Transcript Higher education and science policy in Finland: doctoral

Higher Education in Finland
Orientation Program for American Fulbright Grantees
Senior Advisor Eeva Kaunismaa
Department for Higher Education and Science Policy
August, 2014
Government Priorities
In education
• Finland the most competent nation in 2020
• Reduction of gender differences in learning outcomes, participation
and completion of education
• Equal opportunities and rights to free quality education
• To ensure the availability of the workforce, especially in key
educational, health and welfare services
• Guidance and counselling at all levels of education
• All primary school leavers will be guaranteed a study place
• To adapt the network of educational institutions to demographic
trends
Government Programme on Higher
Education and Science
• Quality, efficiency and internationalisation of HE
• Polytechnic Reform (legal status, funding, administration)
• Each province in Finland will have at least one higher education
institution.
• The establishment of a university for the arts will be promoted.
• Access to higher education studies will be made smoother for
example by reforming student selection.
• Policy on the national research infrastructure will be promoted.
Towards a more dynamic HE and research
system
Higher
Education
Reform
Reform of the
Science and
Research
Network
Other
Development
University reform
Comprehensive
reform of state
research institutes and
research funding
Towards more
stimulating funding
models
Polytechnic reform
Renewal of the
approach of the
Finnish Academy
Vocational reform
Structural
development
Reinforcement of
research
infrastructures
Structural policy
programme
Selected Higher Education Facts
about Finland
• Population of 5,4 million
• Higher education institution
network covers the populated
parts of the country
– 14 universities
– 24 polytechnics
• Student enrollment altogether
ca. 316 000
– ca. 20 000 doctoral students
– about 1600 doctoral degrees/year (>
50 % female)
• EU member state since 1995
University (blue)
Polytechnic (green)
Research institute (red)
Key Features of the Finnish Higher
Education System
• "Open and equal access" for all
• Extensive network of HE institutions covering the whole country
– Regional equality
• Tuition free system with minor exceptions
The Finnish Higher Education System
• The Finnish higher education system comprises two parallel sectors:
– University sector
• 14 research universities
• Student enrollment 114 000, annual intake ~ 20 000
• Independent legal persons with majority of funding through State budget
– Polytechnic sector (established in the mid-1990s)
• 24 institutions
• Student enrollment 113 500, annual intake ~ 26 500
• Institutions partly funded by the state, partly by municipalities
• Regional development tasks
• Bachelor degrees (vocational and professional degrees)
• (Professional) Master’s degrees in selected fields
• The whole HE system provides study places for 65-70% of an age
group
The University Reform 2010  The New
University Act
Aims and means of the university reform
• To give the universities a stronger financial and administrative
autonomy, they were made independent legal persons (instead of
State accounting offices) and supplied with sufficient capital.
• As legal persons, the universities are better able to operate with the
surrounding society.
• Universities took the place of the State as employers: civil-service
employment relationships  contractual employment relationships
• Measures are taken to ensure continued international
competitiveness of the university system.
The Polytechnic Reform
• To give the polytechnics a stronger position to meet the
changing needs of the working life, society and regions
• As independent legal persons polytechnics will have more
independent status and more flexibility to better respond
to the needs of the surrounding society
• Stronger strategic competence, profiling, focus area
choises, stronger leadership and ability to decision making
• To enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and
RDI
• To strengthen their role within the innovation system
• To ensure international competitiveness of the polytechnic
system
First Phase
• The operating licences and the educational responsibilities
revised
• The grounds and criteria for funding will take into consideration
the polytechnics´ statutory operations in their entirety, with
emphasis on quality, impact and efficiency.
• The first phase of the reform took effect on 1 January 2014
(amendments to legislation) concerning:
– new funding model
– new operating licences
– updated educational responsibilities
Second Phase
• The polytechnics and the organisations running them to
merge into one legal person, and juridically all the
polytechnics become limited companies
– the governance model to be streamlined so that the polytechnics
only have one, joint governing board
• The responsibility for core funding to be entirely transferred
to the state
• Government capitalization of the polytechnics
• The second phase of the reform is expected to take effect
on 1 January 2015
Photo: Sara Djupsund