Student helped Nessling Foundation redesign the customer journey for the sustainability award gala
Redefining the selling points was a key factor for the student.
The Aalto University School of Business has a long tradition of co-operation with different kinds of organizations, but the focus has mainly been on corporations. In line with the School’s motto Better Business – Better Society, the School wishes to provide more opportunities for its students to engage in collaboration with NGOs. One of the means to do so is through student projects, where the students tackle real-life challenges presented by NGOs. The project concept will be piloted in the academic year 2022-23.
The NGO project concept has been developed in collaboration with our School’s faculty members, management and experts, as well as Fingo.
The projects students carry out for the participating NGOs can be research and development projects, such as the development of a marketing and communication plan, the creation of an event concept, the comparison of different systems or the development of operational processes (e.g. member recruitment). It is essential that the topic of the project is related to the themes of business and economics so that the students can include it in their degrees. You can get acquainted with the programs of the School of Business here.
The project coordinator from the School of Business will search for a suitable academic supervisor for the topic, but if one cannot be found or is unavailable, the project cannot be undertaken as a part of this concept. It is highly recommended that NGOs contact the coordinator as early as possible.
The projects are free of charge for the NGO (excl. possible travel and other project-related expenses accrued by the student(s) which are always agreed in advance).
In this part you will find some detailed information and advices on projects.
As a non-governmental organization, you can find a student from the Aalto University School of Business to carry out your development project either:
The project can be undertaken by an individual student or a group of students from Aalto University School of Business. The scope of the project corresponds to 6 study credits per student (1 credit equals approximately 27 hours of study).
It is the responsibility of the NGO to select a suitable student and describe the objectives of the project. The School of Business is responsible for the academic guidance, but you naturally have the best knowledge of your day-to-day operations. The amount of work and involvement of the NGO depends on the topic and how the project is implemented. In some cases, the student will not need much guidance or materials from you during the project, but it is important to stay in contact also in-between the formal project meetings.
The topic of the project must be such that it is suitable for a student studying at the Aalto University School of Business, at the bachelor's or master's level. In other words, the students must be able to use the skills and knowledge they have learned in their studies (see our school’s degree programs). The topic is approved by the project coordinator and ultimately by the project supervisor. The NGO must be prepared to adapt the subject to suit both the master's level studies and the required six credits.
The focus of the project can be, for example, to:
The project includes at least three project meetings, where the student(s), the contact person from the NGO (as well as other potentially relevant persons) and the academic supervisor of the project meet. The project coordinator from the school is also invited to at least the first and the last meeting.
The student(s) will write a news article about the project on the aalto.fi website. The article can also be published on the NGO's own channels. The article is approved by both the NGO and the school. Any confidential information will not be published in the article, but it is important to highlight the topic of the project and its key findings at a general level. After the project, feedback is collected from all participants to be able to develop the project concept.
The NGO must nominate a person responsible for the project, who is also the student's primary contact person. Several other persons in your organization may also be involved – e.g. in providing information to the student or as interviewees. The contact person is responsible for attending all the project meetings and keeping the project coordinator informed on the project.
The project coordinator approves the topic tentatively and finds an academic supervisor for the project. She/he also helps the NGO promote the topic to students as needed (including using JobTeaser). The coordinator is also the primary point of contact for practical matters.
The academic supervisor is responsible for the academic content of the project. She/he guides the student in choosing the right methods and implementing the project professionally. The academic supervisor also ultimately evaluates how well the given topic (the content of the topic and the amount of work required) is suitable for the student's performance.
The student (or students) is responsible for planning and conducting the project, delivering the agreed project outcomes and writing a news article on the project. She/he is also responsible for signing up to the course in Sisu.
You can advertise your project to a wider group of students at the School of Business by publishing it on the Aalto JobTeaser service. In the same service, you can also advertise other job and internship positions and thesis assignments (note the publication terms!).
The project advert must follow the next terms / steps to be published and to be better noticed by our students. The coordinator will seek for the academic supervisor before the advert is published.
More detailed instructions are same as for other job adverts and you’ll find them here. There will also be video to guide you through posting a project advert (published later).
Aalto University’s School of Business has its own Partnership Programme to build and maintain close, long-term relations with companies. The programme is the only one of its kind in Finnish universities, and also connects the partners with the other Schools and fields at Aalto University.
We will publish all articles written on NGO projects here. The articles are written by the project teams and approved by the NGO.
Redefining the selling points was a key factor for the student.