Internationalisation of Finnish Higher Education

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1 Across the Borders Internationalisation of Finnish Higher Education

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3 Across the Borders

4 Across the Borders Internationalisation of Finnish Higher Education Centre for International Mobility CIMO, 2009 Edited by Maija Airas-Hyödynmaa and Leena Balme / CIMO Foreword, Afterword and chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12: translations by Maarit Ritvanen Chapter 6: translation by Kai Schirdewahn Layout: Satu Salmivalli Photos: Gettyimages, Satu Haavisto Printed by Libris, 1000 ISBN: (print) ISBN: (pdf) This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Centre for International Mobility CIMO

5 On Internationalisation of Higher Education in Norway and Germany International Dimension in Norwegian Higher Education in the 21 st century Gunn Mangerud Current Challenges of Internationalisation and the Impact of Erasmus: The German Example 58 Siegbert Wuttig 64 Contents Strategies of Internationalisation Competition for Talent Intensifies Yrjö Sotamaa Internationalisation of Universities of Applied Sciences in Finland 76 Tapio Varmola International Networking as a Strategy 84 Foreword Paavo Pelkonen and Liisa Tahvanainen 90 Ulla Ekberg About the Centre for International Mobility CIMO The Finnish Education System The Internationalisation of Higher Education from the National Agency s Point of View Students ViewS on Internationalisation Challenges of the Erasmus Programme to Students Janna Koivisto Studying in Finland: a Foreign Degree Student s view 100 Erasmus Exchanges, International Degree Students and Teaching in Foreign Languages: Pradipta Halder 108 the Internationalisation of Finnish Higher Education Irma Garam and Juha Ketolainen Exporting (the Best of) Erasmus: from Archangelsk to Cape Town Maija Airas-Hyödynmaa The Question of Language in the Internationalisation of Higher Education The Future of Internationalisation Once Upon a Time There Was Erasmus: a Reality-Based Time Travel to the History of Our Future Kimmo Kuortti 118 Finnish Language and Culture for Foreign Students Anne Siltala English-Taught Programmes in Finnish Higher Education Institutions: Developments and New Challenges Riitta Pyykkö Afterword Ulla Ekberg Authors

6 Ulla Ekberg Director of CIMO Foreword Discussion about the international dimension in higher education has been lively in Finland recently. There has been a great demand for reports and surveys on participation of Finnish higher education institutions in international programmes from outside Finland, too. Apart from short summaries, however, the reports have usually only been available in the Finnish language. In 2007, the Centre for International Mobility CIMO published a collection of articles to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the Erasmus programme. The book examined the impact of the programme from many different points of view. The book gave rise to an idea to examine the international dimension of higher education from a wider perspective, taking an international audience into account. At the time of writing the articles in this collection, there was a big and historical reform of higher education being prepared in Finland. The economic autonomy of higher education institutions was to be increased and institutions were combined to form bigger units. At the same time, a new international strategy for higher education was drafted. Preparation for the new strategy and the strategy itself will be discussed in more detail in the Afterword. In the first article of the book, Juha Ketolainen and Irma Garam from CIMO give a comprehensive description of the development of internationalisation from the point of view of a national agency. They draw conclusions from the most important achievements and challenges based on statistics. International mobility is still a key indicator of international dimension and it plays an important role in the new strategy, too. The Finnish language belongs to the small Finno-Ugric language group, spoken only by about 6 million people. The language question was becoming a problem for Finnish higher education institutions, particularly with regard to exchange students, and they decided to start developing English-taught courses. On the other hand, it was regarded important that international students in Finland should have the chance to learn at least the basics of the Finnish language. Anne Siltala from CIMO writes about the teaching of Finnish language to international exchange students and Riitta Pyykkö from the University of Turku about the development of English-taught courses in Finnish higher education and the challenges they are facing. CIMO works in close cooperation with similar organisations in other countries. We asked the director of our Norwegian sister organisation, Gunn Mangerud, to contribute to the book. Norway is not a member of the European Union but participates in the EU education and training programmes. Interestingly, Norway 8 Across the Borders Across the Borders 9

