News
| 22.09.2021

Well-known Hanken alumni look back on their study time in a new podcast

Elisabeth Rehn
Hanken will launch a new podcast featuring Elisabeth Rehn, Kimmo Sasi, Henrik Lax, Veronica Wiklund, Ann-Mari Mingard and Björn Wahlroos as guests. The “Gyllene studietider” (Golden years of study) podcast will be hosted by Hanken’s Rector, Karen Spens and the producer of the podcast Hanna Westerholm. New episodes will be recorded during the autumn with interesting alumni from both Helsinki and Vaasa.

It is the small details in the new podcast that reveal the passing of time – memories of teachers wearing a tailcoat to lectures, student housing on the sixth floor of the school building and people smoking indoors. It also becomes clear that the political confrontations that coloured student politics in the 1960s and 70s offered an excellent opportunity for developing brilliant rhetorical skills, as demonstrated by Björn Wahlroos and Kimmo Sasi.

It may come as a surprise to listeners how many doors were open to women back in the 1950s. Elisabeth Rehn, for one, recounts how she, as a mother of small children, was able to study and even go to student parties thanks to a neighbour who offered to babysit for her. Veronica Wiklund, who studied at Hanken in the late 1950s, describes the exciting career she made in advertising – which was not very common at the time.

“Hanken has changed a lot since the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Among other things, it has become increasingly international. We have our eyes set on the future, but also treasure our traditions and are proud of our origins. I think it’s great that all of us now get to hear about these memories,” says Rector Karen Spens, who studied at Hanken in the 1980s.

The podcast is produced by Hanken Alumna and entrepreneur Hanna Westerholm. Political confrontations characterised a specific period of student life, but other than that, Westerholm does not believe it made much difference whether you studied in the 1950s, 60s or 70s.

“The friends and networks you make during your studies have always been important to students at Hanken. Many of the podcast guests also recall the times they spent abroad – which is something that Hanken made possible,” says Westerholm.

The first episode, featuring Elisabeth Reh, will come out on 22 September 2021, and new episodes will be published along the autumn.

“My studies at Hanken definitely paved the way for what I did later in life,” says Elisabeth Rehn.

You can listen to the podcast here.