The Ministry of Education and Culture published the new Vision for Higher Education and Research. Quality for higher education and research is desired, but what does that mean in practice?
How can university people foster the national languages in the science community’s daily life, staff rooms and lecture halls? And could the use of native language fight anti-science sentiment?
University atmosphere determines what a teacher is able to say when teaching and what is kept quiet. According to several researchers, these subjects have changed in the last decades.
The Trump administration is cutting research funding and compiling lists of banned words. But Europe is not free of threats against science either.
Minister Mari-Leena Talvitie’s goal is to open the doors of higher education institutions to at least every second young person. By increasing RDI funding, she wants to secure a strong capability to innovate for Finland in the future. At the same time, she is aware of the difficulties of increasing the education level and research funding.
The Research and Innovation Council makes strategic choices to guide RDI policymaking in Finland. Academics from higher education institutions and research institutes have also been allowed to participate.
Additional research and development funding is heavily channelled via Business Finland towards businesses. For the time being, free research funding for universities sees no increase.
Universities try to control costs by modifying their facilities and abandoning premises. However, facilities are more than a simple expense – they either help or hurt academic work.
Tiina Niklander is one of the University of Helsinki’s chief shop stewards. In an academic community comprising thousand of people, fixed-term employment contract issues are frequently on the agenda for shop stewards.
The European Union can be seen in many ways in daily university life. How are Finns influencing the Union’s higher education policy?
Universities want to offer clear career paths, including for those who choose something other than the tenure track path. The University of Vaasa, for example, offers two career paths and the Aalto University has two. However, sometimes you can only progress through an open application.
Higher education institutions are not racism-ree zones. Identifying the phenomenon requires awareness from everyone. Increasing equal treatment is also about working life skills.
Higher education funding models will see an update this autumn. The Finnish model is exceptionally focused on quantifiable results. University worker unions are hoping for more stable funding.
The new government programme promises more university funding. Conversely, a higher number of starting places is desired.
A significant part of master’s degree programmes at the Finnish universities are in English, and nearly 40 percent of master’s theses are also written in English. If this trend continues, English will soon be the language of Finnish science, fears a Ministry-appointed evaluator.
A shop steward is a neutral intermediary between employers and employees, as well as union lawyers. Their job is also to prevent expected conflicts.
Middle management is an important intermediary between university staff and upper management. Can middle management bring the staff’s message to central management, or does it remain the messenger for upper management?
Tieteentekijät, Professoriliitto ja YLL haluavat riittävää rahoitusta tieteelle ja parempia työsuhteita yliopistoon. Mutta mitä lupaavat puolueet?
We asked the parliamentary parties their opinions on the science policy required from the next government.
FUURT, The Finnish Union of University Professors, and YLL want sufficient funding for science and improved university employment relationships. But what are the parties promising?
Is the rector first among university professors – or is she/he the CEO of university? We asked five former and current rectors for their take on university leadership.
