Hanken or SSE Riga for EMBA?

6 11

Posted Jan 19, 2021 09:32

I don't think any reasonably curious person could not notice that these are separate schools with a common parent rather than one school.

No offense, but this is pure hogwash.

Go look at their web pages. SSE Riga clearly and openly advertises itself alongside SSE as part of the FT rankings. And there is no mention anywhere of any differentiation, other than one being in Riga.

The Wiki page and every other page online refers to SSE Stockholm as the “Parent School”. It carries the same name, with nothing more than a - Riga tacked on. Which leads any normal human being, who does not sift through Universities for a living, to conclude it is SSE, in Riga. A child of a parent.

FT ranking lists SSE at #21 I believe, and next to the ranking it says (Stockholm, St Petersburg, Riga). I was under no illusion it was the same school. I had no idea however that it carried such a poor reputation, and the Russian sibling offered an actual diploma from SSE itself vs the Latvian equivalent.

Im reasonably curious. I researched it for about 15 hours, and spoke to the SSE Riga admissions team. I had no idea of this odd and distant relationship. I certainly haven’t seen a word of it here, including in your previous posts about the school.

[Edited by LandCruiserX on Jan 19, 2021]

[quote]I don't think any reasonably curious person could not notice that these are separate schools with a common parent rather than one school.    [/quote] No offense, but this is pure hogwash.  Go look at their web pages. SSE Riga clearly and openly advertises itself alongside SSE as part of the FT rankings. And there is no mention anywhere of any differentiation, other than one being in Riga.  The Wiki page and every other page online refers to SSE Stockholm as the “Parent School”. It carries the same name, with nothing more than a - Riga tacked on. Which leads any normal human being, who does not sift through Universities for a living, to conclude it is SSE, in Riga. A child of a parent.  FT ranking lists SSE at #21 I believe, and next to the ranking it says (Stockholm, St Petersburg, Riga). I was under no illusion it was the same school. I had no idea however that it carried such a poor reputation, and the Russian sibling offered an actual diploma from SSE itself vs the Latvian equivalent.  Im reasonably curious. I researched it for about 15 hours, and spoke to the SSE Riga admissions team. I had no idea of this odd and distant relationship. I certainly haven’t seen a word of it here, including in your previous posts about the school.

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Duncan

13.775 15.330

Posted Jan 19, 2021 10:23

My first post here says "SSE Riga is separate from SSE and its graduates are not alumni of the SSE itself." The Riga website explains the ownership of the school, the annual report makes everything clear too. The accreditation is obviously different. Maybe you don't know what to look for, but for someone with any experience comparing academic institutions it's unmistakable.

Apologies for my comment. I can see if you don't have experience comparing schools thens it's harder. But this sort of thing, of schools leveraging their links to the schools that helped found them, is especially common in the former Warsaw Pact and developing world.

[Edited by Duncan on Jan 19, 2021]

My first post here says "SSE Riga is separate from SSE and its graduates are not alumni of the SSE itself." The Riga website explains the ownership of the school, the annual report makes everything clear too. The accreditation is obviously different. Maybe you don't know what to look for, but for someone with any experience comparing academic institutions it's unmistakable.  Apologies for my comment. I can see if you don't have experience comparing schools thens it's harder. But this sort of thing, of schools leveraging their links to the schools that helped found them, is especially common in the former Warsaw Pact and developing world.

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Duncan

13.775 15.330

Posted Jan 19, 2021 10:31

But even with the child and parent comparison. Many US state universities were founded to award degrees of what are now separate flagship universities. In the Commonwealth of Nations, many universities were founded to award degrees of the University of London. That is not the situation at Riga and, indeed, I don't see why the FT lets SSE game the rankings by including people who don't become SSE graduates.

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StuartHE

1.092 654

Posted Jan 19, 2021 11:56

I see this on the website FAQ of the SSE Russia:

"Is the Diploma of SSE accredited? No, it isn't, since the Swedish higher education legislation does not accredit Executive MBA programs. But SSE as a school is accredited by EQUIS."

I recall that this is also a difference between Henley Finland, which issues an academic masters degree and thus does not need to charge VAT, and many other MBAs in Finland which issue a non-academic diploma called MBA but which carries VAT.

