The University of Turku is known for its high-quality research and teaching, and competent personnel. However, these successes are based on something that often receives less attention: the community. At its best, a university is a place where people with different areas of expertise work together towards a common goal and feel they belong in the same community. At the same time, a university is a complex organisation. Teachers, researchers, students, and other experts work in faculties, departments, services, and different networks. Although these interfaces facilitate collaboration, there is also, at times, competition for resources and visibility. Therefore, building a sense of community is not something that can be taken for granted.
Changes in working life add to the challenge. Remote and hybrid work, project-based work, growing significance of networks, and competition for funding have created flexibility but, at the same time, changed the ways in which we engage with one another. Technological progress, including artificial intelligence, further accelerates this change. It is therefore reasonable to ask what a sense of community at university means today, and how it can be fostered in the changing operating environment.
A sense of community is much more than just a good working environment. It promotes well-being at work, knowledge sharing, competence development, innovation, and coping at work. It is reflected in whether we dare to ask for help, share our failures, or easily find the right person to solve a problem. These everyday moments create the valuable asset of a university: expertise generated together.
A sense of community is built, above all, through interaction and shared goals.
Although changes in our work are in many ways positive and necessary, they can also reduce informal encounters, on which trust, collaboration, and a sense of belonging to the community are often built. At the same time, the structures of a university as an organisation may increase a sense of isolation. The workplace well-being surveys conducted at the University of Turku have highlighted concerns about the possibilities to influence the University’s decision-making, and the discussion may sometimes lead to a confrontation between, for example, the academic and administrative staff.
A sense of community is built, above all, through interaction and shared goals. It is created through our everyday practices, such as how we welcome new employees, interact with students, share knowledge, assist colleagues, and value different types of expertise. Although there are many different professional groups working at the University, research, teaching and the services that support them all form a single entity, the success of which depends on collaboration.
A sense of community is about more than just working together; it is also about having the opportunity to contribute to the University’s development and be heard when decisions are made on matters of common interest. From this perspective, the University Collegiate Council has an important role. It provides a forum where the views of all the different personnel groups and students can come together. The work of the Collegiate Council is a concrete example of how the strength of the University lies in its diversity and ability to use different perspectives for the common good.
A strong sense of community is also a key success factor for universities of the future. Universities work in an environment where technology, funding, and societal expectations change constantly. Responding to these changes requires trust, inclusivity, and effective dialogue. The Collegiate Council has strived to strengthen this role by organising events where the whole University community can come together to discuss common changes and the direction of the future. On 5 November, the Collegiate Council organises the next open discussion session for the whole University community about internationalisation at universities: how universities can attract and retain international students and researchers, foster an inclusive community, and improve career and employment opportunities in Finland.
However, a sense of community cannot be outsourced to management, supervisors, or colleagues. Every member of the University community contributes to building it through their actions. At the same time, the structures and decision-making processes of the University must promote inclusion and trust. From the perspective of the Collegiate Council, a sense of community is not only a matter of well-being at work, but a prerequisite for the University’s operational capacity, renewal and success. The University’s most important asset is its people and their ability to achieve together what no one can achieve alone.
Anna Karhu
The author is the Vice Chair of the University Collegiate Council of the University of Turku.
