The internationally esteemed and highly successful Faculty of Educational Sciences in University of Helsinki is Finland’s leading unit of research and teaching in educational sciences and teacher education. The aim of the Faculty’s research and teaching is to optimally realise the cultural and social potential of people for the benefit of individuals and humanity.
The Faculty of Educational Sciences is a dynamic, inspiring and international working and studying environment that has invested in state-of-the-art research and teaching infrastructure. We encourage our staff to make bold and creative decisions while exercising high standards of ethical conduct in research, teaching and community relations.
Our Faculty has approximately 2,000 degree students and 550 members of research and teaching staff. We also offer the studies in education required of subject teachers to some 3,000 students from other faculties. Our education provision includes undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education that qualifies for both specific professions and positions requiring general academic expertise.
The academic portfolio can be used to assess academic competence. The portfolio is a way to record and document one's core competence and to cover aspects of academic work (research, teaching, societal interaction and administration) as a whole. The aim is to create an organised documentation of one’s professional skills and strengths and to give a concise portrayal of one’s professional growth.
An example of the structure of an academic portfolio
The recommended length for an academic portfolio is 4-7 pages plus the enclosures. Individual faculties and units may have the specific guidelines and recommendations of their own regarding the structure, extent and requisite enclosures. When applying for a teaching or research post at the university, one should always make sure whether the faculty or unit has given their own instructions on how to create one’s academic portfolio. The portfolio is also a tool for enhancing one’s competence and development.
The person performing the university's teaching and research position is required to master the language in which he or she must provide teaching.
In universities where a degree can be completed in both Finnish and Swedish, the person performing the teaching and research position is also required to have at least satisfactory oral and written skills in Finnish and Swedish. The University may grant exemption from these language proficiency requirements as laid down in the Code of Conduct.
These requirements cover all Swedish-language positions.
When the language of instruction is Swedish, the language proficiency recommended for successfully attending to the duties of the position corresponds with level C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. At the faculty’s discretion, level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages may be accepted as a minimum Swedish language proficiency requirement.
During the application process, language proficiency is demonstrated with documents, an interview and a teaching demonstration. If needed, applicants may be requested to provide further clarification of their language proficiency.
Instead of or alongside a certificate, Swedish language proficiency can also be demonstrated in other ways. In assessing applicants, language proficiency will be taken into account both when assessing applicants’ qualifications for appointment to the position in question and their mutual ranking.
In practice, teaching and research tasks require good English language skills.
The assessment of teaching skills plays a key role in the overall assessment of applicants in recruitment processes. Applicants’ teaching skills are assessed if they apply for a teaching or research position or for the title of docent. Each faculty has a committee for the assessment of teaching skills, set up by the dean.
The teaching skills committee conducts a reasoned overall assessment of applicants’ teaching skills. A demonstration of teaching skills is a public teaching session in the field of the position or docentship applied for, and plays a key role in the overall assessment of teaching skills. The purpose of a teaching demonstration is to verify the applicant’s teaching skills in practice. The areas to be assessed in addition to the teaching demonstration are defined in the relevant matrix for the assessment of teaching skills (pdf).
A curriculum vitae (CV) is an overview of an individual’s studies, professional career, academic merits and other achievements. The aim of the template is to provide guidelines for the writer of a CV so that the individual’s merits are presented as comprehensively, truthfully and comparably as possible.
More information about the template for researcher's curriculum vitae
The Ministry of Education and Culture has drawn up a classification of publication types.
It can be utilised or its use may be required in the recruitment of the University of Helsinki.
The faculty HR-services help new employees moving to Finland and support them in a successful relocation. You can find useful information about moving to Finland, working at the University of Helsinki and integration support offered at our international career website. The university’s UniBuddy program offers support to international staff members and their spouses via a local support person helping them get settled and integrated in the Finnish society.
The University of Helsinki is the largest university in Finland and one of the leading multidisciplinary universities in the world. International experts working at the University are also attracted by Helsinki’s unique atmosphere and Nordic lifestyle.
We are continually looking for new professionals for a range of teaching, research and support services positions.
Here you can find a link to a list of all of our current job opportunities, and instructions to help you apply.