Nordic cooperation will strengthen Arcada’s global relevance
Arcada aims to strengthen its role as an international university of applied sciences (UAS) and to gain an even stronger foothold in international research projects. The path leading there is Nordic – Arcada’s collaboration with other higher education institutions (HEIs) in the Nordic countries must be widened and deepened.
– Arcada has the language, location and strong traditions that makes us well positioned to achieve this, says Camilla Wikström-Grotell, Director for academic partnerships.
Arcada has engaged in Nordic cooperation ever since the UAS was established. The goal is quite clearly expressed in the current strategy: one of the aims for 2030 is to create “a Nordic network programme for global relevance”.
– Universities of applied sciences are faced with increasing demands. Our social responsibility is not restricted to our own country and our neighbouring region, but includes complex questions such as sustainability. Universities of applied sciences should contribute to a better world. Nobody can achieve this alone. It takes transdisciplinary cooperation with other parties, says Wikström-Grotell.
Arcada’s focus is on Nordic cooperation in the long term and it has many dimensions.
– Overall, it is about strengthening Arcada’s education and research, and maintaining a high level of quality. We can achieve this through strong and effective Nordic networks. These cement our role in international research projects and improve our access to international research grants, since HEIs can apply for them collectively.
Today, Arcada has concluded strategic partnerships with Mälardalen University in Eskilstuna, Sweden (since 2012) and Kristiania University College in Oslo, Norway (since 2021). In contrast to the dozens of other mobility agreements that Arcada has concluded, these two agreements are deeper collaborations, and they include the entire scope of Arcada’s operations. Arcada’s work with Mälardalen University is focussed on health, welfare and the social sector. Arcada’s first affiliated professor, Anne Söderlund is a physiotherapy professor from Mälardalen. With Kristiania University College the work is focussed on economics, IT and media, but will be extended in the future.
– We have entered a phase where our cooperation with partners in Norway and Sweden is being deepened and intensified. In the long term, we will create permanent operational models in research and extend our cooperation with other Nordic partners. Our aim is to make this a permanent feature of Arcada’s operations.
Apart from agreements with other Nordic HEIs, Arcada participates in a number of research projects of a Nordic and international nature. Ditepract and VAKEN are two examples.
– The EU has financed Ditepract, an extensive international pedagogic project that aims to develop online and hybrid teaching strategies to support the teaching of practical skills. How, for instance, can we design simulations in distance education? The Nordic-Baltic project VAKEN is designed to support students to gain competence in soft skills, such as creativity, leadership, problem-solving and critical thinking, says Wikström-Grotell.
A Nordic seminar
The Nordic Council of Ministers celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2021. Meanwhile, Arcada, together with Folkhälsan, Åland University of Applied Sciences and Prakticum organised a first seminar together, something that will become an annual Nordic event. The notion matured when Arcada’s Nordic profile gained strong prominence due to the latest strategy of the UAS.
– We must throw a light on all the work we perform with our Nordic partners – work that all too easily remains invisible both internally and externally. The seminar was a great collaboration with the Nordic Council of Ministers and we were able to showcase our Nordic profile, as well as our skills and competence within the scope of the Nordic welfare model and sustainable development, Wikström-Grotell says.
A strong partnership of institutions from the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland were behind the seminar.
– We have a responsibility to Finland as a whole to share skills and competence from the other Nordic countries and a shared language makes it so much easier, says Wikström-Grotell.
In other words, the efforts directed toward Nordic collaboration permeate all of Arcada. Wikström-Grotell thinks that the degree programmes are the key to achieving extended Nordic cooperation.
– Nordic cooperation must be an everyday part of operations at Arcada. A strategy lives, develops and empowers us by the efforts of our students, our teachers and researchers. We already have a number of courses in common with other Nordic HEIs. In the longer term, I hope we shall have joint degree programmes as well, particularly at the master level.
Wikström-Grotell also mentions continuous learning.
– Strong networks with other HEIs provide opportunities for those who have already entered the labour market to develop their skill set.