The Union of Research Professionals and the Finnish Union of University Professors: The prerequisites for growth lie in education and research
In the budget session, the Government must make consistent decisions that build the future. The latest research shows that a long-term innovation and education policy is the most effective way to generate growth, the unions emphasise.
The Finnish Union of University Professors and the Union of Research Professionals demand consistency and responsibility from the government in the budget session. Growth, competitiveness and well-being will not be created by cuts in research and education, but by investing in science and higher education. There is recent research evidence of this. In the current economic situation, it is more important than ever to make sustainable investments in the future – not to cut, freeze or postpone.
The freezing of the university index proposed by the Ministry of Finance must be rejected. In practice, an index freeze would be a funding cut that would lead to long-term downsizing of operations.
“The university index guarantees that, despite the increase in costs, university funding can be used to produce the same number of activities each year. If implemented, the freeze would erode the operational capacity of higher education institutions for a long time. It would jeopardise the quality of teaching and research as well as the universities’ ability to respond to new competence requirements. Finland cannot afford this,” emphasises Antti Pajala, President of the Union of Research Professionals.
The funding of Finnish universities in relation to the number of students is already 30–35% lower than in Norway, Sweden or Denmark – partly due to previous index freezes. Continuing the cuts would further deepen the gap and weaken Finland’s competitiveness.
In addition to the postponement of the growth target for R&D funding and the freezing of the university index, which were included as new measures in the Ministry of Finance’s budget proposal, the core funding of universities will be cut in accordance with what was agreed in the mid-term policy review in the spring. In addition to the cuts, 20 million euros of R&D funding would be allocated to universities, but the total funding of universities would decrease by about 90 million euros in 2026.
“The Government must stick to the achievement of the growth target for R&D funding in 2030, as agreed in Parliament. Postponing the target until 2035 would take place especially by cutting funding for universities and the Academy of Finland. It would also affect companies’ enthusiasm to invest in RDI activities and slow down the availability of innovations to the whole society,” stresses Teija Laitinen, Chair of the Finnish Union of University Professors.
The Ministry of Finance’s proposal does not include the EUR 100 million one-off funding proposed for higher education institutions in connection with the mid-term policy review to increase the number of students. EUR 6.4 million has been reserved for this purpose.
“A one-off investment of one hundred million euros would not change the overall picture, but it would still be a step in the right direction that the government should stick to,” Laitinen continues.
“The Government’s goal of raising the share of highly educated people closer to the OECD average will not be achieved with this investment. The decrease in basic funding weakens the resources of teaching, as competitive funding is usually directed at research. Students need interaction and guidance,” Pajala points out.
Repeated funding cuts and the threat of them cast a dark shadow on an already uncertain research career and weaken Finland’s attractiveness among foreign researchers as well.
“Instead of new savings, we need long-term funding and instead of jumping around, we need to create stability in career paths,” Pajala states.
For more information
Antti Pajala, President of the Union of Research Professionals
antti.pajala (at) tieteentekijat.fi, tel. +358 50 326 5172
Teija Laitinen, Chair of the Finnish Union of University Professors
teija.laitinen (at) uwasa.fi, tel. +358 45 657 5757