7 has set slightly different priorities for international cooperation of higher education than other Nordic countries. Germany is Finland s biggest partner in many education programmes both when it comes to mobility and project cooperation. The Head of Department for EU Programmes and the Bologna Process from DAAD, Siegbert Wuttig, presents topical challenges Germany is facing in the international higher education sector. The Erasmus programme has given rise to a number of good practices for international higher education cooperation. Where possible, we have adapted these good practices in development of new national cooperation programmes. Maija Airas-Hyödynmaa from CIMO describes how the examples of Erasmus were used in planning of the cooperation programme with North-West Russia (FIRST) and the development cooperation programme North-South-South. It has been important for the development of internationalisation that higher education institutions and their management, in particular, are committed to the task. Two experienced rectors Yrjö Sotamaa from the Finnish University of Art and Design and Tapio Varmola from Seinäjoki University of applied sciences describe how the international dimension can help to enhance the profile of an institution. Professors Paavo Pelkonen and Liisa Tahvanainen from the University of Joensuu have used networking as a strategic tool for internationalisation. The Finnish student associations have a strong position in education policy: they are heard in all major issues. CIMO also cooperates closely with student associations. Janna Koivisto who has been a representative of the student association of Finnish universities of applied sciences presents the challenges and opportunities of international cooperation from the point of view of students. Pradipta Halder from India gives a different student view, describing the life of a foreign degree student in Finland. Higher education has played a big role in development of the regions in which they are located and that of the whole of Finland, and we believe this will be the case in the future, too. The first Finnish university was established in Helsinki during the Swedish rule in It was one of a network of universities established around the same time together with universities of Uppsala and Tartu. In the beginning of the 1900s, the newly independent Finland was keen to learn from other European countries, particularly Germany. After the Second World War, Finland focused in building a network of universities to cover the whole country, and in the beginning of 1990s a corresponding network of universities of applied sciences was established. We realised very early on that knowledge and skills are essential in the globalised world. The motivation for much of the ongoing reforms is to increase the international competitiveness of Finland. Students have been keen to take advantage of the opportunities available to establish their own international networks. With support from their institutions, they are contributing to making Finland part of the common European education area, and that of the wider world. Finland has chosen a policy of encouraging higher education institutions to extend international activities at all levels: internationalisation has been supported and success has been rewarded. We hope that this book will give you a good picture of the process of internationalisation in Finnish higher education, presenting causes and consequences, challenges and opportunities. Finally, the head of the international office in the University of Oulu, Kimmo Kuortti, bravely predicts how the international dimension in higher education might look in twenty years. Kimmo Kuortti is a member of CIMO s expert group on international dimension in higher education. 10 Across the Borders Across the Borders 11

8 There are total of 104 people working in CIMO in the Helsinki office. In addition, twenty professors who teach Finnish in various foreign universities are employed by CIMO. About the Centre for International Mobility CIMO CIMO operates three different websites. Information about the organisation itself and all study, exchange and trainee programmes can be found on cimo.fi as well as information on youth programmes and EU s Culture programme. Maailmalle.net is dedicated to guiding young people to find their way to study or work abroad. Studyinfinland.fi is aimed at foreigners wanting to study in Finland. In 2008, over two million people visited these websites. Centre for International Mobility CIMO is a government agency whose CIMO S Organisation main mission is to enhance the internationalisation of education and training, youth and culture in Finland. CIMO administers various scholarship and exchange programmes, offers international trainee placements, advances Finnish studies abroad and markets Finnish higher education worldwide. CIMO is responsible for implementing nearly all EU education, training, culture and youth programmes at national level. In 2008, a total of 25,068 people either came to Finland or went abroad through various mobility programmes CIMO administers. In addition, CIMO advances teaching of Finnish language and culture in Ministry of Education cimo / advisory council ukan / advisory council Director deputy director communications and information services Communications and marketing Information, guidance and research universities abroad and arranges summer courses in Finnish language and culture for international students. department 1 department 2 Administration The organisation is also active in research on the internationalisation of higher education. CIMO produces various brochures, reports and papers every year General and adult education Vocational education Higher education cooperation Traineeships and Development Personnel Office services and provides an information service on studying and working abroad and studying in Finland. CIMO s client base covers a wide range of educational institutions, enterprises, authorities in charge of education, employment and youth and non-governmental organisations as well as individuals interested in studying or and training Youth and culture post-graduate studies Finnish language and culture Halls of residence ICT Finance working abroad. 12 Across the Borders Across the Borders 13