I see this on the website FAQ of the SSE Russia: "Is the Diploma of SSE accredited? No, it isn't, since the Swedish higher education legislation does not accredit Executive MBA programs. But SSE as a school is accredited by EQUIS." I recall that this is also a difference between Henley Finland, which issues an academic masters degree and thus does not need to charge VAT, and many other MBAs in Finland which issue a non-academic diploma called MBA but which carries VAT.

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LandCruise...

6 11

Posted Jan 19, 2021 16:15

I see this on the website FAQ of the SSE Russia:

"Is the Diploma of SSE accredited? No, it isn't, since the Swedish higher education legislation does not accredit Executive MBA programs. But SSE as a school is accredited by EQUIS."

I recall that this is also a difference between Henley Finland, which issues an academic masters degree and thus does not need to charge VAT, and many other MBAs in Finland which issue a non-academic diploma called MBA but which carries VAT.

That is interesting. And leads one to ask, would it really be of any value to go to SSE Russia? If the diploma is not accredited? I imagine you could very well run into the situation above, in that SSE Russia is not SSE Stockholm - and I am certainly not going to carry my diploma into an interview to prove otherwise.

Or in that case, does the degree being issued from SSE itself carry enough weight that its sort of a moot point? Same scenario in mind. US citizen, English and Russian speaking, graduate from SSE Russia, look for work in Scandinavia. (My girlfriend is a Swede based in Stockholm, hence looking for something in the region post grad).

Hard to see the value in these spin off schools at the moment.

[quote]I see this on the website FAQ of the SSE Russia: "Is the Diploma of SSE accredited? No, it isn't, since the Swedish higher education legislation does not accredit Executive MBA programs. But SSE as a school is accredited by EQUIS." I recall that this is also a difference between Henley Finland, which issues an academic masters degree and thus does not need to charge VAT, and many other MBAs in Finland which issue a non-academic diploma called MBA but which carries VAT.  [/quote] That is interesting. And leads one to ask, would it really be of any value to go to SSE Russia? If the diploma is not accredited? I imagine you could very well run into the situation above, in that SSE Russia is not SSE Stockholm - and I am certainly not going to carry my diploma into an interview to prove otherwise. Or in that case, does the degree being issued from SSE itself carry enough weight that its sort of a moot point? Same scenario in mind. US citizen, English and Russian speaking, graduate from SSE Russia, look for work in Scandinavia. (My girlfriend is a Swede based in Stockholm, hence looking for something in the region post grad).   Hard to see the value in these spin off schools at the moment.

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StuartHE

1.092 654

Posted Jan 19, 2021 17:59

I think SSE Russia is a much better bet. SSE is a much better brand in Sweden than in the rest of the region. People are a bit sniffy about non-academic degrees, but at least you become an SSE alum. I just cannot emphasise how national those labour markets are.

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LandCruise...

6 11

Posted Jan 19, 2021 19:06

I think SSE Russia is a much better bet. SSE is a much better brand in Sweden than in the rest of the region. People are a bit sniffy about non-academic degrees, but at least you become an SSE alum. I just cannot emphasise how national those labour markets are.

That makes sense. From the labor market perspective, I am assuming things open up some as you move South / West into mainland Europe?

My friend and former colleague is currently in the MBA at RSM, although not yet at the point where he is looking for employment post-grad. I will be curious to see what opportunities are presented - although RSM is of course, better than the programs I have had my eye on.

Given the national and regional nature of the labor markets in Scandinavia and the Baltic states, is there one country I should focus on over the others? Common sense tells me Sweden would have the most mobility. But I am far from an expert in that realm.

[quote]I think SSE Russia is a much better bet. SSE is a much better brand in Sweden than in the rest of the region. People are a bit sniffy about non-academic degrees, but at least you become an SSE alum. I just cannot emphasise how national those labour markets are.  [/quote] That makes sense. From the labor market perspective, I am assuming things open up some as you move South / West into mainland Europe?  My friend and former colleague is currently in the MBA at RSM, although not yet at the point where he is looking for employment post-grad. I will be curious to see what opportunities are presented - although RSM is of course, better than the programs I have had my eye on.  Given the national and regional nature of the labor markets in Scandinavia and the Baltic states, is there one country I should focus on over the others? Common sense tells me Sweden would have the most mobility. But I am far from an expert in that realm.

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StuartHE

1.092 654

Posted Jan 19, 2021 20:08

Labour markets are broadly national, but of course that flows into language. RSM is a strong option for Germany and Flanders. A top French school is credible in Wallonia or Romandy.

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