Finland's oldest education export program, Executive MBA degree in South Korea, celebrates its 30th anniversary
Aalto EE's impact on Korean business has been significant
The Aalto University EMBA alumni in Korea are important ambassadors between Korea and Finland
The 30th anniversary of Aalto University EMBA in South Korea brought together 250 alumni and friends on September 4th in Gangnam, Seoul. The festive event was organized by Aalto University’s Korean partner aSSIST University.
Since 1995, Aalto University Executive Education (and the Helsinki School of Economics before the establishment of Aalto) has been collaborating closely with aSSIST University (Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies) to offer a joint MBA program.
Almost 5000 Aalto Executive MBA graduates in Korea
Thanks to the long-term collaboration, there are now 4,969 Aalto EMBA graduates in Korea, many of whom work in top positions of global companies in South Korea and beyond. The aSSIST University and Aalto University joint alumni event brought together nearly 250 Aalto EMBA alumni and friends of the program.
President of aSSIST University Yong-joo Choi welcomed the alumni and guests and highlighted the long history of education collaboration and the very special relationship between the partners. He also stated how, as the new President having started this year, he will continue the work for the successful development of the joint MBA program.
Building ties between the two countries
In his welcome remarks, President of Aalto University Ilkka Niemelä highlighted the importance of alumni for universities. He emphasized the role of alumni as ambassadors between the two countries and extended his wish to the Korean alumni to keep in touch with Finland and with Aalto University.
Dong-sung Cho, Chairman of aSSIST University, discussed in his congratulatory remarks the opportunities and outlooks of executive education. He provided an insightful look both into the history of the collaboration between Finland and Korea in business education and into the business education to come.
The Ambassador of Finland in Seoul, Jyri Järviaho, followed with his congratulatory remarks, where he noted the very important role that the 30-year-long collaboration between the Helsinki School of Economics/Aalto University and aSSIST have played in building and strengthening ties between the two countries.
Significant 30-year history
In his Jubileum Speech, Timo Korkeamäki, Dean of Aalto University School of Business, also highlighted the significance of the 30-year history and commended the pioneering work of Professors Veikko Jääskeläinen and Dong-sung Cho in setting up the program.
He then focused on current trends in business studies, such as changing demands of the job market caused especially by technological developments such as AI. He also presented some of the challenges that US business schools currently face, including diminishing enrollment numbers due to smaller age cohorts and a tighter immigration policy.
Dean Korkeamäki explained how Aalto University’s strengths will allow it to thrive in spite of the challenges, but also brought up the need to secure resources while government funding in Finland has been declining. The university is therefore currently running a fundraising campaign.
Distinguished Alum Recognition to Eun-mi Chae
A long-time Board member in the Aalto University Alumni Association in Korea, Ms. Eun-mi Chae, Chairwoman in the Board of Directors of the SKC Co., Ltd., was presented the Distinguished Alum Recognition by Dean Korkeamäki and President Niemelä. Ms. Eun-mi Chae has shown extraordinary dedication to alumni engagement, notably through her active involvement and leadership in the Aalto University EMBA Alumni Association in Korea. Her leadership has strengthened the alumni network and inspired future generations of Aalto graduates.
Fond memories of Finland
The opportunities for the support of Aalto University particularly in student mobility between Aalto University and South Korea came up in the discussions. The Korean alumni have all done a part of their EMBA studies in Finland, some almost 30 years ago, and all appeared to have very fond memories of the Finland visit. Hopefully we will have a chance to see many of them visit Finland again and experience the exciting activities at Aalto University today.
In a smaller gathering the evening before, fourteen Aalto University alumni met with some of Aalto University leadership. Most of the alumni had a degree from Aalto’s art & design programs. There was a strong wish to have these kinds of get-togethers regularly in the future, and the goal is to have a bigger event sometime in the spring 2026.
For more information:
Hannu Seristö
Associate Vice President & Director, Advancement
Aalto University
hannu.seristo@aalto.fi
Jonna Söderholm
Head of External Relations, Aalto University School of Business
jonna.soderholm@aalto.fi
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