9 The Finnish Education System DOCTORAL DEGREES -licentiate degrees NOTE: Finnish polytechnics are also called universities of applied sciences which is the term that is used throughout this book. MASTER S DEGREES BACHELOR S DEGREES Universities POLYTECHNIC MASTER S DEGREES Work experience 3 years POLYTECHNIC BACHELOR S DEGREES Polytechnics Work experience Specialist vocational qualifications Population in Finland ( ): 5,300,484 Finnish nationalities: 97,5 % Mother tongue Finnish 91.2 %, mother tongue Swedish 5.5 %, mother tongue Sami 0.03 % and other 3.3 % Educational institutions, students and qualifications by sector of education in 2007 MATRICULATION EXAMINATION General upper secondary schools VOCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS Vocational institutions and apprenticeship training Further vocational qualifications Comprehensive school education Pupils/ Students 570,689 Qualifications, degrees 65,783 1 Educational institutions 3,263 Upper secondary general education 126,085 33, Additional basic education Work experience Vocational education University of applied sciences education University education 126, , ,304 32,106 20,927 22, BASIC EDUCATION (comprehensive schools) 7 16-year-olds Pre-primary education, 6-year-olds 1 Figure from Figure from Across the Borders Across the Borders 15

10 The Internationalisation of Higher Education from the National Agency s Point of View 16 Across the Borders Across the Borders 17

11 Irma Garam Research Manager, CIMO Juha Ketolainen Assistant Director, CIMO Erasmus Exchanges, International Degree Students and Teaching in Foreign Languages: the Internationalisation of Finnish Higher Education Introduction Internationalisation became one of the priority areas of higher education in Finland towards the end of 1980s. The period was characterised by the collapse of real socialism, the process of change in Eastern Europe, and the integration of the Western Europe. The integration process was seen as an opportunity and a challenge in Finland: we wanted to secure our international position and competitiveness and to strengthen our links with the Western ideology and cultural heritage Finland was accepted in the Erasmus programme together with the other EFTA countries in the academic year 1992/93. Participation in all the other European Union higher education programmes became possible when Finland joined the EU in The easiest way to participate in the Erasmus cooperation was to join existing sectoral ICP networks (Inter-University Cooperation Programmes): The networks provided a ready model for cooperation, including student exchanges, teacher exchanges, development of curricula and intensive courses. To increase international mobility and cooperation meant that higher education institutions and central administration had to have the necessary resources and services. The Centre for International Mobility CIMO was established under the Ministry of Education in June Administration of various grant and exchange programmes was brought together at CIMO from ministries responsible for education, labour, trade and industry. Universities opened new vacancies for staff responsible for international affairs. Administration of international affairs was centralised in specific international offices at universities. From the very beginning, units responsible for international affairs formed networks, which facilitated the increasing participation in the Erasmus and other programmes. This network cooperation resulted in a seminar on administration of international affairs. It is the main event on international education cooperation in Finland, organised by higher education institutions and CIMO and with hundreds of participants every year. The Finnish Ministry of Education put out an action plan to develop the internationalisation of higher education in The subject was examined in various working groups of the ministry: the focus of the proposals was on increasing international mobility. The Finnish higher education institutions were given access to the Erasmus programme at a time when they still did not have experience on wide-scale student exchanges. The Ministry of Education had funded some pilot exchange projects between Finnish and British, German and French universities. There were some exchanges taking place through bilateral agreements and some individual grant programmes. Furthermore, the Nordic Nordplus programme had provided exchange opportunities since Development of Erasmus mobility in Finland outgoing incoming 18 Across the Borders Across the Borders 19

12 ,0 19,3 18,1 19,2 20,9 22,5 23,2 22,8 seemed to offer an opportunity. It was also easy for higher education institutions to get involved in the ready-made programme, the practices of which had already been fine-tuned for a couple of years in other countries. Higher education institutions were keen to look for partnerships in Erasmus networks. There was 15 clearly a demand for the programme among Finnish students and higher educa- % 11,0 11,6 11,2 12,1 11,4 12,1 11,7 Universities of applied sciences Universities tion institutions. 10 8,8 The national award policy used in Erasmus and the Finnish student aid system 5 also supported mass mobility. The goal of the Erasmus award policy has been to give a smaller grant to as many as possible rather than a considerable sum to few Outgoing student mobility from Finland in relation to the number of newly enrolled students The Finnish student aid system made it possible, because it allowed Finnish students to take their Finnish student grant and their government-guaranteed student loan abroad. Erasmus started off the internationalisation process of higher education institutions The Erasmus programme is often described as a success story. By this people usually refer to the popularity of student exchanges within the programme. The popularity of Erasmus exchanges and their growth have been tremendous in Finland, too. The number of outgoing students has more than quadrupled in 15 years and the number of incoming students is 39 times higher! The programme has become a significant aid to acquiring international study experience. Presently, about 4,000 Finnish students go abroad through the programme, representing almost 10% of higher education students that begin their studies every year. In European comparison, the number of Finnish students who participate in international mobility is above average. The number of outgoing students from Finland grew particularly rapidly in the first years of the programme. People were openly excited about the new opportunities provided by it. Students had various reasons for going abroad: some were interested in pursuing an international career, some in learning about a new culture, others in improving their language skills. Some wanted to see how they can manage in a different environment, some wanted to expand their study opportunities, and others were looking for adventure. For all, an exchange period abroad The mobility of students has not been balanced across the board, however. There is a clear difference between universities and universities of applied sciences: whereas almost every four of new university entrants participate in an international exchange during their studies through Erasmus or some other arrangement the corresponding figure is only one in eight in universities of applied sciences. The main reason for this may be the fact that university students have traditionally been very free to plan the length and contents of their studies according to their wishes. This has made it easier to go abroad and to include foreign components in their qualification. The length of studies in universities of applied sciences is more restricted and follows a set timetable. There is also a clear gender difference in participation: more women participate in exchange programmes. It is also problematic that there is less mobility in the fields of technology and natural sciences than in other sectors. Although students and higher education institutions have taken ownership of the programme, the process has on the other hand been characterised by a top-tobottom approach. At national level, higher education institutions have been encouraged, even pressured, to develop international mobility. Development of international mobility has been monitored in the annual performance negotiations between the Ministry of Education and higher education institutions. They decide, for example, the funding of higher education institutions for the next academic year. Active international cooperation and mobility is one criteria, based 20 Across the Borders Across the Borders 21

