The governmental matched-funding scheme concluded in the summer of 2022. Under the scheme, the University of Helsinki received €11.48 million in endowments eligible for matched funding.
On Thursday, 3 November, the Finnish Government decided on the allocation of a total of €67 million in matched funding to universities in proportion to the donations collected by them. The decision will provide the University of Helsinki with €10,977,000 in matched funding. The coefficient of matched funding is 0.96 for all universities.
“We thank all donors for their support for research and studying. The overall impact of the matched-funding scheme on the University of Helsinki is over €22 million – in addition to which the growth of our investment assets will also support the University’s operations and financial autonomy in the long run,” says Chancellor Kaarle Hämeri of the University of Helsinki.
The government’s decision to provide capital to Finnish universities was prompted by the December 2019 pledge made by the Supervisory Board of the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra to grant a one-off contribution of €100 million to universities.
“Governmental matched funding is a significant investment in a shared future through research and the public engagement of Finnish universities. Thank you to Sitra and the Ministry of Education and Culture for this important contribution,” Hämeri says.
New initiatives
The government’s matched funding is allocated to the basic capital of Finnish universities, the return of which the universities can use to support their operations. In turn, the donations collected during the matched-funding scheme period can be used at the universities’ discretion: the donations can be used to establish funds or allocated to projects important to the universities.
At the University of Helsinki, decisions have already been made to establish new professorships with the support of endowments.
“Examples of our new initiatives include a Swedish-language professorship in data science focused on questions related to artificial intelligence, and a decision to establish a professorship in art studies,” Hämeri says.
Besides providing financial support, donations boost the University’s public engagement.
“To us, dialogue and partnership with our donors are extremely significant. Through collaboration, we can strengthen our goal of being an internationally successful and attractive multidisciplinary university focused on research and education,” says Director Pia Dolivo, who is in charge of fundraising at the University.