Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2010 | Page 25

Solid Platform
Yrjö Herva, Business Director for the HYY
Real Estate, says that about 2/3 of the building is used by Executive Education while the
students use the remaining third.
“The archives functions of HYY are
here and three faculty associations and three
students’ clubs use the premises as well.”
Vistbacka and Herva acknowledge that
the students have had a rowdy party or two
during the first year, but on the whole, the
symbiosis has worked out well.
“We have a good platform on which to
build for the future,” Herva says, with Vistbacka clearly agreeing.
Within the last twelve months, Domus
Gaudium has become a strong engine for
Finnish business, with HSE EE bringing
world-class education to international executives. With superb facilities at its disposal, the institute is likely to yield many future generations of Finnish business leaders.
Vistbacka says that the students of
HSE EE have given very good feedback on
the premises. The building has been characterised as modern and timeless, featuring
impressive visuals.
“There is a lot of light, and the use
of wood makes for a nice atmosphere. The
premises are flexible enough, promoting a
certain sense of sustainability.”

Born
International
Domus Gaudium is also a dynamic centre
of international activity, as about half of the
operations of Executive Education are very
much global.
“About half of the professors and students come from outside of Finland,” Vistbacka says, adding that the degree programmes are also carried out in English.
The premier calling card for the organisation is the HSE Executive MBA – one
of the leading Executive MBA programmes
in all of Europe. The programme has functioned in Helsinki for two decades and more
than 600 business executives have graduated
from the Finnish unit alone. The programme
has spread also to Korea, Singapore, Poland,
China and Taiwan and the number of graduates abroad is around 2,300.
“This autumn, the Financial Times
ranked our Executive MBA as the 55th best
programme in the entire world – which is
some achievement considering the number
of programmes out there,” Vistbacka says.
In over-all rankings of executive education
(that came out in the spring) HSE EE came
in at 42.

Leading the Way
With most of the graduates coming from
abroad – the vast majority are from Korea,
actually – one is curious to learn, is there
something distinctively Finnish about the

programme – blue-and-white leadership,
so to speak?
Vistbacka believes that there are, indeed, certain leadership qualities that define
good Finnish leaders.
“Integrity and character come to mind,
as well as willingness to engage in dialogue
and encourage low hierarchy. The Finnish
executive is a democratic leader who is
straightforward in his or her actions,” Vistbacka comments, adding that equality is also one of the key values for Finns.
More and more, Vistbacka has come to
notice that Domus Gaudium complements
this value system very well.
“The building, in a sense, supports the
prevailing image of a Finnish executive.”

Scope
Expanding
The location of Domus Gaudium on Mechelininkatu street, near Kamppi Shopping Centre, has been found to be a very good one.
Herva notes that the existing two HYY student houses are located in the very core of
downtown, but Domus Gaudium is expanding the concept of the city centre.
“The area has a lot of appeal, but as
there is construction still going on in the
neighbourhood, we have to wait a while before the block reaches its full potential,” Herva analyses.
For the innovation university Aalto,
Domus Gaudium is an important “beachhead” in the downtown environment – a city
campus in the making. While Aalto University already has its Factory concept – with
Design, Media and Service units – one could
make a point that another de facto factory is
Executive Factory.
“From a global perspective, Executive
Education is right there in the forefront. We
have broad networking experience and an in-

ternational operative model that can benefit Aalto a great deal,” Vistbacka says. Furthermore, Aalto wants to position itself between the corporate world and the academic world, which has always been the strong
suite of HSE Executive Education.
“We can serve as a bridge-builder in
this regard,” she says.

New Wave
Coming
According to Herva, HYY Real Estate is
proud to be a part of the “new wave of education”. In addition to boosting academic
pursuits, however, the Real Estate division
of the HYY Group serves commercial and
office customers.
HYY properties are primarily located
in the centre of Helsinki around the Ylioppilasaukio and Kaivopiha squares. Kaivopiha
Ltd manages, rents and maintains the properties of the Student Union.
Herva says that despite the recession
HYY has had little trouble filling the premises. By October 2009, the occupancy rate for
the year was over 98%.
“Our set target for 2010 is slightly lower at 95%,” Herva says.
All and all, the real estate assets of
HYY are valued around € 140 million,
showing a drop of 10-20 million in contrast
to the previous year. This, however, does not
mean much since HYY is not looking to sell
any of its properties.
“Quite the contrary, we would rather
explore various options for growth,” Herva comments.
Als