At the beginning of 2022, three new members started their term of office on the Board of the Tampere University Foundation sr that operates as Tampere University. A new Chair and Vice Chair were also appointed. Our work begun by getting to know one another and the key people of the University and by drawing up Golden Rules for the Board’s work based on the University’s values. Central to these principles is how the Board strives to build mutual trust and a spirit of cooperation both within the Board and with those working with the Board. We set building trust within and in the Tampere Universities community as the Board’s top priority. As the focal areas for the Board’s work, we identified the development of leadership, the refining of the strategy, and finances and funding
We set building trust within and in the Tampere Universities community as the Board’s top priority.
Strategy refining
To clarify the University’s current strategy for the period ending in 2030, the Board decided to launch a strategy refining process in May. The aim was to utilise extensive internal dialogue within the University community to update the way the strategy is presented and to solidify the university community’s shared understanding of the strategy. The updating considered the changes identified in the operating environment and the conclusions of the international research assessment conducted in summer 2022 (TAU RAE 2022). The Board approved the refined strategy in November 2022 and the indicators for monitoring the strategy in January 2023.
Read about our refined strategy.
New internal financial steering mode increases transparency and predictability
The University’s internal financial steering model is an important tool for operations steering. It creates preconditions for the University’s continued success and strong government funding. In May, the Board approved a revised financial steering model, on whose basis core funding and returns on foundation capital are allocated to the faculties. The aim of the reform was to increase the transparency of internal allocation of funding, improve predictability and enable faculties’ planning for the longer term. Goal setting was introduced as a new element in the model while the impact of performance on funding was strengthened. In the development of the finances, the Board also paid attention to the clarity of communications related to finances and financial statements.
The internal financial steering model creates preconditions for the University’s continued success and strong government funding.
External funding increased, core government funding decreased
According to the financial statements for 2022, Tampere University’s external funding increased, and core government funding decreased as was expected. Personnel costs decreased due to the reduction of personnel and the reorganisation of support services, but expenses as a whole increased as the operations got back to normal after COVID-19 and rents and prices rose. The result of the University’s ordinary operations, adjusted for non-recurring items and the targeted use of capital, was EUR -4.6 million. The result of the University Group’s ordinary operations was EUR –5.3 million.
Naturally, the goal of the University’s operations is not to make a profit. To ensure the highest possible level of independence in our activities, the Board has set the goal that the adjusted result of the above-mentioned ordinary operations should be close to zero or slightly positive. When this is the case, the revenues from the foundation capital can be allocated from covering the deficits of core activities to the development of operations and new openings in accordance with the strategy. The aim is to utilise 2–3% of the return on foundation capital annually, i.e., approximately EUR 10 million.
To ensure the highest possible level of independence in our operations, the result of ordinary operations should be close to zero or slightly positive.
In investment activities, the year 2022 was difficult and the University made a clear loss. Despite this, the financial result of Tampere University’s operations has been positive since the founding of the University on 1 January 2019, as the nominal return of the investment portfolio totals EUR 95.7 million.
The recruitment of top management started
The terms of office of the top management of Tampere University will expire at the end of 2023, with the exception of Vice President for Research. The simultaneous ending of the employment relationships of almost every person in the management is challenging for the organisation. The Board started planning the recruitment of the President, Provost, Vice President for Education, and Deans in spring 2022 and decided on the application criteria for the post of President in November. The position of President was opened for application at the beginning of 2023 to ensure that the selected President will be able to participate in the selection of other management.
The Board started planning the recruitment of the top management in spring 2022 and decided on the application criteria for the post of President in November.
The recruitment process for the President was carried out openly in accordance with the values of our University community, and the progress of the process was regularly reported. The top two applicants, who advanced to the final stage of the process, presented themselves to the University community at a hearing. In March 2023, the Board made its most important single decision by electing Professor Keijo Hämäläinen as President of Tampere University and CEO of the Tampere University Foundation Group. He will take up the position on 1 June 2023.
At the beginning of his term, Keijo’s key task will be to select the rest of the top management, such as deans, in dialogue with the Board and representatives of the University community. The Board has also requested the new President to assess how to implement good university leadership at Tampere University and, if needed, to make propositions to the Board regarding the matter.
Based on the Board’s self-assessments, I can say that the Board did its job well in 2022.
Jorma Eloranta
Chair of the Board of Tampere University Foundation sr