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Dr. Svenson toasts his wife Polly and the Finnish Ambassador Valtasaari in celebration of an awar

An honorable distinction was given to a UCLA director for his work with the Global Access Program from the Finnish government, where UCLA business students can apply their skills in foreign countries.

A prestigious Finnish award was given to a UCLA vice chancellor emeritus. Dr. Elwin Svenson, executive director of International Programs for the UCLA Anderson School of Management’s Fully Employed MBA program received the Knight, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland on Dec. 11.

The decoration was issued by a board, headed by the Finnish president, to foreign and Finnish citizens in recognition of services to Finland. It was presented to Svenson by the Finnish Ambassador to the United States for assisting the expansion of Finnish start-up companies through the UCLA Anderson’s Global Access Program.

Bonny Kim, manager of the Global Access Program said, “Finland is a country that invests about 3 percent of their gross domestic product into technology and research development, but very little into management education.”

After noticing this seven years ago, Dr. Svenson began working with Finland. He spoke to policy makers and was able to assemble a group of MBA students to learn the technology and apply it toward Finland and management education.

“The Global Access Program is a key element of FEMBA, and Dr. Svenson’s efforts in building institutional relations with so many organizations abroad has truly been beneficial in giving our FEMBA students a unique opportunity in gaining international field study experience,” said Dr. Victor Tabbush, associate dean and director of the program, in an Anderson School press release.

The Global Access Program was created in 1998 after a faculty member of the Anderson School was asked by an entrepreneur to help start up a “high tech” company while on vacation in Australia. He assembled a small group of Anderson students to assist with the development. The program then began with eight voluntary Australian companies.

According to the Global Access Program Web site, both the company and students benefited from the collaboration that resulted in greater student interest to work with other companies.

This program gives students the opportunity to spend five days in the country where the company is located. It also gives them a chance to interact with entrepreneurs that are building a business.

“They develop a dreamlike quality strategic business plan and no matter where they work they can always take with them this experience they’ve got,” said UCLA Anderson Professor Robert Frost.

The program currently places students in the MBA program with over 135 international technology companies. These students hold a full-time job while working toward their degree through night and weekend classes.

It is a requirement that all MBA students go through the Global Access Program before receiving their degree.

According to the program’s Web site, the international voluntary companies are specially selected; one decisive factor includes a focus on high technology because of the higher planning risk, possibility of greater sales and profit in a shorter period of time, and important student contributions to smaller firms.

The only disadvantage is that in “the final presentation six months after the program starts the students may have to present bad information to the customer or to the client and sometimes that is a little uncomfortable but it’s really for their long-term benefit,” Frost said.

The course lasts six months, from June 15 to Dec. 11, with about 30-35 teams acting as consultants to a foreign company. Currently the program has partnered with eight countries including Australia, Finland, Chile, France, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand and Ireland.

“This year we had 33 companies from six different countries, we’ve reviewed probably about 100 companies in order to make a cut of 33,” Frost said.

The program is currently planning on extending partnership with China, India and Spain. According to Bonny Kim, student interest is leaning toward those areas.