Seppo Hölttä

Response of Finnish higher education institutions to the national information society programme

In the 1990s the Finnish economic development policy has been integrated with the governmental higher education policy. This has taken place simultaneously with a rapid increase of institutional autonomy and with the introduction of new accountability mechanisms for the institutions. The Finnish higher education policy framework is presented in the article, as well as the institutional response strategies in the implementation of the national information society programmes.

From ivory towers to regional networks in finnish higher education

Lauteur analyse dans cet article la participation des stakeholders et des intervenants externes dans le controle des universites finlandaises. Une reflexion historique generale est presentee sur la maniere dont les decideurs se sont installes dans ladministration des structures universitaires, en particulier dans le cas de luniversite dHelsinki.

Information as a Regulative Element in Higher Education Systems

The existence of information asymmetry has ascended to a significant role in higher education systems. The article makes an attempt to conceptualise the interaction of universities with their environment, stakeholders, and the state by paying special attention to the role and substance of information asymmetry. The existence of information asymmetries has spurred a range of actions by external stakeholders of universities to overcome information asymmetries. The article specifies the nature of these actions and analyses their impact and potential for the reduction of information asymmetry.

Establishing sub-campuses in China: A Finnish perspective

By taking Finland as an example, this article discusses how foreign higher education providers can enter the Chinese market in terms of strategies on both branding and operation. Recent Finnish policies have encouraged Finnish higher education institutions (HEIs) to export education, with China being an important destination. The article argues that developing joint education provisions is the most suitable model for Finland’s education export to China, as it may meet the expectations and interests of both sides. The article then particularly analyses the need for Finnish HEIs to develop cross-border education in China as well as the Chinese expectations of foreign education provision. Strategies are then discussed for Finnish HEIs to harmonize the interests and needs of both countries, and the article concludes with a number of ‘selling points’ that can be used for marketing Finnish higher education in China.

A resposta das politécnicas finlandesas aos desafios das políticas de inovação e de desenvolvimento regional

This paper presents an analysis of the recent development of a part of the higher education in Finland. Its objective is to analyse how Finnish polytechnic school reacted to the new requirements to become responsive to regional needs and how they build up the necessary abilities to this regional engagement. The central theoretical framework are the institutional changing elements described by Burton Clark (1998) on his analysis about entrepreneurial universities. In particular the article focus on the channels and interfaces that those institutions have established with other players in the region.

Promoting University and Industry Links at the Regional Level: Comparing China’s Reform and International Experience

Abstract This paper intends to learn from international experiences in order to facilitating China’s ongoing regional university transformation with an ultimate goal to enhance the role of university in regional economic development and innovation. In so doing, this paper compares major models of universities of applied sciences (UAS) around the world from the perspective of the Triple Helix Model with an emphasis on the nature of university-industry relation implied by each model, and then exploring their relevance for China’s UASs transformation. It is concluded that the Finnish model is the most relevant to China. By comparing the Finnish and Chinese practices, a number of recommendations are solicited to Chinese policy-makers.

Seeking solutions though the mirror of Finnish experience: policy recommendations for regional university transformation in China

China has recently launched a radical reform to transform over 600 regional universities into application and technology oriented institutions. The reform is a response to diverse labour market demands, regional economic development and the suboptimal structure of the higher education system, and uses international experiences as a reference. While China is still struggling to identify proper international models to follow, this article offers a potential candidate – Finland, with respect to Finnish experiences recommendations for the Chinese reform are discussed and elicited. The analysis flows from discussions in a series of seminars and workshops held in Finland and China in 2014. This article argues that the Finnish experience is of relevance to Chinese regional university transformation, notwithstanding the huge difference in scale.

Scenarios of quality assurance of stakeholder relationships in Finnish higher education institutions

Abstract Although the role and significance of the external stakeholders of higher education institutions has grown in recent years, quality assurance of stakeholder relationships remains a new phenomenon in the management practices of higher education institutions and in higher education research. Based on interviews and expert panel data, this article analyses the internal and external stakeholders’ perceptions of scenarios of the quality assurance of stakeholder relationships in Finnish higher education institutions. It especially focuses on exploring how institutions can balance internal and external stakeholders’ perspectives with regard to quality assurance. The results show that an essential challenge for Finnish higher education institutions is to develop flexible quality assurance practices capable of balancing the academic goals of the institutions and the needs of the external stakeholders. This also requires seeking balance between the centralised coordination and the differentiated practices of disciplines and academic units inside institutions.