Development of Vaasa's higher education network progresses smoothly – Collaboration brings new opportunities and strengthens regional competitiveness

According to Hannu Vahtera, Rector and CEO of Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, collaboration plays a significant role in enhancing the competitiveness and impact of higher education institutions both regionally, nationally, and internationally.

– The consolidation of collaboration with the university has progressed smoothly and in good spirits. Our common goal is to leverage international partnerships and EU funding, which supports research cooperation with European universities and enables the development of new innovations and areas of expertise. Our aim is to create even better opportunities for our students, research, and society at large, says Vahtera.

– Through closer collaboration, we can offer diverse educational pathways that meet the skill needs of the region's business and welfare sectors. By combining our resources, we can better develop regional expertise and support the region's sustainable development, Vahtera continues.

Minna Martikainen, Rector of the University of Vaasa, states that the initiative for a joint higher education consortium came from the local business community.

– The consortium structure enhances our attractiveness and improves our ability to compete for funding. The background is the need to address the region's skills shortage. Our goal is that by the 2030s, the combined entity of the university and the university of applied sciences will be internationally significant and considerably larger and more impactful on a national scale, says Martikainen.

The City of Vaasa and the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce have explored selling their VAMK shares to the University of Vaasa. Currently, the city owns 84%, the university 8%, and the chamber 8% of the university of applied sciences.

In January 2024, the city council established a committee to prepare the sale of the university of applied sciences shares or a corporate restructuring to form a joint higher education consortium. Based on the negotiations, a letter of intent was drafted to form the consortium. The city council approved the letter of intent between the City of Vaasa, the University of Vaasa, and the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce in its meeting on 10 February 2025.

The goal of the letter of intent is to arrange the ownership structure of the joint higher education consortium so that the University of Vaasa will have a 70% ownership share, the City of Vaasa will retain a 30% ownership share, and the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce's ownership will end. The arrangement will create a group structure where the university is the parent company and VAMK is its subsidiary. For the city of Vaasa, it is an associate company.

– Our goal is to create a significantly stronger higher education institution for teaching and research, benefiting the Vaasa and Ostrobothnia region as well as all of Finland. A strong, business-integrated higher education is the foundation of a successful region. Joint ownership brings advantages to both higher education institutions and better supports Ostrobothnia's growing industry and the region's vitality and competitiveness, says Tomas Häyry, Mayor of Vaasa.

– The aim of the joint ownership structure is to develop the University of Vaasa and the University of Applied Sciences into a significant international educator and RDI actor. A broader ownership base provides more services to local businesses, enhancing impact. Therefore, the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce supports this development by donating its VAMK shares to the University of Vaasa, says Paula Erkkilä, CEO of the Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has granted strategic funding to the University of Vaasa and Vaasa University of Applied Sciences to promote closer cooperation for the period 2025–2028. The goal is to implement the joint consortium structure during 2025. Detailed planning for closer cooperation will begin in close collaboration with the personnel of both higher education institutions during 2025.