Many University Rectors Wish to Undermine the Dual Model

In their opening addresses at the outset of the academic year, many University Rectors emphasized the co-operation within the University sector.

- I wonder, whether the time would be ripe for at least partial dismissal of the dual model, at least in fields suitable for that kind of development? The Universities in Tampere could join with the Tampere University of Applied Sciences and start piloting a new operations model, suggested Markku Kivikoski, the Rector of the Tampere University of Technology, at the opening seremonies of the academic year.

Last year, the Rector, Kaija Holli, suggested that the University of Tampere and the Tampere University of Technology could be united. At that time, Kivikoski was against this proposal. Now, the tone has changed. Kivikoski spoke about the raw diamonds of reasearch developing in the various Universities of Tampere, which have the opportunity to become ground into crown jewels. The rapporteur, Stig Gustavson, who has been jointly appointed by the Universities in the area, is planning a scheme on how the Universities could together enhance their positions within teaching, research and social influence.

The destiny of the dual model was approached also in Oulu and Lappeenranta.

- The co-operation between the University of Oulu and the Oulu University of Applied Sciences functions well, but it could be expanded considerably. The functionality of both Universities could be enhanced by more intensive co-operation. By this means, we could also better meet the requirements of the society, the Rector, Lauri Lajunen, observed.

- The controlled dismantling of the dual model is also required: those applying to Universities to study a subject, which is close to what they have qualifications for from a University of Applied Sciences, should be accepted to MA-studies straightforwardly, without extensive bridging studies in between, Lajunen added.

The new Rector of the Lappeenranta University of Technology, Anneli Pauli, commended the good example for co-operation between Universities that Lappeenranta has already offered for years:

- LUT and Saimia operate on the same green campus and share the library and some of the lecture halls, for instance. If it the legislation would allow it, we could save more tax payers' money through co-operation in language teaching, for example. The more extensively joined use of the IT-services would also be sensible.

The financing of Universities is not equal to playing bingo with budgets

Comments on the shortage of funding have been a permanent subject in the opening addresses of Rectors during recent years. Again, this theme was apparent – although less so than in many of the previous years. The Rector of the University of Helsinki, Jukka Kola, had calculated that after the new University Law came into force, the University's funding has been cut by almost 50 million euros because of the index cuts and freezings.

- Competitive international basic research of high quality, and education of highest degree cannot be part of the common daily politics, let along playing bingo with the budget, Kola stated.

The rectors of some Universities also returned to the issue of the controversial additional financing of the Aalto University. The Rector of the University of Turku, Kalervo Väänänen, emphasized the equitable treatment of Universities by political decision makers.

- The demanding of equitable treatment can easily be labelled as envy concerning the financial resources. This is, above all, a question of trust towards the future. Universities and the academic world are prepared for even harder competition, provided that the rules of competition are fair, transparent and similar to all.

- The fact that the additional funding offered to Aalto University at the time of its establishment is now being transferred for the competition between other Universities is the correct way of action. Aalto University has implemented some admirable reforms, the effect of which will largely become apparent at a later stage. But the other Universities have also executed reforms and enhanced their performance, the Rector of the University of Jyväskylä, Matti Manninen, emphasized.

- During this autumn as well, we had to go through a rather unusual episode concerning the additional funding of Aalto University. This discussion was conducted on the public platform and it concerned the implementation of a resolution which had been agreed upon earlier. Fortunately, the Minister took our side and supported us, the Universities that had been assigned provincial status totally without grounds, said the Rector of the University of Eastern Finland, Perttu Vartiainen.

”The best University employer in Finland”

The Rectors of some Universities brought up the situation of the personnel.

- We endeavor to enhance the comfortability, the sense of community and the career development of the personnel in several ways. Our goal is nothing less than to be considered the best University employer in Finland in the eyes of the personnel, glowed Manninen.

In his last opening address of the academic year as a Rector, Perttu Vartiainen from the University of Eastern Finland brought up his worry concerning the bureaucratic practices that have become firmly established in the University culture.

- The stiff tradition of filling positions and the inadequate administration of the additional funding have fed the so called fixed-term culture, i.e. the continuous application of unnecessarily short contracts. In the University of Eastern Finland, we have been in the front line when it comes to the development of proactive career paths, in other words a four-part career model and the complementary tenure track, but the change has been too slow and arduous at times with us, too.

”Euro as a yardstick”

The Chair of The Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers, Tapani Kaakkuriniemi, took the floor to deliver the views of the personnel at the opening seremony of the University of Helsinki on the 1st of September. Below is the Englishlanguage section of the speech:

“…There are well-funded universities in the world, which are remarkably smaller than ours, and yet they are regarded as ‘top universities’. Many of them are private, while most of the Finnish universities are hybrid, that is to say semi-public, but also semi-private. In the good sense of the term, Finnish universities are private so that they may gather their funding from wherever they want to. In the bad sense, they are public, that is true, but they are not funded as state universities should.

I take this chance to daringly compare the national and international role of the University of Helsinki to the national airline, Finnair. It, too, is a large company in the national scale, but quite small, even miniature, in the international scale. So far, Finnair has regarded service and quality as its assets. They believe that it is not size but quality that matters.

Culture introduced the performance based funding model for the universities. Productivity and effectivity are now estimated by using primarily euro as a yardstick. But can one put a price tag on science, on scientific research, or on academic teaching that should be based on the top research of the university? How much does an innovation cost in, say, bio-technology? If it is too expensive, what then? Will critical thought find its place inside a performance-based university?

This year, university funding has been the target of much debate by policy-makers and the media. The debate started from the specific position of the Aalto University, and it surely has been irritating for that university. But on the other hand, the debate has revealed how narrow and uncertain the public allocation of funding still is, and how rashly many researchers are compelled to act.”

text Kirsti Sintonen

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