University of Eastern Finland, City of Joensuu and City of Kuopio to forge a strategic partnership to advance common goals
The University of Eastern Finland, the City of Joensuu and the City of Kuopio have concluded a strategic partnership agreement aimed at deepening and expanding their existing collaboration. Through the agreement, the parties commit to working together to strengthen the vitality of Eastern Finland and coordinating their activities to advance shared interests. The partnership agreement was signed during the 15th anniversary celebration of the University of Eastern Finland, held in Joensuu on Tuesday, 25 February.
The partnership between the university and the campus cities seeks to enhance collaboration in the fields of education and competence development, services and research, workforce recruitment, internationalisation and strategic advocacy.
“Closer tripartite collaboration with our campus cities is an important initiative for the university. We want to do our part in ensuring the availability of students and skilled workforce in the region, while also enhancing its vitality,” Rector Tapio Määttä notes.
“As the key cities of their respective regions, Joensuu and Kuopio are driving growth across all Eastern Finland. Operating in both cities, the University of Eastern Finland is a thing that unites us, while also boosting both cities’ success. This partnership takes our collaboration to an increasingly concrete level. Together, the three of us are strong and capable of accelerating the development of the entire region,” says Jere Penttilä, the Mayor of the City of Joensuu.
According to Soile Lahti, the Mayor of the City of Kuopio, the development of the city and the university goes hand in hand:
“We need high-level expertise in this region. Close collaboration allows us to build global success stories,” Lahti says.
The partnership is focused on four main areas: developing university-business collaboration, promoting internationalisation and fostering a student-friendly environment, promoting tourism and city branding, and doing joint advocacy.
Collaboration in research and education brings strength to the partnership
The partnership agreement seeks to strengthen collaboration in research and education between the university and the cities. Key areas include promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, developing sustainable cities, and understanding and anticipating the impacts of a changing society.
In terms of innovation and entrepreneurship, the university and the cities will promote national and international RDI collaboration between businesses and researchers.
In education, the university and the cities will advance collaboration between the three educational levels housed on the Kuopio campus area, and the educational institutions in Joensuu.
The goal is for both cities to leverage the broad expertise, with its distinct campus profiles, of the University of Eastern Finland.
In Joensuu, the partnership will, in particular, focus on the forest bioeconomy, photonics, energy, tourism and information and communication technology, including educational technology and learning analytics.
In Kuopio, the focus areas have been defined as health and well-being, drug development, the development of education in technology, water technology and the environment.
With the agreement, the cities will serve as a test environment for innovations. A particular focus is on sustainable urban development, utilising data provided by the cities.
The collaboration will be coordinated by a steering group composed of the organisations’ senior management, which will meet at least twice a year. The steering group will, among other tasks, select the key themes for collaboration each year.
