This visit provided an invaluable opportunity to engage with top industry professionals, including Edward Rebane and Märten Liinat from SEB's Baltic Digital Banking team. Such visits not only enrich our academic experience but also pave the way for future Internship programmes and career prospects in the finance industry. EBS is proud to have partnerships with various companies and banks, notably a decade-long collaboration with SEB. This partnership enhances the educational journey of students by seamlessly integrating theoretical learning with practical insights derived from real-world business scenarios. It provides diverse viewpoints from different industry sectors, along with knowledge and expertise from leading professionals and experts. The strength of this collaboration lies in the shared values and principles between EBS and SEB, such as a commitment to digitalization, sustainability, innovation, and responsibility.
Aet Toots, Lecturer and Head of International Business Administration BA programme comments: “Such company visits add value to classroom studies both for students and lecturers. Students appreciate the opportunities to integrate theoretical concepts with the real-world applications. The presentations by the representatives of SEB Bank provided information about the recent developments in the banking sector, such as the significance of sustainability reporting, new risks regarding credit eligibility, e.g. ESG related risks, digital banking, etc. Cooperation with the corporate world enables lecturers to keep up to date with the trends in their field of teaching and update their own course content as well as contribute to programme development by including the relevant topics and examples in the respective modules."
Edward Rebane, Head of Digital Banking for SEB in the Baltics, sees significant value in the bank's interactions with EBS: “For us as a bank, there are several important aspects to such collaborations. SEB follows major megatrends like digitalization and sustainability, and working with academic partners allows us to explore these areas more deeply. For this purpose, we collaborate closely not only with EBS but also with institutions like the University of Tartu and kood/Jõhvi.
Secondly, two-way communication is vital for us. Since the customer is our number one priority, we want to increasingly understand what clients need and expect. Young people are an important learning resource for us; we aim to comprehend their behaviors, the products they require, and how to be a good banking partner for them. Young retail clients and small business clients – these are our future customers. That's why we always welcome students to the bank. We do this through various events, for instance, hosting young people who are still making their university and study track choices.
The third aspect is the bank's need for talent to achieve our goals. Such meetings create opportunities for collaboration, both in terms of internships and future recruitment perspectives.
From our side, we can offer value to the young by showing how business is actually conducted in a bank. We highlight the important knowledge and skills to develop for a career in the banking sector. We help bridge the gap between academic learning and practical application, showcasing the real-life of a corporation. We also introduce our values to the young. For example, as a team value, diversity – age, gender, nationality – has proven to be a key to team success. On a broader scale, sustainability, or giving back to society, is of growing importance.”
