LUT Business School turns 35: ‘We choose bold, responsible growth, since the alternative is stagnation'

33%

At LUT Business School, 33 per cent of master’s theses were completed in collaboration with companies, compared to the national average of 18 per cent (2024).

97%

The graduate employment rate is 97 per cent one year after graduation (Statistics Finland 2025).

€4,508

Graduates from LUT Business School earn above-average starter salaries – averaging €4,508 per month (Finnish Business School Graduates’ survey of recent graduates 2024).

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1 Finland’s most satisfied students

Surveys show LUT University has the highest student satisfaction in Finland.

“In line with LUT’s new strategy, our goal is to be a student‑oriented research university. We are a close‑knit business school with low hierarchy. Students appreciate the fact that they can study here in a collaborative rather than competitive atmosphere,” says Dean Sami Saarenketo.

According to Saarenketo, lifelong learning is more relevant than ever, and it’s supported by the business school’s updated LUT Executive MBA programme launched in autumn 2025. The studies include holistic training that supports a leader’s mental and physical performance throughout the programme.

“LUT’s growth has already been remarkable, and our future growth targets are ambitious. By 2030, half of our students should be international. The declining birth rate is not only a Finnish but also a European phenomenon. We need to pursue growth responsibly but boldly, because the alternative is stagnation. I’d also like to pose a question to employers: Is fluency in Finnish truly necessary in every job?”

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Sami Saarenketo

46%

The number of new business students has increased by 46 per cent since 2020. LUT Business School currently has 1,734 students enrolled (August 2025).

28%

Staff numbers at LUT Business School have grown by 28 per cent over the past five years. The school currently employs 164 people.

2 Even more impactful research

The Times Higher Education (THE) 2026 subject ranking placed LUT Business School sixth in the world for research quality and yet again second among the Finnish institutions included in the comparison. LUT Business School was also the top-ranking business school in Finland for research quality and in the global top 100 in the ShanghaiRanking subject ranking.

“The rankings give us evidence that we’re on the right track. They strengthen our credibility, and as a result, LUT is attracting increasingly qualified candidates when recruiting research and teaching staff. I’m proud of this development; it’s leading to even higher‑quality research, and our students appreciate both the learning environment and the quality of teaching,” says Dean Saarenketo.

That said, it’s important to remember that the work is never finished.

“We need to systematically improve our practices and tools. For instance, there’s still more to do in highlighting LUT’s interdisciplinary strengths and increasing the school’s international visibility.”

175

The school reached the global top 175 out of 1,067 business schools (World University Rankings 2026 by subject).

100

LUT Business School made the top 100 in ShanghaiRanking’s 2025 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

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LUT Business School ranks first in Finland in research quality (THE Ranking, 2026).

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3 International quality accreditations

As there are more than 16,000 business schools worldwide competing for international quality labels, accreditation matters. LUT Business School holds the prestigious AACSB accreditation – a mark of high-quality teaching and research earned by only about five per cent of business schools globally.

Accreditation is an independent international evaluation of the quality of teaching, research, and societal impact, and it supports continuous development. In business education, the three most widely recognised accreditations are AACSB, the European EFMD, and AMBA, which focuses particularly on MBA education.

LUT Business School also holds a programme-specific EFMD accreditation for the English-language Master’s Programme in International Marketing Management (MIMM). The programme has received the EFMD label multiple times.

35 years of LUT Business School graduates

5,125 master’s graduates
2,559 bachelor’s graduates
176 doctoral graduates

(as of end of 2025)

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Taina Tofthøj, alumna, LUT-kauppakorkeakoulu, LUT Business School — Taina Kylliäinen Tofthøj, who lives in Denmark, is the first business graduate from LUT Business School.

“My brother studied energy technology in Lappeenranta and encouraged me to apply to LUT to study international marketing. He knew that languages and business were right up my alley. I completed my degree in two and a half years, graduating in 1995, and soon afterwards moved to Denmark, where I had previously done my exchange studies.

Looking back, I think we had skilled people leading the business studies. Language instruction – especially English and German – was strong from the start. In addition, local companies took an interest in supporting us, the first business students. At LUT, I learned to work efficiently in an international setting, and I’ve continued on that path throughout my career. Based on the feedback I’ve received, my Finnish education and cultural background have been a real asset.

I work as a purchaser at Damm Cellular System A/S in Sønderborg. We develop and manufacture devices for critical radio networks like DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) and TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio). Our devices are used in sectors like transportation and mining, often in demanding weather conditions.

To today’s students at LUT Business School, I would say: try spreading your wings when the opportunity arises. For me, it brought a pleasant career path in a nice and friendly country."

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4 Expansion to Lahti

LUT's Lahti campus has been growing by roughly 200 students a year. The growth will continue as LUT Business School will launch an English-language bachelor's programme in digital business there in autumn 2026. The new Master’s Programme in Strategic Sales began in autumn 2025, and the LUT Executive MBA programme also operates out of Lahti.

The expansion has been made possible through funding from the City of Lahti and other regional partners. The collaboration between Lahti and LUT continues to deepen, one example being the ongoing feasibility study on the possible relocation of the campus to the Ranta‑Kartano area in the city centre.

Altogether, LUT Business School now offers three bachelor’s and eight master’s programmes.

Recognised for responsibility

LUT Business School is a signatory of the UN’s Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) – an initiative that calls on business and management schools to foster sustainability and ethical conduct in education and research. The school has been recognised for its work related to responsibility and sustainability twice: in 2022 and 2024.

Each degree programme at LUT Business School includes mandatory content related to sustainability and responsibility. The school systematically measures the development students’ understanding in these areas.

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