University Continuing Education in a

Globalizing World – The Challenges from

Finnish Perspectives

Hanna-Riikka Myllymaki

April 12, 2006

2006 UCEA Annual Conference

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 21 Universities in Finland
Ten multi-faculty universities, three schools of economics and business administration,
three universities of technology, four art academies and National Defence College

At least one CE-centre in each university

University of Helsinki
University of Joensuu
University of Jyväskylä
University of Kuopio
University of Lapland
University of Oulu
University of Tampere
University of Turku
University of Vaasa
Åbo Akademi University
Helsinki University of Technology
Lappeenranta University of Technology
Tampere University of Technology
Helsinki School of Economics
Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
Turku School of Economics and Business Administration
Academy of Fine Arts
Sibelius Academy
Theatre Academy
University of Art and Design Helsinki
National Defence College

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 University Continuing Education Network in Finland
• national network of continuing education centres
• founded 1990
• 34 member CECs from 21 universities
• number of personnel: 1700 in CECs
• Sources of financing of the network structure: annual fees
by the members, subsidy by the parent university of the
UCEF headquarters, subsidy by Ministry of Education
• Sources of financing the activities: annual meetings are
financed by the attendance fees, case by case project
funding

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 Lifelong Learning in Universities in Finland

• continuing education and open university

• in 2005 over 85 000 students in CE and over
115 000 students in open university
• different ways of organizing CE inside
universities
• tasks: continuing education, research,
development services, conference services,
publishing
• national and international networking
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 Continuing Education in Universities
• variable courses that range from short courses up to
more extensive specialization studies (20-40 credits).
The focus of the teaching depends on the orientation of
the university.
• target groups: academic professionals, people who are
training for a new profession, certain occupational
groups (also general courses available)
• More and more often courses are arranged on demand
and planned together with the organization that ordered
it.
• CE also includes training for the unemployed and those
who are in danger of losing their jobs (These courses are
bought from the universities and provided for academic
jobseekers by the employment authorities)

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 The Lisbon strategy challenges for european
university adult education

The role of the universities’ adult education must be enhanced in view of

performing the following basic tasks:
1. To develop and maintain mechanisms for the dissemination, transfer
and internalization of university-generated knowledge, and to develop and
maintain knowledge management methods so as to enable the generation
and use of new knowledge in all working life sectors.
2. To develop and maintain professional development systematics based
on collaboration between various education and training providers, so as
to enable the provision of high-quality modular training for the various
occupational groups in all sectors.
3. To process the knowledge people produce in their own universities and
knowledge generating institutions into a form suitable for practical
professional use as teaching material, in a way that enables the various
instructors and teaching support personnel to use it economically in their
own work.
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 Development of european university adult education:
implementing the core of the Bologna process

The role of universities is changing

1. Universities’ importance in developing working life
processes is emphasized.
2. Adult education is the distributor of new know-how, as wellov
tG
as creator of new working culture. E N a
U
3. Network-based activities and
virtual university change

© Markku Markkula
UCE
universities’ operations Bachelors Programmes
UAdult
decisively. Degree & Masters and Courses
Education Programmes
4. Workbased learning will be
acknowledged by universities.
Developers of university degree programmes
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Example of collaboration:
A multi-university master’s program for social and health sector

UNIVERSITY - SOTE

Construction of model:
- organization/participant chooses 20 credit (study weeks)
from 1- 10 weeks modules
University of Turku University of
The Institute for Extension Studies - experts from different Tampere CEC
universities
- utilizing academic research
- networking between Department of
the Faculty of Law participants and experts Nursing The School of
Quality assurance unit Science Public Health
Department of
20 study weeks Social Policy and
1- 10 weeks modules Social Work

University of Kuopio
The Institute for Extension Studies University of Jyväskylä
The Institute for Extension Studies

Department of University of
Clients
Social Work and
Social Pedagogics Joensuu Faculty of Sports and
Health Sciences
Department of Health
Policy and Management juristics for social and healt
services

