Finnish Universities in Transition H. Kalervo Väänänen University of Eastern Finland

Finnish Universities in TransitionH. Kalervo Väänänen

University of Eastern Finland

Universities Act 2009

•Very long discussion period during three different governments

•However, it was a surprise for most professors and other personnel

•Number of universities decreased from 20 to 16

•Three new universities emerged from fusions of seven old universities

•A major change in the legal status

Finnish UniversitiesPublic Universities (1) University of Helsinki,(2) University of Eastern Finland,(3) University of Jyväskylä,(4) University of Lapland,(5) University of Oulu,(6) University of Tampere,(7) University of Turku,(8) University of Vaasa,(9) Åbo Akademi University,(10) Lappeenranta University of Technology,(11) Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration(12) Academy of Fine Arts, (13) Sibelius Academy, (14) Theatre AcademyFoundation Universities(15) Aalto University(16) Tampere University of Technology.

•1. The mission of the universities is to promote free research and academic and artistic education, to provide higher education based on research, and to educate students to serve their country and humanity. In carrying out their mission, the universities must promote lifelong learning, interact with the surrounding society and promote the impact of research findings and artistic activities on society.

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Mission

Mission

•2. The universities must arrange their activities so as to assure a high international standard in research, education and teaching in conformity with ethical principles and good scientific practices.

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Autonomy

1. The universities shall have autonomy with a view to securing the freedom of higher academic and art education. Autonomy entails the right to decision making in matters belonging to internal administration.

•2. In the drafting of legislation concerning them, the universities shall have an opportunity to give their opinion on the matter.

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Legal capacity of public universities

•1. The public universities are independent legal persons.

•2. The public universities may undertake commitments, obtain rights in their own name and possess movable and immovable property. A university may pursue business activities which support the performance of the mission.

•3. The public universities shall be liable for their commitments with their own funds and have the rights to pursue and defend litigation in court.


Composition of the board of a public university

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1. The board of a public university shall have 7 or 9−14 members. The university collegiate body shall decide on the number of board members.2. The board must include the representation of the following groupings in the university community:(1) the professors of the university;(2) other teaching and research staff and other personnel;(3) the students.

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Capital of a public university

1. A public university has an equity consisting of the fixed capital, other equity and a revaluation reserve.2. The fixed equity is capital permanently invested in the university.3. Other equity is capital accruing to the university from the surplus of its operations and the state property conveyed to the university at the time of its incorporation, which has been transferred to it on the terms of other equity awards.

There is a lot of diversity capital!!

Main practical aims of the new act

•To improve the level of teaching and to implement the Bologna-model with bachelor degrees to the Finnish university system

•To ensure shorter mean time used for the university degree

•To improve the level of research

•To facilitate the profilation of universities

•To renew recruitment process of students

A case: University of Eastern Finland

•1.1.2010 fusion of University of Kuopio and University of Joensuu, both about the same size

•Two main campuses, 140 kms apart

•13 faculties were consolidated into 4

•14 000 students, (plus >10 000 students in open university and supplementary education)

•3000 staff members and budget about 250 mE

•A public university


A University with Three Campuses

•The University of Eastern Finland has three campuses in Joensuu, Kuopio and Savonlinna.

•Common operating principles on all campuses.

•Each of the campuses has a distinct profile.

•Cooperation between the campuses is active.

www.uef.fi

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A case: University of Eastern Finland

•MISSION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

•The University of Eastern Finland conducts internationally recognised research and its training provision is of a high international standard. The university has a strong profile in its areas of expertise and takes a particular interest in promoting the regional development of eastern Finland.

•VISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

•The University of Eastern Finland is an internationally recognised research and teaching university, which is among the three most important universities in Finland and among the leading 200 universities in the world.

A competitive research and teaching university

Research in areas of expertise is linked to the national, strategic centres of excellence and, together with the government research institutes and end users of research findings, the areas of expertise constitute an innovation cluster in eastern Finland.

•The University of Eastern Finland targets significant strategic resources on the areas of expertise, which enhance the profile of the university. The university makes particular investments in the renewal of its research activities, thus ensuring and creating possibilities for strong research also in the future.


Areas of expertise in research of the University of Eastern Finland •Forests and the environment

•Health and well-being

•New technologies and materials


Areas of expertise in research of the University of Eastern Finland

•The university selects 2–3 spearhead projects in research (research programmes, consortia, etc.) for each of the areas of expertise. The spearhead projects are selected through an open internal call, and the university will allocate significant strategic additional funding to the selected projects.


Establishment of new areas of expertise in research and education

•In addition to the above mentioned areas of expertise in research, the University of Eastern Finland has also selected two regionally and nationally significant fields in which research and education will be further strengthened. These fields are Broad-Based Expertise Pertaining to Russia, and Selected Fields of Teacher Education.


Renewal of research activities

•To support the renewal of its research activities, the university encourages the establishment of multi- and cross-disciplinary research groups and consortia, for which the university allocates strategic funding through internal competition. The research groups for which strategic funding is allocated will create new, internationally interesting and significant openings


Teaching and education

•Measured by the number of fields in which the University of Eastern Finland has the right to confer degrees (12), the university is one of the most multidisciplinary universities in Finland.

• The university has launched a thorough reorganisation of its major subjects and degree programmes to ensure that it is sufficiently strong in all the fields in which it has the right to confer degrees.

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Teaching and education

•The number of the major subjects and degree programmes will be significantly reduced. This and a careful core content analysis constitute a means of creating Bachelor’s degree programmes which are more extensive and which better meet today’s requirements.

• A versatile selection of Master’s degree programmes offer flexible study paths Bachelor’s level studies


Conclusion of our strategy

•The strategy of the university is research driven. There is also a strong emphasis on teaching and education but the profiling of the University is mainly driven by the research agenda.


How different from others do we seek to be and why?

•1. Some reasons to change the previous policy and adopt more strong institutional profiling

•2. Does it make any difference?


Some reasons to change the previous policy and to adopt stronger institutional profiling 1. New universities act and its concequences

2. A new funding strategy

3. Our remote location in sparsely populated

part of the country and decreasing number of

students in ”our natural recruitment areas”


Our reasons to change the previous policy and to adopt stronger institutional profiling 4. Our need to recruit an increasing number of international students and staff members

•5. Future demands (educated guesses) of the Finnish society (e.g ageing population, past, present and future importance of forest and forest-derived products for Finland)

•6. Our response to great challenges of the future (climate change, environmental issues)


Our reasons to change the previous policy and to adopt stronger institutional profiling•7. Our location between the Eastern (Russian) and Western culture (Broad-Based Expertise Pertaining to Russia)

•8. Urgent need to decrease the bureaucracy and renew administrative structures

•9. To improve the level of our research, especially in the selected areas


Does it make any difference?

• We will see!


Documents

Finnish Universities in Transition H. Kalervo Väänänen University of Eastern Finland