13 on which a higher education institution could be awarded additional, so-called performance-based funding. The establishment of universities of applied sciences was a significant development in Finland. From the very beginning, vocational higher education institutions took part in the Erasmus programme. There were more than 200 of them and most had very little international activities. These colleges were combined to form temporary universities of applied sciences, which were to be evaluated and accredited by the Ministry of Education at a later stage. International cooperation was one of the criteria, based on which temporary universities of applied sciences were granted a permanent status. Mobility of teachers as a requirement for student mobility The willingness of teaching staff to take part in international activities has facilitated student mobility, too. Internationally active teachers spread their enthusiasm to students and establish links that enable student mobility. In European comparison, Finland is particularly active in the mobility of teachers through the Erasmus programme. According to a report by the European Commission, almost 6% of the teaching staff of Finnish higher education institutions have participated in an exchange, which is clearly above the European average. During the 2000s, the number of outgoing teachers has increased by 40% and that of incoming by 30%. Despite success in European comparison, the international mobility of teachers has been more problematic than that of students in Finland and is regarded as insufficient. The Ministry of Education s new international strategy of higher education institutions highlights the importance of teachers and other staff members in creation of an international higher education community. Lack of time and money are obstacles to teacher mobility. A survey on teacher mobility also brought to light the fact that Finnish teachers regard conferences and project meetings as more useful forms of international cooperation than teaching visits. This is problematic from the point of view of the Erasmus programme, where a teacher exchange must include a period of teaching in the host university. The turn of the millennium and a decrease in outgoing students At the turn of the millennium, the number of outgoing Erasmus students stabilised. Less than half of outgoing Finnish students now benefit from the Erasmus programme. The significance of other programmes has increased: other important channels include own exchange agreements of higher education institutions, so-called free movers who have found their own host university, the Nordic Nordplus programme, a variety of work placement programmes, the North-South- South programme with developing countries, and the FIRST programme with Russia. Although the number of outgoing Erasmus students has not grown at the same pace as in the 1990s, Finland is still one of the most active countries in the Erasmus programme when it comes to student exchanges. Outgoing students Incoming students % 65% % 72% Share of Erasmus mobility of total student mobility A lot of thought has been given as to why there is less interest in exchanges. Several reasons have been suggested, such as: In a good economic situation, students have many opportunities in their own country during their studies, such as attractive work placement opportunities and jobs to go to. The new degree structure has increased the pressure to graduate quicker. As a result of the Bologna process, a part of mobility now takes place between qualifications students go and do their Master s studies abroad, which means that they do not take up an exchange period. Finnish students English skills are increasingly better, but they know less other languages. This development starts already at the secondary education. Finnish students tend to be relatively old compared to their European peers and the opportunities offered do not suit them: for example, a long exchange period may be impossible to a student with a family. Economic or other personal issues may be reasons. 22 Across the Borders Across the Borders 23

