Grants and Teaching Awards

Hanken acknowledges top evaluated courses in the previous academic year, which have received:

• at least 4 in average on all three questions included in the course evaluation form, as well as
• teacher response to the feedback received in the evaluation form, and
• at least 35% response rate to the evaluation

=> the course is mentioned in Sisu and published here on the web

Awarding successful development of teaching taking into account Hanken's strategic objectives

Teachers can be rewarded for successful development of teaching. The development must be in line with Hanken's strategic goals and can have different focuses in different years (innovative forms of learning, teaching materials, teaching collaboration,corporate connections, integration, outreach, a new program, etc.).

Nominations for awards can be made by heads of departments, subject managers, colleagues or the teacher himself. When the nomination is submitted by someone else, it is recommended that the nominee participate in the description of the progress and results achieved. The grounds for the nomination must be sufficiently clear and according to the instructions for the application for the committee to take a position on them in its assessment.

Awarded once/year at the Rector's Christmas coffee (announced in October on the web and in Teaching Lab's newsletter). The number awarded may vary depending on the nominations received.

The applications are assessed by the Teaching Evaluation Committee (TEC) and the decision is taken by the Rector.

Criteria and application

• development of teaching aligned with the competency goals set for the course
• development of methods that support Hanken's teaching strategies, especially sustainability or experiential learning
• international teaching cooperation, international learning experiences
• cooperation with companies, relevance to business world
• joint development projects shared between subjects and campuses
• develpoment of innovative student learning which includes or uses new technology, for instance AI.

Have successfully developed something in your teaching that you want to put forward for an award? Or maybe you have a colleague you think deserves the award, who you can ask to submit an application or nominate?

Submit your application/nomination here by Nov 30, 2025 (form active from 1.11.2025) / announcement made in October 2025

Awarding Teachers of the Year in Helsinki and Vaasa

Elected by SHS and SSHV in both Helsinki and Vaasa
The awards are given at respective annual ball; the university pays a price sum

Awarding pedagogical research / publications

- Publications on pedagogical research (see, for example, https://provost.tufts.edu/celt/files/SoTL-Journals.pdf)

- Teaching material (books, programs, etc.)

Input in HARIS => included in the publication award model

Excellent teachers

Excellent teachers demonstrate genuine interest in teaching and student learning, and excellent results from this. They  perform beyond the "normal" teaching job, beyond what is included in the meritorious teacher level (such as successful development of individual courses already rewarded on the previous level). They systematically share their educational knowledge to improve the quality of teaching in general.

=>Teaching excellence is awarded with a time-bound salary supplement of 300 euros per month (for 4 years). Re-evaluated every 4th year.

CRITERIA AND INDICATORS

A. Shows educational excellence

- Extensive educational experience and commitment

- Continuously develop their teaching towards better learning (containing goals and results / impact, as well as concrete examples and references to educational literature to support the demonstration)

- Systematically deepened their pedagogical competence, min 25 cr of pedagogical studies (can demonstrate how pedagogy / education and learning have improved)

- Pedagogical leadership and development assignments (not only formal duties such as being head of subject or subject coordinator, but genuine pedagogical leadership e.g. in the subject, with goals and outcomes )

- Self-evaluation - in a constructive way, reflecting on their teaching and taking into account the students / colleagues / own responses (including references to relevant university pedagogical literature in order to motivate and anchor their own  educational choices and pedagogical knowledge)

- Demonstrated consistently high-level teaching and received positive reviews and appreciation of their skills and commitment as a teacher (excellent course evaluations, awards / appointments, etc.)

B. Shares their educational knowledge

- Acted as a teacher mentor, participated in peer-to-peer evaluation, etc.

- Initiated educational seminars, discussions, conferences, research projects, etc.

- Developed teaching materials for common use (e.g. open educational resources)

Based on one’s own application - criteria A and B must both be met (demonstrate the purpose, scope and effects of the various indicators; documentation supporting the application is appended)

Applicants should have continuous employment at Hanken.

Application form: https://forma.hanken.fi/lomakkeet/1660/lomakkeet.html

Deadlines three times a year:
- 30.4
- 31.8 
- 19.12

The applications are assessed by the Teaching Evaluation Committee (TEC) and the decision is taken by the Rector.

Criteria for revaluation of excellence

New criteria and decision to be publish soon

Funds are made available by Hanken Support Foundation to encourage and enable development of teaching.

For such important investments in the development of teaching that take extra time and are of a one-off nature. The development must be in line with Hanken's strategic goals and can have different focuses in different years (innovative learning forms, teaching collaboration, business contacts, integration, outreach, a new program, etc.) and follow Hanken's pedagogical guidelines.

(The criteria for 2025 round will be published soon)

Funds can be granted, e.g. for:

• to hire a person/assistant for the time-consuming development of teaching materials (e.g. cases, digital materials),
• for purchasing of e.g. databases, literature, cases, participation in courses/further training, etc. Funds for travel and research must be sought from elsewhere, from external foundations but also from Hanken Support Foundation's grants Opens in new window . As the project funds are external money, VAT cannot be deducted. Costs paid with the funds must therefore also include VAT.
• In exceptional cases and in line with Hanken's strategy, funds can also be granted for the teacher to carry out the project himself within normal working hours and hand over certain simpler teaching tasks to an hourly employee, if the project requires unique core competence that only the teacher possesses. The project funds cannot be used to pay extra salary to the teacher himself.

The application is made in consultation with the program coordinator/head of subject so that it reflects the needs and focus of the subject, which should also be stated in the application.

Announcement is made through Teaching Lab newsletter and on the Hanken website. The funds are due at the end of the following academic year. The funds can be applied for once a year. 

The applications are assessed by the Teaching Evaluation Committee (TEC) and the decision is taken by the Rector.

Academic teaching staff from ENGAGE.EU partner universities are invited to apply for seed-funding for the development of joint teaching initiatives. 

The seed funding aims to encourage collaboration and innovation in teaching and learning within ENGAGE.EU through the development of joint educational offers across the alliance. 

Initiatives exploring the collaborative development of new courses and/or teaching formats can apply for seed funding up to €10,000. Funding can be used for personnel costs, travel, meetings and events, for the production of course materials, training or similar.  

To qualify, the proposed teaching initiative must include colleagues from at least three partner universities in the alliance and be linked to the ENGAGE.EU mission Opens in new window .

• Application deadline: TBA 2025

• Results are announced: TBA 2025

• Funding period: TBA

For more information about how to apply, please see the Academic Initiative Incubator Seed Funding Guidelines Opens in new window . Academic teaching staff from Hanken can contact their local ENGAGE.EU Incubator contact person Opens in new window  (Carl Hobbs) with further questions.