Opening of the Academic year: President Tuula Teeri finds the cutting of the university index to be a short-sighted solution
04.09.2012
The opening of the academic year at Aalto University was held on the Otaniemi campus on Tuesday 4 September. Almost six hundred staff members, students and cooperation partners took part in the event.
The event was opened by President Tuula Teeri. A message from the government was presented by the Minister of Education and Science, Mr Jukka Gustafsson. Mr Voitto Kangas, President of the Board of the Aalto University Student Union also spoke at the opening.
The annual Aalto Talk was delivered by Professor Pirjo Hirvonen from the School of Arts, Design and Architecture in the spirit of Helsinki's World Design Capital year. An additional flavour to the talk was given by a fashion show created by students from the Degree Programme in Fashion and Clothing Design.
The Aalto Initiative of the Year prize aimed to provide recognition to a significant initiative or activity within the university was awarded at the event.
Financial basis for universities to disintegrate without indexation
President Tuula Teeri stated in her opening speech that the university reform is by no means complete.
- There is a lot to do be done in terms of improving the financing for the university system and the distribution of labour within the system, adjusting the role of different educational institutions and research institutes and promoting the functionality of the whole innovation chain.
- When the economy is struggling, savings and efficiency are naturally called for, but they should be sought by carefully examining the major features of our innovation system, not by impoverishing the system as a whole.
- A seemingly easy but short-sighted solution would be, for example, to cut the university index already incorporated in legislation; without indexation, the financial basis for universities will continue to disintegrate from year to year with no real link to the quality of activities. When the new financing system for universities provides incentives for quality, the index is necessary to ensure the long-term nature of operations, Teeri commented.
President Tuula Teeri expressed her hope that the right to tax deductions in connection with private donations to promote research be made permanent. - The results from fund-raising by universities show that the preparedness for donations is there, as long as their terms remain reasonable.
Teeri concluded that universities are in a key position when addressing some of the major tensions in society, such as issues related to climate change and world economy.
- Both leading industrial countries and developing economies recognise the overall significance of innovations originating in the expertise of universities and the new entrepreneurial activity arising from them for their economic development.
Minister of Education and Science acknowledged the level of internationalisation at Aalto
The Minister of Education and Science, Mr Jukka Gustafsson, who presented a message from the government, pointed out how in a short time, Aalto University has grown into a well-known university both in Finland and abroad.
- The university community is multifaceted and international, and Aalto invests in international strategic partnerships. Quality attracts quality and innovation feeds new innovation. The university has excellent prospects for further development, Gustafson stated.
The Minister of Education and Science extended an invitation to Aalto University to take part in the joint planning process for how to promote equality in higher education.
- A great number of people with the interest and ability for university studies are excluded from higher education. Studies are discontinued or prolonged too often particularly with students from families with a lower educational background.
Mr Voitto Kangas, President of the Board of the Aalto University Student Union, called for teaching that would make use of the potential of various technologies to a far greater extent than is the case at present.
In the years to come, teaching in bachelor's degree programmes will concentrate on the Otaniemi campus. Kangas hoped that the campus would become a centre for a genuine community spirit, a location that future student generations, too, could use as a meeting place and a platform for growth. - This is a joint effort that requires contribution from the whole university as well as the economic life and the rest of society, Kangas stated.
Professor Pirjo Hirvonen talked about fashion as a part of design and stressed its role in the creation of new competitiveness. The new generation is hungry, international and open-minded.
- The fashion industry creates new ideas, but it also needs new operating concepts, new technologies, new production methods, marketing and sales – new types of business and entrepreneurship. The multidisciplinary Aalto University has what it takes to respond to all these needs, Hirvonen observed.
The Aalto Initiative of the Year prize awarded for the third time
The Aalto Initiative of the Year prize was awarded to the Aalto University Research Support Services unit that provides assistance to the staff and researchers of Aalto University in all issues related to external research funding. The Research Support Services unit has developed its services through such means as increasing its presence in the schools and adopting a more solution-oriented approach. This has generated a lot of positive feedback.
The Aalto Initiative of the Year prize was now awarded for the third time. Any member of the university community may propose nominees for the prize, which is awarded by the president of the university.