14 Studies lack long-term planning: an international period may appear a disconnected part of studies. There are problems in recognition of studies completed abroad in the home university. There is usually not enough information available about exchange opportunities. There is not enough information available about the course provision of host universities. We have already reached a relatively high level of mobility. It is worth asking how many students we can expect to be internationally mobile in the first place. A new attractive option has been introduced to the Erasmus programme: Erasmus work placements. We might expect that while the volume of traditional student exchanges will stabilise or even reduce, the work placements will present new opportunities. During the first year of Erasmus work placements, in the academic year , almost 700 Finnish higher education students took part in this strand of the programme. So, almost 20% of all Erasmus students chose to spend their Erasmus period on a work placement, and we believe that this number will grow in the next few years. The number of incoming Erasmus students is increasing rapidly When Finland joined the Erasmus programme, only a few could anticipate the number of incoming students. In 1989, a working group of the Ministry of Education set ambitious targets for student mobility and made a statement regarded as a given at the time: It is realistic to assume that there will always be more Finnish students going abroad than incoming students to Finland. The number of incoming students has risen year by year and now clearly exceeds that of the outgoing ones. Unlike the number of outgoing students, there are no signs that the number of incoming students would be decreasing or even coming to halt: Finland has been an undisputable success in attracting European exchange students. Who would have believed at the beginning of the 1990s, in light of our history, that there would be more incoming students to Finland from Germany, for example, than there are Finnish students going there? Erasmus has been a significant tool for internationalisation of Finnish higher education. The programme started as a means of providing international experiences for Finnish students, but now is, above all, a way of bringing international students to Finland. 72% of all international exchange students already come to Finland through the Erasmus programme; the share of Erasmus in comparison to other channels has been on the increase. The infrastructure to welcome exchange students in Finland has been good. It has been easier to arrange accommodation than in many other countries, although nowadays some towns are starting to experience a shortage of accommodation. The infrastructure of universities has been praised by international students: equipment and facilities work well, libraries are of high standard and technology modern. We have also received positive feedback about student and social services and support systems. According to surveys, foreign students are attracted to Finland because it is regarded as advanced but also exotic. Students influence each others decisions: those who have had a good experience of studying in Finland have told about their experiences to other students who were making their minds up of where to go on their exchange period. Finland has benefited from the international development trends. The expansion of the EU and the entry of the Central and Eastern European and the Baltic countries to the Erasmus programme increased the potential number of incoming students. Many Finnish higher education institutions already had traditionally links with the higher education institutions in these countries and the Finnish government had grant and exchange agreements with them. Finland is a potential host country for students who wish to study in English, because there is a good supply of English-taught courses available. Finland has become an interesting option for those who would have liked to go to Britain but were unable to because British higher education institutions have closed their doors to exchange students, concentrating on education as business and fee-paying degree students, like the rest of the Anglo-Saxon world. 24 Across the Borders Across the Borders 25

15 Shift of emphasis moves to degree students % ,5 4,0 3,5 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 0, The number of international degree students 2,4 2,3 2,5 2, ,9 2,7 2,7 2,5 2,5 2, The share of international degree students in international comparison ,1 2,8 3,6 3, , ,3 In total Universities of applied sciences Universities Universities of applied sciences Universities OECD countries % Australia 20,9 Austria 15,5 Belgium 12,1 Canada 14,6 Czech Republic 6,3 Denmark 8,4 Finland 2,9 France 11,2 Germany 11,4 Greece 2,5 Hungary 3,3 Iceland 4,5 Ireland Italy 2,4 Japan 3,2 Korea 0,7 Luxembourg 42,2 Mexico Netherlands 6,1 New Zealand 28,5 Norway 6,7 Poland 0,5 Portugal 4,6 Slovak Republic 0,9 Spain 2,9 Sweden 9,8 Switzerland 19,2 Turkey 0,8 United Kingdom 17,9 United States OECD average 9,6 EU 19 average 8,9 International students in higher education in OECD countries (OECD 2008: Education at a Glance) 26 Across the Borders Across the Borders 27

