University of applied sciences education – a practically oriented alternative

Finland’s system of higher education has three pillars: universities, specialised universities and universities of applied sciences. Universities of applied sciences are geared towards the needs of working life and regional development, and they provide students with vocational competence for different expert tasks.

University of applied sciences education is designed to meet the requirements of working life and it also has a substantial research and artistic content. As part of their offerings, universities of applied sciences also carry out research, development and innovation work which, in addition to serving educational needs, is also is of importance to regional development, economy and working life.

The aim of university of applied sciences education is to respond to the rapidly changing needs of working life and society at large. In fact, there is cooperation between universities of applied sciences and universities in a number of fields. For example, they have joined forces in order to ensure that regional institutions of higher education can meet regional educational challenges.