Toteemi. A nation-wide development and research project in Finland.

Abstract

Integration of work and degree studies is a topical field of development work of Finnish higher education institutions (HEI). In the structure of national education, this sector is divided in two pillars: research-oriented universities and universities of applied sciences. Both sectors encounter the current societal situation where students work long hours weekly, alongside their degree studies. Moreover, an increasing number of students may have extensive work experience already when they start their study cycle in a HEI, and this applies in particular to students entering part-time programs, targeted for professionals with prior vocational qualifications and/or practical experience in the field of study. Additional incentives for the institutions, to establish more functional processes, are found in the forthcoming funding mechanism of higher education in Finland which is to be applied from 2021 onwards. Furthermore, ubiquitous digitalization in educational processes and administration entail increasing and evolving challenges for education providers. On a more specific dimension, the trend to create and implement curricula that are based on competences – rather than enlist courses to be studied – requires efficient validation mechanisms and constant guidance also in the field of work-integrated studies. In the best of scenarios, higher education studies do not remain in isolation, but despite the challenges of individual time management they can integrate into the other objectives in student life, such as paid work or voluntary and civic work. Mechanisms facilitating this integration developed in Finnish HEI, as they are articulated across actions of a nation-wide project Toteemi, are the topic of this article.