Markku Lahtinen: Excellent grade on 2020
The Board of Tampere University of Applied Sciences confirmed TAMK’s new strategy for 2030 at the beginning of 2020. A new element were related guidelines issued together with Tampere University. The most important strategic focus of the decade is on development of TAMK as a working life oriented higher education institution. TAMK has always been a strong and well-known degree educator. In the future, TAMK will particularly invest in RDI with working and business life.
The strategy also emphasises increase in internationalisation in general and especially paid degree education for citizens of non-EU/EEA countries. The role of continuous learning is growing.
The corona pandemic had a significant effect on the strategy implementation as travelling and contact teaching ended in the middle of March. This brought new challenges to particularly international activities. Online activities grew significantly but they are nowhere near the target levels of international education and RDI. We however succeeded in increasing the number of paying students from non-EU/EEA countries as planned.
Synergy benefits of the Tampere universities community were mostly searched in support services. In the years to come, the focus will move to education and RDI cooperation. Significant new openings can also be expected in development of international activities in our universities community.
As a summary of 2020, it could be stated that TAMK students and staff came through the quite exceptional year in an excellent way. Approximately the same number of degrees were completed as the years before and the RDI volume continued to grow. Exceptional effort and adaptation as well as agility and creativity were required from TAMK staff and our interest groups.
This is the last annual review I am writing as TAMK’s president. I want to thank TAMK students and staff as well as our interest groups for our twenty-year journey in development of higher education in the Tampere Region. I wish Tampere Universities and especially TAMK and TAMK staff the best of luck and every success.
Markku Lahtinen
Photo: Jonne Renvall