The graduation ceremony celebrates graduation from Finland’s leading business school

At Aalto University School of Business, graduation is celebrated about four times a year. The largest graduation ceremony in its history so far was held on 18 September 2026 at Dipoli, when around 270 people celebrated their graduation. Each graduate was allowed to invite two close guests to the celebration, so the size of the event was evident and audible in the crowd.

‘Warm congratulations to all of you who are graduating from the best business school in Finland,’ began Dean Timo Korkeamäki in his speech. ‘Artificial intelligence offers opportunities, but it will not replace human thinking. Working life also requires so-called soft skills, such as interaction skills and emotional intelligence, and these too have been practised in the studies at the School of Business,’ the Dean said.

Pin – a small material keepsake

Since 2025, everyone graduating from Aalto University has received their degree certificate only in digital form. Instead of a paper certificate, graduates receive at the graduation ceremony, in a folder, an alumni letter signed by the President of Aalto University, in which the President congratulates them on their degree and welcomes the graduate to the Aalto alumni community. In addition to the President’s letter, the graduate’s folder includes a congratulatory letter from the Dean of the School of Business and a pin. 

Although the Graduation Party has become a thing of the past, the handing out of the pin – a small tangible keepsake – has nevertheless been continued, and nowadays the pin can be found in every graduate’s folder. The pin can be attached, for example, to the collar of a jacket or shirt or to a cuff.