16 In 2001, the Finnish Ministry of Education published its first international strategy for Finnish higher education. For the first time, recruitment of international degree students was mentioned as part of higher education institutions international activities alongside exchange students. A target was set that by 2010 there would be a community of 10,000 15,000 international degree students in Finland and that at least 15% of PhD students were to be from abroad. As exchange studies had become an established part of the international activities of higher education institutions, discussions started to focus on areas where we were only in the beginning: recruitment of international researchers and students, success in international competition for excellence and later, export of Finnish education know-how. The need to secure Finland s competitiveness by expanding our skills base and to improve the quality of higher education by exposing it to international comparison were given as the justification for increasing recruitment of international students. Nowadays, many higher education institutions list recruitment of international degree students and development of high-standard English-taught study programmes as important strategic goals. To achieve these goals, almost all higher education institutions offer English-taught degree programmes. Higher education institutions have established various regional and sectoral networks to market their programmes internationally and to recruit international students. The responsibility of CIMO has been to promote the whole of Finland as a study destination. Application process has been made easier by including English-taught programmes in an electronic application system both in universities of applied sciences and universities. Universities of applied sciences have also collaborated in organising entrance examinations in China and some other Asian countries together. These efforts seem to have started to bear fruit. The number of international degree students has risen both in universities of applied sciences and universities all through the 2000s. A significant number of international degree students in universities, that is, one-third, are post-graduate students. Despite the increase in absolute numbers, the relative share of international students remained stable for a long time, because at the same time as the number of international students was growing, the total number of students increased, too. It is only in the past couple of years that the relative share of international students has started to grow, accounting for 4.2% of all students in universities of applied sciences and 3.3% in universities. Internationally, the Finnish higher education system is still very national and the student community very Finnish. The 4 percent share of international students is less than half of the OECD average. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, the statistics show the number of foreign nationals in higher education, and not people who have moved abroad to study. The difference is significant in the sense that these statistics regard those people who have already lived in the country in question for a long time as foreign (or international) students, too. Because immigration to Finland has been lower than in many other European countries, we have less people with foreign background entering the higher education system from within. On the other hand, recruitment of international students and operating in the international education market is still a relatively new thing in Finland, although a lot has already been done in this area, too. This is also a much more controversial issue in Finland than the cooperation model provided by Erasmus. It has been easy for higher education institutions to adopt the logic of the Erasmus programme, which is based on networks and cooperation and clear, shared rules. In contrast, there are many traditional factors in the Finnish higher education system which are not easily compatible with international competition. These include free education and a strong emphasis on equal education opportunities for all. Since higher education has been regarded as a citizens right and there has been enough Finnish people seeking higher education, institutions have not had a need to compete for students, to enhance their profile and to sell their education as a product. Education in foreign languages Recruitment of both exchange and international degree students has meant that we have had to develop courses and study programmes taught in foreign languages. Development of these courses started from the needs of exchange students. Initially, individual courses or short study programmes were created for incoming exchange students. As the focus increasingly moved towards recruitment of international degree students, more resources were correspondingly directed to development of complete degree programmes taught in foreign languages. 28 Across the Borders Across the Borders 29

17 Year Tot ba MA d Degree Degrees taught in foreign languages in Finnish higher education institutions English. Critics have asked if the strong emphasis on English will stifle knowledge in other languages. There has also been a lot of concern about integration into the Finnish society of those international students who study English-taught programmes. From the very beginning, the creation of English-taught programmes has been partly motivated by the need to recruit skilled professionals in Finland. Knowledge of local languages is needed in the labour market, however. Many degree programmes include only little if any studies in the Finnish language and there are hardly any other processes in place that would help students integrate into the Finnish world of work. There are almost 300 English-taught degree programmes available in Finland. According to a European study conducted by the Academic Cooperation Association ACA, only the Netherlands has more English-taught programmes in relation to the size of the education system of the country. Universities of applied sciences mainly offer Bachelor s degree programmes and universities focus on Master s programmes. Most provision is in the business and technological sectors, a common trend across Europe. The focus of Finnish higher education institutions is more on business qualifications compared to other European countries; in contrast, we have clearly less English-taught programmes in social sciences than other countries. From the very beginning of the Erasmus programme, provision of courses in foreign languages raised questions in Finland. Initially, it was unclear whether higher education institutions could teach in any other than the official language used in the country and whether higher education institutions providing tuition in other languages could be accepted in the Erasmus ICT networks. The principle at the time was that teaching should be provided in the language of the country. Nowadays, it is regarded pretty self-evident that there has to be training provision for international students in other languages than Finnish or Swedish only. It is also typical that many Finnish students attend these courses, too, together with international students. Another important goal of these programmes has been to offer Finnish students opportunities for international experiences at home by giving them a chance to study in a foreign language in a multicultural student group. There are still questions and concerns relating to provision of courses in foreign languages. In practice, the provision in foreign languages means provision in According to the feedback collected from international students, they regard the standard of education in English-taught programmes as mostly good, but there is still room for improvement. Some respondents have commented on the teachers or other students weak level of English or the insufficient availability of English-taught courses. The international support services are often directed more to the needs of exchange than degree students. There is a need to focus more on quality than in increasing the number of English-taught courses. One tool to this end is audits of foreign language degree programmes, which the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council has now carried out twice. In its new international strategy for Finnish higher education, the Ministry of Education proposes widerreaching assessment of international programmes and related support services. How does the future of international mobility look? The Finnish higher education sector and its operating environment is in turmoil. The number of institutions is decreasing and new forms and structures of cooperation are being created as the sector is going through structural change. New legislation will change the legal and economic position of universities. The steering and funding system of higher education institutions is being reformed. A new international strategy for higher education aims at improving the higher education institutions conditions for international work. It is now possible to provide made-to-order training and, as a pilot project, to collect tuition fees from non- European students studying in international Master s programmes. The majority of these reforms come into force in 2010 at the latest. 30 Across the Borders Across the Borders 31

