Finnish-American Linkages
From the Executive Director The code word today is internationalization. It is given greater emphasis on the international and national policy agendas and institutional mission statements than ever before. Jane Knight, a widely-quoted higher education researcher and Fulbright alumna, defines internationalization as the process of integrating an international, intercultural and/or global dimension into the purpose, functions (teaching, research and service) and delivery of higher education. In other words, internationalization is not a set of isolated activities that can be reduced to mere mobility statistics, but rather a dynamic and multi-faceted process. The critical point is that the international dimension relates to all aspects of education and the role that it plays in society. The Strategy for the Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions in Finland 2009–2015 published by the Ministry of Education sets its goals along the very same lines. It stresses global responsibility and intercultural skills, and strives towards a “genuinely international higher education community.” In terms of the action agenda, all Finnish universities seek to attract international students and academic staff. Exchanges with the US remain at the top of desirable destinations. The Fulbright program is increasingly seen as a means of fulfilling this trans-Atlantic agenda, and the Fulbright Center takes this role seriously. The Center assists in the internationalization process by funding study and research visits between Finland and the United States; by helping internationalization-at-home through boosting the number of US scholars and graduate students that a university attracts; by assisting in improving the support services for both Finnish and international students and scholars; by building new academic partnerships through a Fulbright scholar on campus; and by collaboration in research and curriculum development. In this issue, we hope to offer you a window to the work in practice. First, we are very pleased to introduce to you our newest partner, Lappeenranta University of Technology (p. 12–14). The Fulbright Center and LUT have together launched a new Fulbright grant (p. 5) that brings American technology and business students to the LUT campus, which according to a recent international survey has the most satisfied international students in the world! Kudos to LUT! American Fulbright Scholar Elizabeth Dahlhoff tells us about her joint research project in Finland working with one of the world’s best-known ecologists, Professor Ilkka Hanski. And as always, we share our grantee and alumni news, this time from 1958 through 2011 (p. 20–21). We are honored to have Minister of Education and Science Jukka Gustafsson as our columnist (p. 2). He sums it up very well as he stresses the importance of transferable skills in the knowledge based economy and overall competitiveness. The knowledge-society has become border-crossing, even borderless, and the skills needed are no longer what they were before. To quote our current Fulbright Bicentennial Chair Earl Fry (p. 10),“it is likely that the world will change more during the lifetime of today’s youth than during any other generation in human history.” A globalized world needs global citizens. The Fulbright program offers future leaders the opportunity to prepare themselves for the changing world, to immerse themselves in another country and culture and return home with new knowledge, new skills and a different world view.
Terhi Mölsä
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, collaborating with other Ministries and stakeholders, has drawn up an Action Plan for co-operation with the United States of America. The plan specifies innovation and research as areas of great potential, especially in the fields of information, environment, energy, health, food and nutrition and in creative fields. The USA is the leading country in science, research and innovation. Finland generally fares well in different reviews of the performance and safety of society, education, welfare and the innovation system and seeks to consolidate its position as one of the spearhead countries in knowledge, skills and competence. The Finnish Government has launched significant research, innovation and higher education reforms in order to develop a stronger and better higher education system, world-class research structures and environments, and first-class researcher training. Finnish universities have been actively instituting structured education at the doctoral level. The Finnish graduate school system, founded in 1995, has renewed researcher training in many disciplines and helped strengthen research and artistic activities in the 3rd cycle degree programs in performing arts. The structured approach will be extended to all doctoral students and all disciplines. It is of the utmost importance to base the change in doctoral training on the needs of research. As to human resources, one of the national goals is to increase the proportion of trained researchers among R&D personnel – not only in academia, but also elsewhere in the public sector and in the private sector. The expectations of the surrounding society and the global higher education markets are the driving force for modernizing the contents of undergraduate and graduate programs to better match the competencies needed in working life and society. The importance of transferable skills has been to the fore in European discussion on the knowledge based economy and competitiveness. Higher education institutions are also increasingly international. Internationalization is an integral part of researcher training and all undergraduate programs
should provide opportunities for internationalization. The Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council recently conducted a follow-up evaluation of doctoral education in Finland (FINHEEC 15:2011). One of the main observations was that without changing the procedures in doctoral education, it will be impossible to complete doctoral studies in four years, the time generally agreed upon by universities. If the completion of doctoral studies could be accelerated, it would ensure the international comparability and complementarity of the Finnish higher education system. It would also shift emphasis from doctoral education to the post-doctoral stage in the research career. It is clearly important that the funding mechanisms enable early-stage researchers to concentrate on training. Finland and the USA have strong links in scientific cooperation. Students and researchers on both sides of the Atlantic have found study and work overseas attractive. The ASLA-Fulbright program, the Fulbright Center, foundations, alumni and friends of the program make a substantial contribution to the internationalization of higher education and research. Networking benefits all involved. I find the widespread cooperation extremely valuable, especially in these times of budgetary constraints. It is a good complement to the long-standing commitment of the public authorities and the input of a growing number of companies and universities in establishing their own dedicated Fulbright Scholarships. All this positive development would not be possible without the exemplary work done by the Finnish Fulbright Center.
Jukka Gustafsson Minister of Education and Science Kuva: Janne Suhonen valtioneuvoston kanslia