Finnish Council of University Rectors

Current Events

Rector Lauri Lajunen chairman of Universities Finland in 2010 - 2011

Rector Lauri Lajunen has been elected chairman of Universities Finland or Unifi for the period of 1 January 2010 – 31 December 2011. Dr. Lajunen has been the rector of the University of Oulu since 1993, and professor of inorganic chemistry at his university since 1980.

The other board members are:
rector Kaija Holli, University of Tampere
vice-rector  Heikki Mannila, Aalto University
rector Paula Tuovinen, Theatre Academy (vice-chair)
rector Perttu Vartiainen, University of Eastern Finland
rector Thomas Wilhelmsson, University of Helsinki (vice-chair)
rector Keijo Virtanen, University of Turku

The nominations were made at the first annual meeting of Unifi on 3 December 2009 in Helsinki. The board will elect two vice-chairs among themselves.
 
Universities Finland, or Unifi for short, is a co-operation organisation of Finnish universities. It aims to influence the Finnish higher education and research policy, and to promote the common interests of universities. The association was founded in May 2009 in connection with the forthcoming university reform of 2010. Unifi continues the work of the Finnish Council of University Rectors. FCUR held its last meeting on 3 December 2009 when it also celebrated its 40-year anniversary.

Universities Act strengthens autonomy of Finnish universities

On the 16th of June, the Finnish Parliament approved the ‘new Universities Act’ that will strengthen the autonomy of Finnish universities by giving them an independent legal personality, either as public corporations (14 universities) or as foundations under private law (two universities).

The Finnish Council of University Rectors welcomes this move as it has been actively arguing for this change for years. The ‘new universities’ will officially start on the 1st of January, 2010.

The Act will give new impetus to the university reform that has been brewing for a couple of years and includes a series of university mergers. As a result of mergers, Finland will have three new universities: Aalto University, University of Eastern Finland and (the new) University of Turku.

The State remains the main funder of universities in Finland but, under the new legislation, universities will gain greater autonomy in terms of finances and overall management. The governance and decision making processes will also be reformed, with more ‘external members’ in the board, including the chair. In addition, the rector will no longer be elected by and from inside the university community, but recruited by the board. Universities will take also the place of the State as official ‘employers’, and university staff will longer be civil servants.

Rector Matti Uusitupa to become Chairman of the Council August - December 2009

The Finnish Council of University Rectors elected rector Matti Uusitupa chairman of the Council for the period of 1 August – 31 December 2009. Rector Uusitupa is currently the 1st vice-chair of the Council. He has been the rector of the University of Kuopio since 2001. Matti Uusitupa is a Medical Doctor, and he has previously been a professor of clinical nutrition and metabolic diseases at his university.

Universities Finland, or Unifi founded

Finnish universities have founded a co-operation organisation called Universities Finland, or Unifi for short. The charter of the association was signed on 19 May 2009.

The university reform of 2010 will strengthen the autonomy of universities, and give them new opportunities and responsibilities. The foundation of a new organisation will give universities additional drive to face the future challenges. Universities Finland will continue the work of the Finnish Council of University Rectors. Unifi will aim to influence the Finnish higher education and research policy, and to promote the common interests of universities.

The future chairman of the FCUR, rector Matti Uusitupa was elected chairman of Universities Finland. The other members of the board are rector Gustav Djupsjöbacka (Sibelius-Academy), rector Lauri Lajunen (University of Oulu), rector Matti Pursula (Helsinki University of Technology), rector Tapio Reponen (Turku School of Economics), rector Marianne Stenius (Hanken School of Economics) and professor Krista Varantola (University of Tampere). The first term of the board will last until the end of the year 2009.

Activities of Unifi

- 20-23 October 2010: EUA secretaries general and council meeting, Palermo, Italy

- 16 June 2010: Executive Committee meeting

- 19 May 2010: Executive Committee meeting

- 19 May 2010: Rectormeeting

- 13 April 2010: Executive Committee meeting

- 13 April 2010: Unifi's annual spring meeting

- 25-26 March 2010: EUA secretaries general and council meeting, Sevilla, Spain

- 24-25 March 2010: CDESR plenary session, Strasbourg, France

- 18 March 2010: Rectormeeting

- 17 March 2010: Executive Committee meeting

- 11-12 March 2010: Bologna Ministerial Anniversary Conference, Budapest, Hungary / Vienna, Austria

- 11 February 2010: Executive Committee meeting

- 28-29 January 2010: EUA secretaries general and council meeting, Brussels, Belgium

- 26 January 2010: Rectormeeting

- 15 January 2010: Executive Committee meeting

 

Past activities of the Council

- 15 June 2009: Executive Committee meeting

- 10 June 2009: Meeting with the Minister of Education, Mrs. Henna Virkkunen

- 9 June 2009: Meeting with our Danish sister organisation, Universities Denmark in Copenhagen

- 19 May 2009: Council meeting. Main issues: Statement of the Constitutional Law Committee of the Parliament on the university law proposal; English titles of university teaching and research positions.

- 6 May 2009: Executive Committee meeting and meeting with the representatives of the Finnish Union of University Professors and the Finnish Union of University Researchers and Teachers.

- 28 April 2009: Council meeting. Main issues: progress of the Government proposal for the new university law at the Parliament; development of indicators for research quality in universities; situation of university networks in 2010.

- 16 April 2009: The second meeting of the steering group of the KYKY project. KYKY is a joint project of the Finnish Council of University Rectors and the National Union of Students in Finland. KYKY aims to promote the well-being of university students by mapping, creating and distributing good practices that improve students' ability to study and strengthen universities as communities. The steering group is headed by the I vice-chairman of the Council, rector Matti Uusitupa (University of Kuopio), and the project worker is Ms. Johanna Kujala (MA Soc.Psych.). KYKY project is a continuation to a previous project, called Kehrä, and it is financially supported by the Ministry of Education.

- 15 April 2009: Executive Committee meeting and meeting with the representatives of the Confederation of Finnish Industries.

- 12 March 2009: The Council and the Rectors' Conference of Finnish Polytechnics organized a joint seminar under the title "Quo vadis higher education". The seminar looked into the challenges of the Finnish higher education sector as a whole (i.a. universities and polytechnics), and it aimed to launch a common discussion on the future development of the higher education system in Finland.

- 11 February 2009: The Council met the Minister of Education, Mrs. Henna Virkkunen and discussed the university reform with her.

- 6 February 2009: The Council met members of the Education and Culture Committee of the Parliament, and discussed the university reform with them.

- 26 January 2009: The Council and the Academy of Finland organized a joint seminar on the advancement of the four-stage research career. The stages are 1) doctoral student or equivalent, 2) postdoctoral position
3) university lecturer or equivalent teaching or research post, and 4) professor or research director.