Rector: The University must renew itself if it is to be competitive and produce high quality

The change in the position of the Finnish universities as of the beginning of next year and its implications for the University of Tampere were the subject of Rector Kaija Holli's speech at the ceremony to mark the beginning of the academic year on Wednesday, 2 September.

“Over the past year the University's decision-making has been hampered by uncertainty as to whether the new Universities Act would indeed become law, whether its passing would be delayed or whether there would be changes in the draft proposal. That uncertainty is now over. The Universities Act was processed and passed by Parliament in June and confirmed by the President on 24 July.”

“Perhaps we at the University have attached too much importance to the Universities Act, which is nevertheless only a part of the national higher education reform. It is the part which makes it possible to do certain things differently. The real reforms are the structural development of the higher education institutions, the profiling of the universities, the renewal of strategies, the expansion of the funding base and the modification of the principles for the allocation of basic funding which make a difference to the future of the universities and are reflected in their everyday lives,” said Rector Holli.

“Whether we like it or not, our University must renew itself if we are to remain competitive and produce high quality. The other Finnish universities which came into being along with the structural development (not to mention international universities) are for us a point of reference which is different from anything before. With the old concept we cannot respond to this however, excellent we may be.”

“In the face of university reform concern has been raised about the freedom of the researcher or that university decision-making might slip into the hands of outsiders. Such concern is strange, to say the least, as it is hard to imagine that, for example, a university board selected by itself, however large the number of external members, would act in a manner contrary to the best interests of that university or that co-operation with interest groups would encroach on the freedom of the researcher. It is to be assumed that we shall benefit more from looking outwards and from cooperating with interest groups than we can even imagine,” said Rector Holli.

Kaija Holli's speech in Finnish
Watch the opening ceremony video

Photo: Yliopisto-TV