Five higher education institutions intensify cooperation in Finland – expanding the range of programmes and specialisation opportunities in Swedish
The new agreement has been signed by Hanken School of Economics, Åland University of Applied Sciences, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Novia University of Applied Sciences, and Åbo Akademi University. Each institution has a unique profile and areas of expertise that represent a clear strength. The cooperation does not entail any structural changes to the higher education landscape; each institution will continue to operate as an independent entity.
The intensified cooperation is being launched to strengthen Swedish-language higher education across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries. At a societal level, the aim is to safeguard diverse, interdisciplinary competence also in Swedish in Finland.
“This collaboration provides our students with entirely new opportunities to combine breadth and specialisation in their education, while also strengthening the Swedish-language higher education landscape in Finland, says Mika Gabrielsson, dean of education at Hanken.
As a first step under the new agreement, the institutions will open their course offerings to one another’s students. This enables new specialisation pathways, as students can include courses in their degree programmes that are not available at their home institution. In this way, graduates will enter working life with unique expertise. At the same time, the cooperation creates flexible study paths and promotes broader knowledge exchange between the institutions.
Initially, the cooperation covers education in languages and economics, but the ambition is to expand the educational offering and further develop the forms of cooperation in the near future.
Contact person:
Linda Gerkman
Director for education and digital services
Hanken School of Economics
linda.gerkman@hanken.fi