Creative Business Management (Pori)

The application period for Master’s Degree Programmes has ended 15 Feb 2012. Next application period will start at the beginning of 2013.

Who can apply
This programme is meant for graduates of BA or polytechnic degrees in cultural production, media, design or another applicable field, or students who have otherwise acquired comparable basic skills and knowledge in the area. Applicants should also have experience of creative work and/or or managing creative teams or a company in a creative field. 

Description of the degree programme
The Master’s Degree Programme in Creative Business Management offers a viewpoint into the latest developments in the creative economy. The aim of the degree programme is to examine the cultural contexts behind creative operations and to consider the roles of the author and the producer, particularly from the perspectives of media culture and media production. The starting points are transcending the boundaries of traditional financial thinking, and economically, ethically and socially sustainable development. The creative economy is a field of immaterial production, where the core resource consists of general human skills: communication, language, emotions, relations, etc. The programme provides tools for developing and applying this creative human resource to finding new solutions and sustainable business alternatives.

At the heart of the studies are diverse production-relatedquestions, from conceptualisation of a production idea to media production, management of creative processes and research on immaterial production from a user-driven perspective. The programme is conducted in partnership with the Pori unit of the University of Turku School of Economics, and students complete the courses in a multidisciplinary environment. Project partnerships are set up with local businesses, organisations and other bodies. 

Aims of the degree programme
The programme deepens the students’ understanding of the cultural contexts of media production and the social role of the producer, and offers teaching that transcends the boundaries between media. Graduates have the ability to conduct multidisciplinary research and to combine experimental theoretical thinking with creative production. The programme produces experts in human-oriented creative processes who understand the logic of immaterial production and the principles of business management, and are able to find genuinely new and sustainable solutions.

Employment prospects
Graduates are media production professionals, media artists, producers, designers and researchers; people with the ability and courage to come up with novel ways of conducting business. They have the skills to start their own company, work in production teams, hold managerial posts or carry out research. Their employment prospects are enhanced by links with genuine operators in the field, formed through project work, and guided by expressions of interest and familiarization with specific areas in the field through the students’ active participation.

Structure of the programme
The programme is a two-year, 120-ECTS entity leading to a Master of Arts qualification. It consists of shared Master’s studies, profile studies in media production and media culture theory, multidisciplinary Creative Business Management studies and optional studies from other units of the University Consortium of Pori or other schools at Aalto University. Tuition forms include workshops, projects, assignments, intensive courses, lectures and personal tutoring. Students are guided through the process with their personal study plans, which provide a view of the study path and the necessary workplace skills.

Course languages
English and Finnish. Optional courses can be completed in English from the  selection which the entity or Aalto University  has to offer.

Selection Process 2012

Portfolio
See general portfolio instructions.

Required Application Documents
See Required Application Documents.

How to Apply
Read the application instructions carefully: How to Apply.

Application process
The application process consists of two stages. At the first stage, applicants send in an application with copies of certificates, their CVs, an A4-length study plan and a portfolio of work. The portfolio must include documentation of participation in media or cultural production or another equivalent production. The portfolio may be completely or partly in digital format.

Based on the portfolios and applications, some applicants are invited to the second stage, an interview where they will present their portfolios.

Evaluation criteria in applicant selection
In their portfolios and in the entrance examination, students must demonstrate their talent, motivation and ability to develop in visual culture, media, design or another applicable field, and their capacity for critical and analytical thought. The evaluation takes into account the applicants’ past experience and the vision they have developed of creative work and how to manage it.