TUAS to focus on four fields

“The selected focus fields – technology, social services and health care, business and culture – constitute sufficiently strong future competence areas for which TUAS has regional responsibility with regard to the availability of competent workforce. In addition, the higher education institutions of Turku as a whole form world-class areas of specialisation in these fields, attracting investments and expertise.”

“Making clear selections also enables us to improve cost efficiency. From a student’s point of view, changes seek more flexibility within fields and improved correspondence with working life needs,” says Sami Savolainen, Managing Director of Turku University of Applied Sciences Ltd.

All Finnish universities of applied sciences were to submit their operating licence applications to the Ministry of Education and Culture at the latest on Monday 30 September. For TUAS, the applicant is Turku University of Applied Sciences Ltd, to which the operations of TUAS are being transferred as of 1 January 2014. The company is owned by the cities of Turku and Salo, and the City Boards of these two cities discussed the operating licence application before the company’s Board of Directors decided on the content of the application on 25 September.

The application proposes adding the training of dental technicians to TUAS’ educational responsibilities, with the launch planned for autumn 2017. This requires strategic project funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture. Currently, there is training for dentists, dental hygienists and dental nurses in Turku. With the launch of dental technician training, the region would become a stronger national hub of education that could be concentrated on one campus, together with the leading companies of the field. There is strong expertise for executing this training, based on biomaterial know-how and dentistry training at the universities of Turku.

Other than this, the educational responsibilities being applied for are the same as at the moment. TUAS is not applying for construction architect training, as this would have required cuts in other engineer training. One of the future plans is to begin training that leads to a Master's degree in design in co-operation with Novia University of Applied Sciences. However, this does not require applying for an educational responsibility.

In line with its earlier decisions, in the future TUAS will organise education leading to a degree in Turku and Salo. Nevertheless, through its continuing education and research, development and innovation activities, among other aspects, it serves a broader regional employment area. The funding base of Turku University of Applied Sciences Ltd will be diversified by increasing and reforming research, development and innovation activities as well as service business.

According to the operating licence application, TUAS will engage in closer co-operation with other universities, especially with the University of Turku, with regard to training, education, premises and regional development. The aim is to create an increasingly well-knit campus of 40,000 students and researchers. The company’s financial calculation contains a provision for the Kupittaa campus.

Approximately 80 per cent of TUAS’ graduates find employment in Southwest Finland. TUAS collaborates with more than 3,600 organisations each year.