18 The increased freedom of higher education institutions allows them to create a more individual profile for themselves. Different institutions may now have more diverse priorities, sectors and partner countries. Different institutions may decide on very different ways of international cooperation: some may focus more on export of education, some on partnerships, some on cooperation with business and industry, and others on forms of international dimension at home. The new international strategy for higher education emphasises more strategic planning in international activities: all study programmes should include an international component that can be realised in some other way than a traditional exchange period. We can expect a number of new ways of including the international dimension in studies. What does this mean for the role of the national agency such as CIMO? Will the services be increasingly tailor-made according to cooperation partners? Do all higher education institutions need the national agency to the same extent? In any case, there will continue to be a need for national programmes and measures to help realise projects that are important from a national point of view: in this way higher education institutions cooperate and compete for funding at the same time. It is an indication of the importance of the programmes that higher education institutions have been willing to invest their own funds in the international activities, too. The same applies to multinational, mainly European and Nordic programmes: Erasmus and others are still important means of cooperation. The new international strategy also focuses on flexible recruitment of talented students and researchers. One of the biggest trends of international education in Finland and elsewhere at the moment seems to be to attract promising post-graduate students and excellent teachers through various programmes. Alumni activities will also have a more prominent role in the future. The climate change may have surprising effects on mobility. We may have a new generation who is not willing to travel across the world by plane for ideological reasons. The cost of mobility may also increase significantly. We may see a renaissance of mobility and cooperation between neighbouring countries; for Finland this would mean more cooperation with the other Nordic and the Baltic countries. Mobility to and from Russia is already becoming more and more important, as business and other cooperation with Russia is increasing. It is unfortunate that the mobility of Finnish students is restricted by their increasingly limited language skills. Students know English better and better but their knowledge of other languages is worse. This development starts already at school. People can study in English in many countries and this option can often be justified, but you can get much more out of your host country and its culture when you know its language. Does the dominance of English lead to a more international but at the same time to a more uniform way of thinking? As the growth of outgoing students has come to a halt, we must also consider what a realistic level of mobility is in the end. Can we still increase the numbers? Although we have examples of higher education institutions that aim to make all their students internationally mobile, it is impossible to assume that all students in a country would take advantage of the mobility opportunities available. By offering good options we can still raise the numbers, however: quantity and quality do not exclude each other in this case. Mobility from and to Finland has so far been clearly Europe-centred. People often say that Europe is no longer interesting and that students look for more distant and exotic places to include in their CVs. This is certainly true to some extent; however, it does not seem that there will be any dramatic changes in the target countries in the next few years. 32 Across the Borders Across the Borders 33

