Today, on July 8th, Hive Helsinki opens its campus as 180 applicants start their intensive trial period in the admissions process. Consecutively Oona Ylänkö, who has previously overseen Hive’s brand and communications, has been appointed as the CEO of Hive. There is some great news for all the future Hive students, too. In the summer of 2019, the Parliament of Finland approved the Government’s proposal for a new law regarding a change on the Act on Financial Aid for Students. This positive legislation change gives Hive a chance to proceed with student subsidies faster than expected.
Coding school Hive opens its campus today in Kallio, Helsinki. The first entry group’s 180 applicants have started their immersive four-week trial period called Piscine - which is the last step in the whole Hive admissions process. A total of 360 applicants will be tested in July and August.
“In this selection phase, the applicants will get a taste of Hive’s revolutionary pedagogy based on peer-to-peer learning. It’s a good way for the applicants to test if the Hive pedagogy fits them, and on the other hand, for the school to evaluate whether the applicant showcases qualities needed to succeed at Hive, such as cooperation skills and motivation”, says Oona Ylänkö, Hive’s CEO.
“Our teaching philosophy is based on peer-to-peer learning and evaluation. The applicants in the trial period Piscine don’t compete with each other, as everyone who passes Piscine will be accepted as actual Hive students. We haven’t defined how many students we’ll accept to Hive Helsinki, but based on the statistics of our sister schools, we estimate that one-third of the applicants who took part in Piscine will start their studies at Hive in October”, says Ylänkö.
Oona Ylänkö appointed as Hive’s CEO
Ylänkö becomes Hive’s CEO after overseeing Hive’s brand and communications.
“Hive's building phase is done and the school is ready to operate. Oona Ylänkö has worked at the heart of our operational team and she has demonstrated outstanding strategic and collaboration skills. Therefore, she was a natural choice to take the lead”, says Drussila Hollanda-Grönberg, Hive’s interim CEO. Hollanda-Grönberg, who’s been leading the Hive project on Supercell’s behalf will continue working in Hive’s team during summer and in the board of Hive Helsinki Foundation.
“Hive's aim is to bring a completely different way of learning to Finland. It’s not just about coding, but about how people learn overall. In addition, we want to break the stereotypes around coding, which are preventing for example women to apply to the industry. As the CEO, the most important part of my job is to develop our strategic operations, school’s practical operations, and relationships with our partners. I’m excited to develop a whole new higher education level type of school in Finland”, says Ylänkö.
New Act on Financial Aid for Students enables Hive to submit application regarding student benefits
This summer Parliament of Finland approved the Government’s proposal for a law regarding a change on the Act on Financial Aid for Students. The terms for getting student financial aid in other than public education was made more flexible. Previously the school had to be operational for at least a year before receiving the right for vocational level benefits.
“The change in legislation gives us a chance to proceed a lot faster in this case and submit our applications regarding the benefits for our students on August 1st when the law becomes effective. The benefits will concern the basic part of the studies that last approximately eight months, which is when Hive students are expected to study full-time”, says Ylänkö.
“We’ve been very happy to see how collaborative and open the authorities have been to this new form of education from the beginning, and how fast they have been able to move with changes in legislation”, says Linda Liukas, chair of Hive Helsinki Board.