Education

The Finnish education system comprises:
- basic education, compulsory for children and youths aged 7-16
- secondary education or vocational education and
- higher education at universities and polytechnics.
Pre-school education is given to six-year-olds at kindergartens and pre-schools. Adult education is available at many institutions, such as adult education centres, study centres, vocational training centres and open universities.

The Finnish municipalities provide basic education, as well as secondary and vocational education. The universities operate under the Ministry of Education. In basic education and secondary education, teaching focuses on knowledge subjects. In an international study (the OECD’s PISA 2000 research), Finland was rated as one of the leading countries in literacy, mathematics and sciences. Teaching methods and contents have proved their efficacy by international standards.

In higher education, polytechnics are geared towards knowledge relevant to various vocational fields and towards practical training in companies. Universities emphasise academic education and research. Research in cooperation with businesses is particularly intensive at universities of technology. Universities do not charge their students enrolment fees, and the academic atmosphere is very open and informal.

At the University of Jyväskylä, the academic profile covers humanities, nature and technology. The university is Finland’s the most important research and education institution in sports sciences. The Agora Centre combines behavioural sciences with information technology research and education to serve human and social needs. The units of the History of Mind and Geometrical Analysis, and the Mathematics and Physics research units have been designated a ‘Centre of Excellence Science Unit’ by the Academy of Finland.

The University of Tampere is characterised by its strong and diverse education and research in economics, administration and culture, as well as health, well-being and education. The Research Unit on Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Disease in Tampere has been designated a ‘Centre of Excellence Science Unit’ by the Academy of Finland.

The International Centre for Signal Processing Unit, the Institute of Biomaterials and the Institute of Hydraulics and Automation at the Tampere University of Technology have been designated a ‘Centre of Excellence Science Unit’ by the Academy of Finland. More MSc degrees in information technology have been awarded by the university than by any other university in the country. The university has a wide range of connections with the surrounding business world.

The university centre in Seinäjoki consists of the education and research units of many different universities. The University of Helsinki has located its multidisciplinary Expert Institute for Rural Research and Training in Seinäjoki. The Universities of Vaasa and Tampere have social science research units there. The centre also accommodates a unit of the Sibelius Academy.

Vaasa Polytechnic is a multi-field institution offering higher education and research in economics, humanistic subjects, legal science and technology, as well as health care and social services.Teaching and research are conducted in both Finnish and Swedish.

The University Centre of Pori is a cooperation network of five universities and a multi-field knowledge centre. The University Centre specialises in education and research in the areas of well-being services, cultural production, maritime studies, technology and business.