The People Management and Organizational Development programme meets the competence needs of human resource management

The new master's programmes of the School of Business from autumn 2022 are People Management and Organizational Development and Strategic Management in a Changing World in the Department of Management Studies and Business Analytics in the Department of Information and Service Management. These programmes are open for application for the first time at the turn of the year 2021–2022. In addition, the structure of the Global Management Programme (CEMS) will be reformed.

The purpose of the People Management and Organizational Development programme is to train professionals and managers with the ability to manage staff successfully and responsibly as well as to develop the operations of organisations in a rapidly changing world.

Senior University Lecturer Saija Katila, who is one of the developers of the programme, explains how the programme to a large extent stands out from other degree programmes in the field.

‘Finland and other Nordic countries lack a high-quality two-year master's programme, which prepares students especially for tasks related to human resource (HR) management and organisational development, as well as for consulting in these fields. The programme has been designed and implemented in close cooperation with private, public, and third sector actors.’

The School of Business Department of Management Studies is also one of Europe's leading centres of expertise in the research area of HR management. By bringing together top professionals in the field and world-class researchers, the programme ensures that students have access to the latest information.

The programme can be applied for with wide variety of backgrounds

Today, professionals in HR management and organisational development come from various educational backgrounds. One has studied business, the other social sciences, and the third law, but few have had the opportunity to familiarise themselves diversely with all the areas that are important for a successful work in the field.

‘The programme therefore aims to attract students who are enthusiastic about managing people and developing organisations, whether they have a bachelor's degree in business, law, industrial engineering, or social sciences,’ says Saija Katila.

The theoretical foundation of the programme is broad-based. The programme utilises management theories, psychology, social psychology, communication, and sociology, to name a few.

Strong theoretical background is combined with practical orientation. The aim is to learn to analyse and solve organisations’ practical problems through experience-based and problem-based learning. Cooperation with global companies, public sector organisations, as well as voluntary organisations ensures that students encounter interesting and diverse challenges to solve.

Approximately 40 students will be admitted to the programme on the first time. In the future, the aim is to increase admission to 60 students. Newly graduated students will mainly be placed as HR experts, developers, and consultants in large organisations, and will progress to different management positions in the field in 10–15 years.