Social entrepreneurship as a career path for international students

Every year, students from across the globe choose to study here in Finland, bringing unique skills and talents with them. After graduating, only a fraction of the international student community stays in Finland due to the barriers faced in the labour market such as limited Finnish language skills or networks. On top of that, the recent immigration policy proposals can highly affect UAS (University of Applied Sciences) students staying in Finland (METKA 2025). This creates uncertainty for the careers of international UAS students.

Many talented international graduates leave after earning their degrees (Yle News 2024), which is a loss for the Finnish economy as it loses potential consumers, entrepreneurs, innovators and taxpayers. To strengthen Finland’s future, it is important for us to create better opportunities for international graduates. One promising pathway for our international students is social entrepreneurship — a way of creating business solutions that not only generate economic value but also create social and environmental impact. 

The social entrepreneurship path

Social entrepreneurship is the process of pursuing innovative solutions to social problems (Dees 1998). Rather than focusing solely on profit, social entrepreneurs generate social value by offering sustainable solutions to benefit society.  For our international students, social entrepreneurship provides a pathway to generate businesses that are both meaningful as they address social issues, and value driven as they create sustainable benefits for stakeholders.

At Haaga-Helia, students are encouraged to engage in ethical, responsible and sustainable business practices and solutions. Our research and development projects also allow us to work on themes that look beyond traditional business models and explore social-entrepreneurial solutions.

Not long ago, in the MyDigiCoop project, we developed social entrepreneurial pathways that train and inspire students to pursue careers in social entrepreneurship. The pathways were designed to allow students to engage at a level appropriate to their social entrepreneurship knowledge. Students pursued pathways that matched their knowledge of the principles of social entrepreneurship.  

Our international students come from different backgrounds and bring with them fresh perspectives, along with their cultural insights. It is vital for them to ask relevant questions like what problems exist in Finnish society, and how can their business knowledge and skills be used to create sustainable solutions.

For example, a student from India may bring lessons from frugal innovations being practiced back home and adapt them to Finnish settings. The big issues that we face concerning waste management, energy challenges or social sustainability could be translated into practical and sustainable business solutions. Such sustainable business ideas often emerge during project assignments, thesis topic discussions, and hackathons that we host at Haaga-Helia.  

Social entrepreneurship: connecting cultures

Social entrepreneurship has the potential to foster connections between cultures. Sustainability challenges are universal, but the solutions can be grounded in local contexts. Students understand that every country has sustainability challenges, irrespective of being rich or poor, and by working on socially oriented projects in Finland, they can integrate their own cultural insights and therefore contribute positively to Finnish society.

Local knowledge and skills can be translated into sustainable business practices. Many graduates have established start-ups and socially driven projects in Finland after bringing fresh perspectives from their home countries. One notable example comes from an international student couple who developed a business idea of providing home care and nursing services, focusing mainly on elderly clients (Capri Hoivapalvelut Oy).

Some other examples of businesses in the field of social entrepreneurship are inspired by Finland’s educational practices. International students have enhanced early childhood education practices to children worldwide through the integration of Finnish pedagogy (HEI Schools).

Supporting international students’ meaningful lives

Profit-driven ventures combined with social or environmental values often keep us more motivated and provide a stronger sense of purpose, especially if it concerns issues that are closer to heart and home. Social entrepreneurship is more than a career — it is a journey through which our international students can make meaningful contributions to Finnish society by addressing the pressing societal issues while securing an income and a future in Finland.

Higher educational institutions in Finland can enhance social entrepreneurship careers by offering international students courses and coaching initiatives that teach students to create sustainable ventures with social impact. They can also offer practical opportunities and networks to help students launch these initiatives effectively.

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