive, and encouraging.
My people: Knowledgeable and talented people who inspire me to develop.
Anu Viherä
Numerator
About me: In everything I do, I always take into account the choreography and drama arc, sometimes successfully and sometimes not.
My hot take: Rapid movements are spectacular and, if necessary, the hand-turns are in order.
How I work: I plan randomly, try, and change the plan when the situation requires.
I know: From experience
I want to be able to: To look at things from several different perspectives and to understand.
My people: Different but interesting.
Risto Järvinen
The 90´s Lecturer
About me: I’m doing the fullest. I completely relax.
My hot take: To be successful in business requires an entrepreneurial attitude, courage and commitment.
How I work: Well-designed is half done.
I know: With the help of three by… by listening, by writing and by experimenting.
I want to be able to: Know how to train, guide and inspire.
People I know: First class experts and enthusiastic students.
Minna Tarkkala
Multifunction machine
Sari Hanka
Maintainer of Everyday Order
About me: Courage and initiative. My motto is ‘you’ve got to remember to dream!’
My hot take: Focus on the things we can influence ourselves.
How I work: Top down – the devil is in the details.
I know: By doing, observing, listening, and discussing. Reading comes later – where can you link what you’ve learned to the theory.
I want to be able to: Learn something new every day.
My people: Are very different, and that’s what makes them so interesting to me.
Options from our partners:
Linna Business Tournament: IDEAseries
The IDEAseries is one of three business support programs provided through the Linna Business Tournament. The IDEAseries offers coaching for new and would-be entrepreneurs alike. Through the coaching provided in the IDEAseries, you will receive expert sparring and also have the opportunity to get funding to develop your new business idea. The IDEAseries is organised three times a year. Check out the IDEAseries here!
Frush
Frush is an event that innovates the circular economy. Each year, the event features a number of interesting speakers on a variety of topics related to the circular economy. The event also includes a Business Pitch competition to find fresh and innovative business ideas. The competition is open to both students and start-up entrepreneurs.
What is all about?
An Entrepreneurial University is a learning environment that enables students to build their own learning path, experiment, develop their own business ideas, and work in different kinds of teams. The aim is to give students ownership of their own learning journey.
The values of an Entrepreneurial University include curiosity and the desire to learn new things. In an Entrepreneurial University, tutors also have the desire to learn new things together with students. We jointly create a safe learning environment where mistakes and blunders are allowed. That’s how we learn best.
But an Entrepreneurial University is not just for those with business dreams. Entrepreneurship in the HAMK learning environment refers to the ability to identify opportunities, innovation, and the ability to create something new. An Entrepreneurial University also teaches you about business and service development, customer experience and customer focus, and how to design a profitable business.
The Entrepreneurial University concept comprises three tiers or phases: 1. Entrepreneurial mindset and competencies; 2. New entrepreneurship; and 3. Renewable entrepreneurship. The first step is to create the conditions and skills for entrepreneurship. In the second phase, the knowledge and skills ac improved. The Entrepreneurial University concept is based on the Council of Rectors of Finnish Universities’ (UNIFI) guidelines on promoting entrepreneurship in higher education.