The steering group for higher education collaboration in eastern Finland discussed the progress reports of the vision group and the working groups focusing on collaboration structures at its meeting of 25 August 2026, as well as the preparation schedule. The aim is to prepare a roadmap during the autumn to support the decision-making of the parties and for use in the negotiations with the Ministry of Education and Culture.
To read more about the tasks and composition of the working groups, see the article published on the university’s website.
Independent survey on the impact of higher education institution groups
The research plan for a survey on the impact of the current higher education institution groups was presented to the steering group. The survey was launched based on the need for additional information raised by the steering group, and it is being carried out by the Finnish Institute for Educational Research (FIER) of the University of Jyväskylä.
The survey provides information on the goals, operations, impact and economic implications and benefits of higher education institution groups to support the preparation. The survey examines Finnish higher education institution groups that consist of a university and a university of applied sciences and group-like collaboration structures. The survey covers the higher education institution groups of Lapland, Oulu, Tampere, LUT, Vaasa and Jyväskylä. The survey is expected to be completed by the end of October 2026.
A survey on closer collaboration between the Karelia University of Applied Sciences and Riveria was also presented to the steering group. According to the survey, the current collaboration provides a solid basis for deepening the collaboration, but in future, broader operational and structural collaboration solutions can also be considered.
Vision Group prepares a common vision
The steering group discussed the progress of preparatory work related to the vision group’s situation overview.
To support the preparations, higher education institutions have drawn up organisation-specific SWOT analyses, which examine the current operating model, contract-based collaboration and the group model. The Student Union and student associations have also completed their own analyses.
According to the working group, the parties share a common view of the key changes in the operating environment. The preparatory work has identified the impact on higher education institutions of, e.g., the shrinking age groups, changes in funding and the goals of the Vision for Higher Education 2040. At the same time, the need has been identified to strengthen business cooperation, innovation activities and the long-term development of regional vitality.
The aim of the vision group is to draft a long-term vision for collaboration during the autumn and to identify measures to respond, together, to changes in the operating environment.
The structural working group will continue to compare collaboration models
The working group focusing on collaboration structures reported to the steering group on the progress of its work and the discussions it has conducted. The working group has compared the contract-based collaboration model and the higher education institution group model, especially in terms of their benefits, risks and legal and economic implications.
The review will compare two alternative operating models. In contract-based collaboration, the ownership and legal entity structures of the higher education institutions remain unchanged. In a university group, collaboration would be built on an ownership-based structure, the aim of which would be to strengthen joint strategic steering and to create a more permanent basis for joint services and investments.
The steering group outlined that the preparations will be continued by examining, in parallel, both the deepening of contract-based collaboration and the prerequisites for a higher education institution group. The aim is to provide the parties with a sufficient knowledge base for decisions on the direction of the next steps.
Preparations are moving into the decision-making phase
The steering group reviewed the preparation schedule for autumn 2026. The vision group and the working group focusing on collaboration structures will continue their work and prepare proposals for the steering group. The next meeting of the steering group is on 22 September.
The political monitoring group, composed of the representatives of the owner cities, will meet on 4 September. Its task is to assess the progress of the negotiations from the strategic starting points of the owner cities.
The Board of the University of Eastern Finland will next discuss the progress of the preparations on 8 September. The Board intends to make a proposal to the owner cities of the universities of applied sciences on the next steps of collaboration and the future collaboration model.
After that, the owner cities will address the proposal in their own decision-making bodies. The aim is that the policies and decisions on the next steps can be made during October.
The preparation schedule is also linked to the interim reviews between the higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education and Culture and to the presentation of a roadmap to the Ministry.
Joint communication on the preparations
Communication will be coordinated in collaboration with the higher education institutions and the cities. The communications team will consist of the heads of communication of the owner cities and the higher education institutions, and information on the progress of the preparations will be provided, as a rule, after steering group meetings.
For more information on the preparations, please see the website.
Further information:
Tapio Määttä, Rector of the University of Eastern Finland, Chair of the Steering Group, [email protected], tel. +358 50 575 1589
