In the Nordic countries, widespread proficiency in English is positioned as a positive and even critical component of overall global competitiveness and competence. Indeed, maps illustrating who speaks the “best” English in Europe show a swath across the Nordic countries, and the number of people in the Nordic countries claiming proficiency in English is only a few percentage points below those in places such as the UK and Ireland. At the same time, the Nordic countries are routinely listed as the “happiest,” the most egalitarian, the most classless, least corrupt, and an epicenter for so-called “tender values.” In recent years, there has been a spate of publications highlighting how Nordic exceptionalism carries with it some unfortunate downsides, including the possibility for people to ignore or fail to acknowledge issues such as racism, sexism, and other social inequalities because of the affordance: “But our society is equal.” There is a parallel in the use of Engli
Aalto University and the University of Helsinki have been mandated by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) to jointly develop a large-scale Finnish Research Development and Innovation (RDI) network to increase the visibility of the exc
The remains of dozens of Finns were taken from Finnish cemeteries in the 19th century to prove the superiority of the Nordic race, a scientific trend that. 20.10.2021, Sputnik International
Universities dismayed by plans to cut research funding
Universities Finland (UniFi) has warned that science and research will bear the brunt of the €35 million (US$43 million) in spending cuts to be made in the higher education and research sector as part of a €370 million (US$450 million) belt-tightening campaign announced by the government.
UniFi said a press statement: “Finnish universities are appalled and extremely disappointed about the ministry’s plans.”
The government decided in its framework session that no spending cuts in the sector would be targeted at education or student social benefits.
“A total of €35 million of these savings will be targeted at my over €4.5 billion portfolio,” Annika Saarikko, Finland’s minister of science and culture, stated in her address to the heads of research and higher education institutions on Tuesday.