On 8 May 2012, the rector of the University of Liechtenstein, Klaus Näscher, the International Office team and lecturers from the Institutes for Entrepreneurship, for Financial Services and of Information Systems received a visit from Alpo Matti Ilmari Rusi, the Finnish Ambassador to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the Vatican.
The University of Liechtenstein has been collaborating with universities from Finland since 2003, in partnerships involving students and lecturers as well as staff exchanges, Erasmus Intensive projects and research projects. Overall, around 30 people from each country have participated in the exchange programmes since the partnerships began. Students at the University of Liechtenstein particularly appreciate the good standard of English spoken in Finland, which makes it easier for them to improve their language skills in a non-English-speaking country. Over the years, the International Office team has built up partnerships with six universities: Lappeenranta University of Technology, Laurea University of Applied Sciences in Espoo, the University of Turku, Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, Tampere University of Technology and the University of Oulu. 
From left to right: Professor Hansjörg Hilti, Rector Klaus Näscher, Dr. Pasi Syrjä, Dr. Helena Sjögren, Professor Sascha Kraus, Dr. Leena Rusi and the Finnish Ambassador Alpo Matti Ilmari Rusi.
The Unit for Teaching, Learning and Applied Linguistics is currently working together with the University of Oulu on an intensive course in scientific writing for doctoral students, with input from the teaching staff of both universities. In addition to this, the Institute for Financial Services, led by Professor Marco Menichetti, is cooperating with Lappeenranta University of Technology and two other European universities on an Erasmus Intensive project about “Renewable Energy Finance”. The first joint workshop on this topic will be held in January 2013 at the University of Liechtenstein.
Professor Marco Menichetti presented the Erasmus Intensive project with Lappeenranta University of Technology on the topic of “Renewable Energy Finance”.
Partnerships in the area of entrepreneurship
For a number of years now, the Institute for Entrepreneurship at the University of Liechtenstein has been involved in active research partnerships with Finnish universities. Since 2010, for example, Professor Sascha Kraus, who himself received one of his two doctorates from Helsinki University of Technology and also spent several months as a postdoctoral student at the University of Vaasa, has been adjunct professor at Lappeenranta University of Technology, where he also teaches an annual block programme. Also from this university are the two Finnish guest researchers, Dr. Helena Sjögren and Dr. Pasi Syrjä, who are currently participating in a two-month research visit to the University of Liechtenstein as part of an Erasmus Intensive project. One of the aims of this project is to carry out a quantitative empirical study of any differences in “entrepreneurial behaviour” between Finnish companies and those based in the Rhine Valley. The Institute for Entrepreneurship is also involved in partnerships with Turku School of Economics which, for example, sent a visiting lecturer to teach in the “Corporate Entrepreneurship” module of the Bachelor’s degree programme in the last winter semester as part of the Erasmus programme. What is more, partnerships in the area of research also exist with both institutions, and have already resulted in several high-ranking joint scientific publications in international journals.
Professor Sascha Kraus (third from left) also teaches as an adjunct professor at Lappeenranta University of Technology, the home university of the two Finnish guest researchers Dr. Helena Sjögren (far left) and Dr. Pasi Syrjä (second from left), who are currently participating in a two-month research visit to the University of Liechtenstein.
Knowledge transfer in information systems
A long-standing and intensive partnership in both teaching and research exists between the Institute of Information Systems and Turku School of Economics. Currently, a joint team of researchers is investigating the possibilities for quality and efficiency improvements in hospitals by means of organizational and technical innovation. A case study of the newly built Turku University Hospital, for example, made it possible to define a set of design principles and success factors for the hospitals of the future. Lively exchange also takes place between Liechtenstein and Turku in the area of teaching. The Fellowship Programme sponsored by Hilti AG offers outstanding Master’s students the opportunity to be part of an international project team for one semester, while also attending seminars in the Master’s degree programme in IT and Business Process Management taught by the Institute of Information Systems at the University of Liechtenstein. In cooperation with the Hilti Chair of Business Process Management, students become familiar with state-of-the-art technology and discuss new ideas for future Hilti projects, such as Linux implementation, enterprise content management and customer relationship management. Students regularly come from Turku to Liechtenstein as part of this programme. Furthermore, Professors Jan vom Brocke and Reima Suomi are visiting lecturers at the University of Turku and the University of Liechtenstein respectively. 
A long-standing and intensive partnership in both teaching and research exists between Finnish universities and the Institute of Information Systems, as Dr. Oliver Müller of the Hilti Chair of Business Process Management explained to the Finnish Ambassador.
Impressed by diversity
The Finnish Ambassador Alpo Matti Ilmari Rusi was impressed by the wide range of exchange activities taking place between the University of Liechtenstein and universities of his home country. Accompanied by his wife, the psychiatrist Dr. Leena Rusi, he was delighted to meet so many fellow Finns at the campus in Vaduz, and emphasized his interest in further university partnerships between Finland and Liechtenstein.