The role and renewal of polytechnics in Finland - results of the background survey

The role and tasks of polytechnics in Finland have been debated in recent years. These discussions have brought forth questions regarding the division of labour between the polytechnics and universities, the position of polytechnics in the Finnish national innovation system, and the size and distribution of the polytechnic network. This report aims to bring forth new perspectives to this largely qualitative discussion through an extensive quantitative online survey. Based on the survey results the following conclusions can be drawn. A clear area of strength of polytechnics is education. In areas related to research and development, and regional development polytechnics are perceived to be less strong. A clear division of labour between polytechnics and universities is regarded almost universally as an important goal, but the current system is seen to significantly hinder the division of labour and potential collaboration. In addition, a significant share of the respondents saw that polytechnics are too much in the domain of universities. A clear majority of the respondents indicated that municipalities should not be funding polytechnics, and that the funding responsibility should be transferred to the state. The majority of respondents, excluding the management of polytechnics, felt that the current steering and funding system does not encourage the effective use of allocated resources.