School of Business and IT (HIT), formerly known as the School of Business and Informatics, was established during the 1980’s and today hosts a variety of undergraduate and graduate programmes within the fields of Accounting, Organisation and Management, Marketing, Business Informatics, Computer and Systems Science. The School of Business and Informatics provides two major areas of studies: Economics and Business Administration on the one side and Informatics on the other. Through co-operation between varied disciplines, the school can supply a set of unique combinations. Joint programmes in IT and Business Administration can be studied up to the Master’s level. The IT and Business Administration programme leads to qualifications within two fields, as well as offers specialising in Business-Informatics. For students who wish to concentrate on IT, there is a Systems Architect programme. The Business Administration programme is sectioned into the areas of Management, Accounting and Marketing. There is also a Master’s programme in Business Administration which leads to Master of Science with a major in Business and Economics and a Specialization in Business Administration.
Education at the School of Business and IT
The contact between lecturers and students is characterised by openness and closeness, since dialoguing and group work are important components in teaching, particularly at the more advanced levels. Seminars alternate with lectures, case studies and problem-based methods of learning. Due to the proximity of local industries representing the study subjects, students will become naturally acquainted with nearby businesses. This will lead to communal projects, case studies and project assignments. Students at the School of Business and IT will be able to benefit from the use of a high-class computer and media lab as well as highly comfortable and modern premises, open around the clock for our students. On campus you will also find different restaurants, studying areas with daily news papers from around the world, and a modern and well equipped library. A very large proportion of graduates from the school becomes employed shortly after graduation, demonstrating that the educational programmes and courses are of high quality and contribute significantly to the idea of a professions oriented university.
Research at the School of Business and IT
Computer science at the School of Business and IT mainly deals with development of information technology to be used in practice. The research is characterised by co-design. Building on this Scandinavian approach to system development, such a characterisation involves two dimensions. Firstly, there is an emphasis on both business and IT, i.e. IT cannot be designed without taking the business it is supposed to support into consideration. Secondly, the co-production performed by several stakeholders is stressed. This characterisation drives two research groups: business oriented systems development and data mining. The research is highly empirically driven, in which through different co-design mechanisms, research is performed in close interaction with the industry. Interaction with colleagues in business administration is also very common in research. The newly founded innovation lab is used to realise knowledge products designed in research.
Concerning business administration and economics, the school’s overall research profile is concentrated on trade and services. The research in business focuses on business design. Business design explores opportunities to develop business solutions, where modern technology often plays an important role. It can be the creation of new businesses (design) or the renewal of existing ones (redesign). Business design can involve multiple design dimensions such as cooperation/collaboration between companies, customer interaction, logistics, finance and accounting. The school's identity in research and education programmes mainly builds on the traditional areas of Marketing, Management, Accounting and Entrepreneurship. Furthermore, research is often conducted in close cooperation and interaction with single companies, clusters of companies, and municipalities of the region.
