Finland

Country in Europe

Capital: Helsinki
Dialing code: +358
Currency: Euro
Population: 5.439 million (2013) World Bank
Official languages: Finnish, Swedish

Finland is a Northern European nation bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia. Its capital, Helsinki, occupies a peninsula and surrounding islands in the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is home to the 18th-century sea fortress Suomenlinna, the fashionable Design District and diverse museums. The Northern Lights can be seen from the country's Arctic Lapland province, a vast wilderness with national parks and ski resorts.

Finland is situated in northern Europe. It borders Russia in the east, the Gulf of Finland in the south, the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden in the west and Norway in the north. The capital is Helsinki. The population of the country is 5.3 million. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish with 94% of the population speaking Finnish and 6% Swedish.

Higher Education System

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The higher education system comprises universities and polytechnics, in which the admission requirement is a secondary general or vocational diploma.

Universities, which are academic or artistic institutions, focus on research and education based on research. They confer Bachelor's, Master's, licentiate and doctoral degrees.

Polytechnics offer work-related education in response to labour market needs. A polytechnic degree requires 3.5 - 4.5 years of full-time study. The requirement for polytechnic Master's programmes is a polytechnic degree or equivalent, plus a minimum of three years of work experience in the field concerned.

Adult education is provided at all levels of education. Adults can study for a general education certificate or for a vocational qualification, or modules included in them, take other courses developing citizenship and work skills, or pursue recreational studies.

The welfare of Finnish society is built on education, culture and knowledge. All children are guaranteed opportunities for study and self-development according to their abilities, irrespective of their place of residence, language or financial status. All pupils are entitled to competent and high-quality education and guidance and to a safe learning environment and well-being. The flexible education system and basic educational security make for equity and consistency in results.

University of Helsinki

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The University of Helsinki is Finland’s oldest university, established in 1640. It has been located in the Finnish capital since 1829; before that it was known as the Royal Academy of Turku and located in the country’s oldest settlement, Turku. Today, the University of Helsinki is Finland’s highest-ranked institution, at 91st in the world. As well as being the oldest and the highest-ranked, the university is also Finland’s largest higher education institution, with more than 36,500 students enrolled. It has 11 faculties and 11 research institutes, and it offers degrees taught in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Aalto University

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Also located in the capital, Aalto University is Finland’s second highest-ranked institution –currently joint 133rd in the world. The university was founded in 2010 through a merger of three existing institutions, namely the Helsinki University of Technology, the Helsinki School of Economics and the University of Art and Design Helsinki. The aim of the Finnish government was to create a new university, which would be a model of innovation and a symbol of high quality education. Today, about 20,000 students are enrolled in the newly created Aalto University, which makes it the third-largest higher education institution in the country.

University of Turku

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The second-largest university in Finland is the University of Turku, where just over 20,000 students are enrolled.

Ranked 234th in the world, the university has its main campus in Turku, in the southwest of Finland, but it also has faculties at Rauma, Pori and Salo. The University of Turku was established in 1920, following donations from more than 22,000 citizens. It places a strong emphasis on international collaboration, and offers a number of master’s and PhD programs run in partnership with universities in other countries.

University of Jyväskylä

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Established in 1934, the University of Jyväskylä originated from the first Finnish-speaking teacher training college, which was founded in 1863. Ranked joint 338th in the world, the university teaches around 15,000 students in seven faculties. It retains its teacher-training heritage, being considered the country’s leading university for education programs. This is also reflected in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, which places the University of Jyväskylä among the world’s top 100 universities in the field of education and training.

University of Eastern Finland

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The seventh highest-ranked Finnish university, the University of Eastern Finland currently ranks at joint 382nd place in the world. It was established in 2010 through a merger of the University of Joensuu and the University of Kuopio. Today, more than 15,000 students study in one of the university’s four faculties. With a good reputation for research, the University of Eastern Finland has an extensive network of foreign partners and often participates in international projects. The university’s main campuses are in the cities of Joensuu and Kuopio, with some facilities also in Savonlinna – all within the south-east of the country, in the region formerly known as Eastern Finland. Five more universities in Finland are featured in the latest QS World University Rankings, all ranked among the global top 550. These are: Tampere University of Technology (ranked 319th), Lappeenranta University of Technology (a new entry for 2016, at joint 356th), the University of Oulu (411-420), Abo Akademi University (501-550) and the University of Tampere (also 501-550).