38019-Project Course in Corporate Social Responsibility and Humanitarian Logistics 2020, 10 ECTS

Master's level advanced course to be held in period 3 and 4 2020, providing hand-on experience to students on CSR and humanitarian logistics issues by working on real-world projects. The applications open on 25.11.2019 and close on 12.12.2019.

The course has been running for eight years now and the ninth iteration will be held in spring 2020 (P3 and P4).

See below for more information:

Aim of the course:

The overall aim of the course is to immerse students in questions related to social and environmental responsibility by using, analysing and solving real-world problems provided by case organisations. The students will form groups of 3-4 persons and work with a project for an organisation. Depending on the nature of the project this will entail work at the organisation for e.g. half a day every week over 8 weeks. During the project period they will gather valuable working experience and knowledge about a specific issue in relation to social and/or environmental responsibility.

The course can be taken as part of the Study Module in Corporate Responsibility .

Learning Objectives:

You are, at the end of the course, expected to have improved:

  • understand how concepts related to social and environmental responsibility are put into practice;
  • use relevant decision support models;
  • work in projects and team work more effectively;
  • use methods needed to collect and assess information;
  • orally present projects and their results

N.B. Students who have completed the earlier course Project Course in Corporate Social Responsibility and Humanitarian Logistics (8 ECTS, course code 3898) cannot take this course.

Experience of students and Project mentors from previous years:

Based on the feedback we received, the course has proved to be fruitful for the students who have taken part in the course as they have been able to form an understanding of how concepts related to social and environmental responsibility are put into practice and how to work in projects and with teams effectively. 

Elina Iamsia (former Course participant): "I think the course has been very useful to get hands-on experience and conduct a real case project in cooperation with well-known companies and NGOs, such as UNICEF. We have had possibilities of networking, learnt about adapting to the dynamic nature of project work and time management skills"

''The project filled a gap for us in our knowledge and was something concrete and which could be practically used. The results were used in different management meeting, sparking discussions and curiosity. Overall, being involved in the Project Course helped us along the way in building our own understanding of sustainability issues’’-Mentor from Danske Bank

Also read the news about the course from 2017 and 2018!

Language of Instruction:

English; some of the projects may entail knowledge of Finnish

Working hours:

267 hours divided into 
Scheduled (contact) hours: 42  h
Non-scheduled work: 225 h (incl. tutoring of groups by faculty and mentoring by the organisation; extensive project work)

Organisations from 2019

  • Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank (CACIB)
  • Elo
  • Fazer
  • Finnish Business and Society (FiBS)-2 Projects
  • Hanken School of Economics
  • Helsinki Capital Partners
  • KIOS Foundation-2 Projects
  • Nordic Healthcare Group
  • Orkla
  • Reima
  • UPM
  • Heureka
  • Médecins Sans Frontières
  • UFF

Project descriptions can be found here!

How to apply?

In order to apply for the course, please fill the form here, latest by Thursday December 12 2019. 

The application form primarily asks for:

- A brief letter of project application where you outline which of the projects (see attachment) you would be interested in working on (list three in order of preference); why and a few lines on your perceived strengths and weaknesses working in groups and projects

-Your CV-Do not forget to upload your CV!

(N.B.-We need these documents in order to optimally try to match project organisations and students. Please do not send any applications via email as that will not be acknowledged.)

What happens after the application period is over?

After the application period is over, based on the requirements of the organisations, your educational/professional background and preferences, you will be allotted a project by mid-December. Please note that we cannot allot the preferred organisation in all the cases.

More Information and queries:

For more information, please vist the Sisu of the course!

If you have any questions, please contact the course coordinator Sanchi Maheswari at prme@hanken.fi.