Hacking Higher Education Finland

TEXT SOLJA SULKUNEN

“If the system does not create revenue out of tuition fees of incoming international students and is not able to keep them after the studies to benefit from the talent, education business does not function as wanted yet.” -Murat Kiliç, Aeonian Solutions

Higher education institutions have shown many new business opportunities in the recent years. The example cases vary from attracting international degree students to Finland and keeping the talent in the country to employee trainings, microlearning modules, and online education businesses. When we, however, look at the numbers regarding these new openings, only baby steps have been taken towards making the most of them. To fully enter the new markets, we need more focus, cooperation, expert knowledge and most importantly, to internalize the mindset of higher education as a service.

​In order to make successful education business, it is crucial that higher education is considered as a service: It creates benefits to different stakeholder groups such as students, their parents, the alumni, faculty members, companies and the society. By clearly stating and showing them the benefits, it is possible to convince the stakeholders to spend more money on the education services Finnish higher education institutions provide. Many HEIs have taken steps to this direction, but so far the steps seem quite modest. I believe that with professional and potentially also external help the change could be faster and more effective. Maybe commercial cooperation with companies, other expert organizations or even individuals specialized in for example digital learning, innovative study methods, alumni operations, management trainings, and service design would accelerate education sales and export.

Higher education institutions have also a lot of employees who are experts in their own field and passionate about their work. These people are often the ones developing higher education, too. Sadly, many good practices seem to remain “hidden gems” and reach only the ones in imminent contact. It is crucial that we are able to bring out these good solutions and the people behind them so that the good practices can be leveraged throughout the universities and other parties operating in the field.​

Dare to Learn wants to help higher education institutions across Finland to share good practices. We also want to connect institutions with companies that are proven to benefit from the development of higher education services. Come to hear and vote for the best HE development solutions at Dare to Learn on September 20th and join our HHE network to boost higher education businesses in and outside Finland!

​#HHEFinland2019