This year, the University of Eastern Finland will celebrate its 10th anniversary. The jubilee year features a variety of events aimed at the public, students, staff and alumni. The festivities will culminate in an anniversary celebration at the Kuopio Campus on 20 February.
“The decision to establish the University of Eastern Finland has proven to be a success story. Over the past ten years, we have assumed a strong national and international role, which makes it possible for the university to support the attractiveness and development of eastern Finland also in the coming decades,” Rector Jukka Mönkkönen notes.
The University of Eastern Finland currently has some 2,500 members of staff, 15,500 degree students and 15,400 adult education students. Every year, the university awards roughly 1,600 Master’s degrees and 150 doctorates. In research, the university has turned the multitude of its disciplines into an advantage by creating interdisciplinary research areas that are highly competitive by international comparison.
“The University of Eastern Finland is the most multidisciplinary university in Finland. In the past ten years, it has risen to a leading position among the Finnish universities,” Academic Rector Tapio Määttä says.
Jubilee year campaign to conserve swamps
In celebration of its jubilee year, the University of Eastern Finland will donate 10,000 euros to the UEF10 Swamp Conservation Campaign carried out in collaboration with the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation. Funds donated to the campaign will be used to establish a private swamp conservation area in eastern Finland for recreational and research use. The university’s partners, stakeholders and everyone interested are welcome to join the campaign.
According to Rector Mönkkönen, the University of Eastern Finland wants to conserve swamps, as they constitute an integral part of eastern Finnish nature.
“Swamps also play a crucial role in climate change mitigation and in safeguarding biodiversity.”
The jubilee year will also witness the launch of a book focusing on the establishment and the first decade of the University of Eastern Finland. The book, Itä-Suomen yliopisto – reformi ja sen tekijät, is authored by Mikko Kohvakka and Arto Nevala. According to the authors, the multifaceted book is based on diverse archive materials, an extensive collection of newspaper clips and numerous interviews. The book will be published on 20 February in connection with the university’s 10th anniversary celebration.
The University of Eastern Finland was established in the beginning of 2010, following a decision by the University of Joensuu and the University of Kuopio to join forces in order to further intensify their collaboration in eastern Finland. The merger was also encouraged by the Ministry of Education, which in March 2006 published a memorandum on the structural development of higher education institutions, seeking to strengthen the country’s research and innovation system by promoting the networking, profiling and internationalisation of Finnish universities.
For further information, please contact:
Rector Jukka Mönkkönen, tel. +358 40 728 8057