19 Maija Airas-Hyödynmaa Head of Higher Education Cooperation Unit, CIMO in 2008 higher education institutions requested a total of 1.8 million euros for cooperation. At the moment 22 networks with participants from nearly all Finnish higher education institutions and 45 higher education institutions from the North-West Russia are being funded through the programme. Exporting (the best of) Erasmus: from Archangelsk to Cape Town The Erasmus programme took the Finnish higher education sector by storm, so much so that most university reformers can only dream of achieving anything similar. After higher education departments across Finland had mastered the basic principles of the programme and it had become very popular, we started to think how its principles could be applied to other contexts. The idea to apply a similar model to higher education cooperation with Russia was conceived at the Centre for International Mobility CIMO towards the end of the 1990s. At the same time, Sweden launched the Linnaeus-Palme programme to support higher education cooperation with developing countries, funded by the country s development authority SIDA. CIMO started to lobby for a similar programme in Finland based on the principles of Erasmus. The decision to fund a development programme based on the Erasmus model was made after a lengthy preparation period in The eagerly anticipated North-South programme was initially funded through the development funds of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs as a three-year pilot until the end of On the basis of the positive results and experiences, it was decided to extend the programme in a new form for the period of with the name North-South-South Higher Education Institution Network Programme. The North-South-South programme supports higher education networks between Finland and Sub-Saharan African countries, Peru, Nicaragua, Egypt, Nepal and Vietnam. Grants are awarded for reciprocal student and teacher exchanges and now also for joint intensive courses and networking activities. Demand clearly surpasses the funding available (1.3 million euros in 2008). At the moment, 33 higher education networks with 30 Finnish and 68 partner higher education institutions from a total of 21 countries are in operation. The most popular partner countries are South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia. The enthusiastic reception of these programmes in the higher education sector proves how good practices, cooperation models and tools used in Erasmus can successfully be transferred to other contexts, for example, when it comes to preparation of exchange periods and recognition of study periods abroad. Network cooperation enables light programme administration CIMO launched the Finnish-Russian Student Exchange programme, FIRST, with funding from the Finnish Ministry of Education in It has since become an integral tool of cooperation with Russia for Finnish higher education institutions. In the beginning, the programme mainly supported mobility of Russian students to Finland, but more substantial grants were later awarded to Finnish students, too. Teacher exchanges have also become an important part of the programme. Joint intensive courses are the newest form of operation. The level of funding, 280,000 euros per year, is low in relation to demand. For example, The Erasmus model for higher education cooperation is based on networks of individual departments. Cooperation should be mutually beneficial. The responsibility for implementation of student and teacher exchanges is shared and the expertise for, for example, selection of students remains within the departments. Reciprocal cooperation relies on the willingness of both parties to invest their own resources, too: there is no separate funding for coordination and administration of the activities, nor for selection, preparation and counselling of outgoing students. The actual programme funding is earmarked for direct mobility costs 34 Across the Borders Across the Borders 35

20 only. In the FIRST and North-South-South networks the funding is channelled through the Finnish coordinating higher education institution; the programmes are funded from the Finnish state budget after all. Light administration is characteristic of the programmes. The whole budget for the FIRST programme goes directly to higher education institutions and CIMO provides approximately 0.2 person years to administration of the programme. In all programmes, the light central administration is possible only because of the reliable and knowledgeable international affairs staff in the Finnish higher education institutions and on well-functioning networks, which are important criteria for selection, particularly in the North-South-South programme. Towards closer cooperation: joint intensive courses There has been a lot of interest in increasing cooperation with Russia for a long time when it comes to teaching and development of degree programmes. New opportunities for closer cooperation opened up when Russia joined in the Bologna process. Even though exchanges in the FIRST programme have become more balanced, thanks to, for example, increasing the grant amount awarded to Finnish students, it is still difficult to attract Finns to go and study in Russia. For this reason, it was decided to introduce intensive courses to the FIRST programme, a model used in the Erasmus programme. The aim of the intensive courses held in Russia is on one hand to encourage Finnish students to go and study in Russia and on the other to support development of joint study programmes and even joint degrees. Towards the end of the three-year pilot phase of the North-South programme, a discussion arose about how the impact of the programme in the higher education institutions of the South and the mutual cooperation among them could be increased. At the same time, we did not want to forget the idea of mutuality, an important principle that distinguishes the programme from more traditional forms of development cooperation. Introduction of intensive courses to the development cooperation was one response to these needs. Intensive courses of usually one to two weeks are held in the partner countries in the South and participants come from higher education institutions in Finland and in the South. Recognition of studies completed abroad had also been a challenge in the North-South programme and it was thought that intensive courses could contribute to developing cooperation in this respect, too. It is still too early to draw any far-reaching conclusions from experiences of borrowing this more recent Erasmus element to the FIRST and North-South-South programmes. We can judge from the interest shown in the intensive courses that this model tested in European cooperation will fit well in another context, too. We can already see from the experiences in the North-South-South programme that intensive courses held in partner countries enable dissemination of results of the cooperation regionally. There are also indications that organisation of intensive courses supports forging of closer institutional links and, for example, creation of joint curricula. Challenges in cooperation It is clear that education cooperation with North-West Russia or Sub-Saharan Africa cannot follow exactly the same principles as Erasmus cooperation in the European higher education area. Differences in education systems and degree structures make recognition of studies completed in another country more difficult and institutions may sometimes need to compromise the strict adherence to the principle of reciprocity. We have tried to pay special attention to this, particularly in the North-South-South programme, which includes measures aimed at facilitating mutual understanding between partners. Grants are available to teaching and administrative staff for preparatory and administrative visits. Furthermore, network meetings are supported. Student exchanges between Finland and developing countries and, to some extent, Russian higher education institutions are still mainly tailor-made and despite similarities in the principles of the programmes we are still a long way from the mass mobility of Erasmus. The lack of funding available is a significant but not the only reason for this. 36 Across the Borders Across the Borders 37