I am in the midst of organising the Business Essentials for Scientists 2014 course. There’s just over 2 weeks to course kick-off and the level of interest has been beyond what I expected. There are only 20 places and I had 50 applications, which clearly demonstrates a need for this sort of “crash-course” to business education & the chance to meet “real” business people & entrepreneurs.

I have had applications from students in Biosciences and Medicine to those in IT and Behavioural Sciences, all the way from Bachelor to MBA level from both Åbo Akademi and University of Turku. It has been agonising trying to choose applicants, especially those who are clearly desperate to take the course, and the decision of who to take was not taken lightly. Some have asked why can’t I have more spaces on the course. The reason for this is simple. Smaller classes foster better interaction between the speaker and the students, as well as between the students themselves. In Finland, the classes are naturally very quiet affairs with few students actually being proactive and asking questions. I don’t want this to be a lecture course, where students sit, listen take notes and then leave without ever engaging with the speakers or each other.

Congratulations to those who were accepted on the course, I expect great things from you!