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 The soft skills of collaboration
1. Being Empathetic 3. Learning Actively from Experience
° ‘What’s in it for you, my partner?’ ° Diagnosing another organization
° Active wholistic listening ° Taking some distance from own
° Adaptive leadership (vs. context
Technical)
4. Accepting Mutual Dependency

2. Being sensitive to context 5. Tolerating Ambiguity

° Accept communication is ° Suspend judgment on partner
‘context rich ’ ° Be secure and self-efficacious
° Acknowledge differences in
context 6. Being Entrepreneurial
° Particularistic vs. Universalistic
cultures

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 The context for change
The skills needed for work are changing
Main competencies required by European enterprises
• Learning to learn
• Information processing and management
• Deduction and analytical skills
• Decision making skills
• Communication skills, language skills
• Teamwork, team based learning and teaching
• Creative thinking and problem solving skills
• Management and leadership, strategic thinking
• Self-management and self-development
Lisbon Mid-Term review
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 7th Framework Programme
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Directorate-General for Education and Culture The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme
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Lifelong Learning: Innovation and transversal policies The i2010 Programme (successor to eEurope)
 Today

The line between…

• Work and Leisure

• Learning and Work
• Higher Education and Vocational Education
(Training partnerships, Continuing Professional
Development CPD)
• …

…is diminishing
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 Need for change

• time-to-proficiency becomes increasingly important

• people and organizations have
a typical learning speed (limit)
• learning culture, methods, processes, and
infrastructures influence that limit
• we must improve the conditions for individual and
organizational learning significantly and systematically
• integrated working and learning processes

Dietmar Albrecht - VW Coaching

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 Industry Challenges and Expectations
• What industry needs from learning research beyond technology
and didactics?
– studies on learning culture
(and its correlation with business performance)
– business models for corporate learning
– competency and human capital management models
– economic studies on the value of
knowledge flow and learning speed
– research on key success factors for innovation in learning
– research on best practice approaches on
lifelong learning in corporate world

Dietmar Albrecht - VW Coaching, Germany

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 NOKIA 70 -20 -10 approach to learning
learning and development

• 70 - learning at work, problem based learning

• 20 - coaching and mentoring

• 10 - supported learning solution

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 Academia & Industry collaboration actions
•COMPETENCE •JOINT RESEARCH
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
•BENCHMARKING •INTERNATIONAL
COLLABORATION

EXCHANGE OF
HUMAN CAPITAL, INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL CAPITAL

Source: Minna Takala / Nokia

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Vision of Finnish working life in 2015

Competence capital of the work community

is a key factor for success

Finnish workplaces will use the best

available IT efficiently and cost-efficiently
to create conditions for high productivity in
all central fields

Source : The information Society Councils Report 2005

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 but…
• Technology alone, no matter how sophisticated, does
not guarantee the achievement of the targeted level of
productivity

• the crucial issue is the parallel development of

technological and social factors

• the principle of lifelong learning requires that a focus on

innovation and efficent knowledge management become
central practices in all levels of education
– problem and inquiry based learning must be
promoted
– exploitation of the opportunities provided by e-
learning must be promoted 17
 Proposed actions

• endorsement of competence and

innovation as the guiding principles
• aside from technology, it is also necessary
to invest in social, organizational and
business innovations
• the focus must spread from individual
professionals to competence in
organizations and national innovation
environments
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 Innovation as a national challenge for learning

• the principle of lifelong learning requires that a focus on

innovation and efficent knowledge management become
central practices in all levels of education
– problem and inquiry based learning must be
promoted
– exploitation of the opportunities provided by e-
learning must be promoted

• innovation constitutes a national learning challenge also

in the workplace
– what does this mean ?
– how can this be learned ?
– what does this require on the level of the individual,
the organization and the nation ?
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• the educational system must provide
flexible alternatives for those already in
working life to upgrade their qualifications

• the best practises in retraining and

upgrading of qualifications must be
exploited systematically in order to create
a national system for retraining
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 Questions?

Contact:
hanna-riikka.myllymaki@tkk.fi

THANK YOU !

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