First cross-institutional studies cooperation initiated within the FITech network

Aalto University School of Engineering and the Faculty of Technology of the University of Turku have signed a cooperation agreement that enables cross-institutional study of minor subjects.

The agreement further intensifies the co-operation that has begun under the FITech-Turku project in the marine technology minor and is part of the renewal of universities in the field of technology.

“FITech has laid the foundation for this collaboration. Within the framework of FITech, we have piloted a minor in marine technology and learned a lot from it. This lesson has been paramount as we began to negotiate this cooperation. It is usually easy to agree on things at the top level, but the challenges are revealed when things are taken into practice. In a few years of piloting, we have found these challenges and ways to meet them”, comments Jani Romanoff, a professor at the School of Engineering, on the FITech collaboration behind the agreement.

The minor in marine technology has been open to degree students from all the universities within the FITech network since the spring of 2018. With the cooperation, the minor will have a structural and long-term continuation, especially in the region of Southwest Finland where the maritime industry is one of the most important industry clusters.

“The marine industry is traditionally cyclical, so we need to be able to respond to the industry’s challenges very quickly. Response times for traditional approaches are simply not enough and that is why we have had to find new ways to react to fluctuations. The advantage of the cooperation is the scalability of the education to the cyclical fluctuations in the number of students. Through cooperation, we can educate more experts in the field quickly without a significant increase in resources. On the other hand, Finland is a small country and we have to play together if we want to succeed in the international arena”, says Romanoff.

The marine technology cooperation agreement is an example of an entity offered from one university to another. In addition to this, other forms of co-operation have also been identified: some of the minor subjects are suitable for the offering at many different universities, and some of the minors have been developed together by several universities.

As the first agreement signed by the network, the marine technology cooperation will serve as a model for future cross-institutional study agreements at the universities of technology. To support the practical implementation of the cooperation, the FITech universities have prepared a process description of the topic and outlined the confluences of the curriculum planning process and cycle within the network’s universities. It is therefore a structured model of cooperation between universities in the field of technology, which is independent of future project funding and contributes to the profiling of universities.

“Modern Finnish university-level marine technology education is science-based. We have profiled ourselves in the international field and excelled in what we do. However, we cannot do everything ourselves, it requires good cooperation”, says Romanoff.

All initiatives from the FITech network support collaboration between universities in the field of technology. Regional and national competence needs can be met by utilizing the top expertise of universities in the field of technology. The cooperation supports the development of universities in the field of technology and responds excellently to the needs arising from the industry.

More information:

Liina Vahala
Project Manager, FITech Turku
Tel. +358 44 378 6857
[email protected]