Rector Kalervo Väänänen: Better University Institution through Collaboration and Equity
In his speech at the Opening Ceremony of the University of Turku on 4 September, Rector Väänänen stressed closer collaboration between the universities, internationalisation and equal treatment of the different university institutions.
According to Väänänen, the universities have a central role in controlling the ongoing societal change. They have to build a basis for a society that relies on knowledge, skills and education as well as for a sufficiently versatile economic structure.
– In addition to cost efficiency, we need to improve the quality of wide-ranging education and research. However, this alone is not enough – we need more effective ways to transfer innovations from universities to the society, said Väänänen.
For achieving these goals, Väänänen listed three requirements. The first is improving the internal collaboration and division of work between the universities. The second is the internationalisation of the universities’ operations and the third is the equal and fair treatment based on competition from the government towards the universities.
– For education, this means that the universities have to review their education programmes and ask themselves honestly: is the education and research of this discipline organised in such a way in our country that there are no better solutions?
The universities have ample opportunities for better cooperation. Now we should discuss how to recognize those opportunities.
– At this point, I want to emphasise the University of Turku’s willingness for these kinds of negotiations, stressed Väänänen.
The second requirement for improving the universities’ performance is the internationalisation of their operations. In addition to the students, internationalisation should also be increasingly more apparent among the teaching and research staff.
– After short initial experiences, we are encouraged to believe that also educational export can be developed into a significant and profitable business, said Väänänen.
The third requirement for improving the quality of the Finnish universities is equal treatment of the universities from the political policy-makers.
– This demand can be easily interpreted as envy of economic resources. We all know that this is not in question but rather committing to the common goals of the whole nation to develop the entire society, stressed Väänänen.
The Course and Teacher of the Year Selected on the Opening Day
In 2014, the Course of the Year is International Institutions in Action and the responsible teachers for the course are Professor Outi Korhonen and Researcher Janne Salminen. The students also participated in the planning of the course and it was realised as a study trip to Stockholm, Copenhagen, Brussels and the Hague.
The Teacher of the Year 2014 is Senior Lecturer Harri Virolainen from Turku School of Economics. The Course and Teacher of the Year are selected from among the suggestions left by the University community.
Turku Finnish University Society Handed out Five Dissertation Awards
At the Opening Ceremony, the Chair of Turku Finnish University Society, Regional Director LL. M. Satu Astala, handed out five dissertation awards worth 1300 euro. The awarded dissertations were creditable and accepted during the academic year 2013–2014.
The recipients of the award:
- EdD. Mikko Aro: Educational inflation. The expansion of education and the value of degrees in Finland 1970–2008
- MD Janne Orava: Characterisation of Functional Brown Adipose Tissue in Adult Humans
- DSocSci Antti Kouvo: Luottamuksen lähteet. Vertaileva tutkimus yleistynyttä luottamusta synnyttävistä mekanismeista
- PhD Tero Karppi: Disconnect.Me: User Engagement and Facebook
- PhD Urszula Marcinkowska: Evolution and Sources of Individual Variation in Mate Preferences in Humans
The Commemorative Medal of the University of Turku was awarded to the following professors: Luigi de Anna, Yves Gambier, Risto Hiltunen, Jouko Jalonen, Soili Keskinen, Auvo Kostiainen, Pekka Niemelä, Päivi Niemi, Antti Paasio and Kari Ylinen. In addition, Professor Jussi Mertsola received the Johan Wickströn Silver Medal for work in the field of infectious diseases.
Text: Tuomas Koivula
Photos: Hanna Oksanen, Antti Tarponen
Translation: Mari Ratia