Finland - Jyvaskyla Region - Final Self-Evaluation Report.pdf

Key topics relating to changes in the HE-system. The Finnish higher education system is currently underpressure to change. The diminishing youth age groups put pressure on the decrease in annual student intakewhereas the need for adult education is increasing. The productivity programme of the Ministry of Educationfor the period of 2006-2011 involves such things as plans for the gradual cut in the number of universityemployees, increasing the size of the institutions (by incorporating and shutting down small units), andincreasing the share of performance based funding. Increasing the autonomy of universities is also inprogress, a process that aims to improve the possibilities for commercialization of research and educationand facilitate the holding of shares in companies and establishment of university-based companies. Forinstance, by establishing separate technology transfer units, universities could focus more efficiently on theircore functions – education and research – as well as societal interaction, in order to collaborate with thesurrounding community and to transfer the knowledge for the use of society and industries. Moreover, theproposal for the transfer of polytechnics’ ownership to the government has been debated recently as a part ofthe renewal of the municipal and service structure.7.2 Regional levelPromoting the regional contribution of HEIsDuring the last ten years, the Jyväskylä region has become a centre of growth and high level knowledge. TheJyväskylä region is marketed internationally as a Human Technology City – a city that develops innovationsat the crossroads of people and technology, which is strongly founded on the knowledge base of the HEIs inthe region. Both the University of Jyväskylä and Jyväskylä Polytechnic have a national and internationalprofile and they are respected as strong actors and intellectual forerunners in the region. Furthermore, theyattract talented young people to the region. The HEIs participate in regional strategy working groups andtheir activities form an essential part of regional strategies and programmes. The main strategies anddevelopment programmes involve the Provincial Development Strategy, Centre of Expertise Programme,Regional Centre Programme, and the Network City Strategy, among others. For instance, the wellnesstechnology, which is a new pillar supporting regional development, has been strengthened as a result ofconstructive cooperation between the HEIs and the regional stakeholders. Due to the important position ofthe HEIs in the Jyväskylä region they have a strong voice in matters which affect them.The intermediate organizations promote the regional contribution of HEIs in the Jyväskylä region bycarrying out joint projects, profiting from the expertise of HEIs and acting as a facilitator of informationtransfer. The promotional effects could be further strengthened by developing mutual mechanisms foreffective cooperation. An important form of regional cooperation between the University of Jyväskylä andJyväskylä Science Park (JSP) has also been the building of premises 18 . For instance, the JSP has had anactive role in the planning and funding of the new significant buildings like the Agora (owned by theFastighetbolag Jyväskylä Agora Ab), Viveca (owned by the JSP Facilities Ltd.) and the Nanoscience Center(owned by the Senate Properties), which has considerably accelerated the extension of the university basedon their needs. JSP has also rented a certain part of those premises to firms that support the creation ofnetworks.In addition to the intermediate organizations, there are other regional actors supporting the regionalcontribution of the University of Jyväskylä and Jyväskylä Polytechnic. The duties of the Department forEducation and Culture in the State Provincial Office of Western Finland are to improve the quality of cultureand education at all levels in the province of Western Finland, as well as the productiveness of the region asa part of national educational and cultural activity. The Department’s task areas include: professionaltraining, the evaluation of educational and cultural services, further training for educational personnel,library administration, sports and youth activities, arts management, and general applications. The StateProvincial Office of Western Finland has convened a Knowledge forum of Central Finland which consists ofexperts (concerning e.g. EU-programmes) and members of all parties providing EU funding, as well as theeducational institutions in Central Finland. The forum determines goals and development lines in order to18 The main part (75%) of the University of Jyväskylä premises is rented from a state-owned Senate Properties. Mostuniversity premises in Finland were given to Senate Properties in 1999, and today nearly all new university premises arebuilt by them.100