The donation is part of the Swedish Cultural Foundation’s initiative where the foundation donates to several different universities within the framework of the state matched-funding program.
- There must be both top and capacity in the Swedish-speaking universities in Finland. This is our way of showing how important university education and research are for the Swedish language and community in Finland, says Mikaela Nylander, chair of the foundation.
Part of the donation is directed to pedagogy and teacher education.
- We are very happy that the Swedish Cultural Foundation has decided to direct the donation to pedagogy and teacher education, says Professor Gunilla Holm at the Faculty of Educational Sciences.
- Our most important development goal now is studies in special education and our goal is to establish an education that provides special education teacher qualifications.
The second part of the donation is directed to natural sciences.
- This noticeable donation is highly appreciated. In the future we plan to invest in opening for teaching in Swedish in the very current subject of artificial intelligence and its societal applications, says Dean Kai Nordlund at the Faculty of Science.
With the Swedish Culture Foundation in Finland's recent donations, the foundation’s donations are now up to a total of EUR 14.75 million, which has been directed at the universities' fundraising campaigns since 2010.
- Participating in the fundraising is a way for us to use the foundation's money effectively. At the same time as we directly support the universities, our donations guarantee that the state invests public funds in education in Swedish, says Mikaela Nylander.
The state capitalizes the universities 2020–2022 through matched-funding, which means that the state adds a certain amount for each euro in private donations that the universities receive during the period 15.6.2020–30.6.2022.