Kymenlaakso UAS » About KyAMK » Annual Reports » Responsibility Report 2007 » President's review
President Ragnar Lundqvist
President's review
Kymenlaakson ammattikorkeakoulu, University of Applied Sciences had a successful year in 2007. Nearly all key figures showed favourable improvement. The key indicators of quality of instruction improved: the number of degrees successfully completed was up by nearly 10% from the previous year, the number of Bachelor’s theses based on customer assignments rose, and the number of credits earned from R&D projects and online studies increased considerably. The financial situation is stable and the financial result was better than budgeted for, despite ongoing investment in our operations.
I would like to thank the entire personnel and all the students – this year’s success was the result of our joint efforts! We are heading in the right direction, and we are fully capable of achieving even better results in the future.
The Vice Rector was in charge of a team that focused on pedagogic development, and the results of the work will be visible in the curricula for the next academic year. The goal is to develop a general vision of learning at KyAMK that will contribute to the quality of instruction. Integration of R&D into teaching was enhanced during the year, and R&D was successful in promoting regional development.
The structural development process at Kymenlaakson ammattikorkeakoulu, University of Applied Sciences continued in accordance with the policy issued in 2005. KyAMK implemented a new organisational structure in August 2007, and the first impressions are positive. We are now in a position to take advantages of the synergies created. We streamlined our set of degree programmes and eliminated duplication. Despite the changes, our programmes remained popular with applicants.
The moving of campuses from Elimäki to Kuusankoski and from Mussalo to Metsola in Kotka went smoothly. The students and personnel adapted well to their new premises and working environments.
Reorganisation of the campus network caused much discussion in 2007. Early in 2008 it was decided that KyAMK will operate on two campuses in the 2010s: the combined Metsola-Jylppy campus in Kotka and the Kasarminmäki campus in Kouvola. This decision will considerably expedite future financial management. Furthermore, it will enable us to focus on enhancement of instruction and improvement of quality. The discussion on the reorganisation question became heated at times, but the solution we chose is in line with the opinions of the Finnish Ministry of Education on development of higher education institutions.
We continued the planning of a new building at the Kasarminmäki campus in Kouvola, although the plans have changed along the way. The planned transfer of University of Helsinki’s Department of Translation Studies to Helsinki in 2009 will vacate premises in Kouvola. KyAMK intends to optimise use of the vacated premises, which is the socially correct, efficient solution. Therefore, our new building at Kasarminmäki will be smaller than originally planned, but it will nevertheless be modern, stylish and practical. In the Kouvola region, the goal is to concentrate our operations on the Kasarminmäki Campus in 2009–2010.
External structural development was carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the Finnish Ministry of Education. Kymenlaakso, South Karelia and Mikkeli Universities of Applied Sciences and Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT) will engage in co-operation in Southeast Finland. In autumn 2007, Kymenlaakson ammattikorkeakoulu, University of Applied Sciences hired Senior Lawyer Markku Linna to investigate opportunities and alternative solutions for co-operation between the higher education institutions in Southeast Finland. His report at the end of the year proposed that in future, higher education institutions could be organised as subsidiaries in a group of limited companies, working as equal partners. However, the higher education institutions in the region are not ready for this yet. Instead, in 2008 the institutions involved initiated discussions on closer co-operation and distribution of work. Regional needs and the reports published by the Finnish Ministry of Education’s national-level working groups will probably feed this discussion.
The R&D and competence strategy for 2008–2012 was updated under the leadership of the Development Director. The work was carried out in spring and summer 2007 by a large co-operative team that included staff members from KyAMK and experts from various industries. Four spearheads were chosen for KyAMK: preventive health care, safety of transport chains, emission measurement and product and business innovation processes. They support our previously chosen profile that is based on international business, logistics and health promotion.
The strategy work also specified five veins that will become manifest in our everyday work (curricula and R&D, for example). They are sustainable development, service expertise, safety, expertise on Russia and entrepreneurship. Implementation of the strategy will be one of our most important ventures over the next few years.
We were not quite as active in R&D as previously, partly as a result of technical reasons, but the number of R&D projects was nevertheless satisfactory. We systematically aimed for more extensive projects and integration of R&D into teaching. Multi-disciplinary projects were promoted, and the proportion of international projects increased.
We are undergoing a period of continuing change. This requires patience, flexibility and strength from personnel and students. I know that the work has been hard at times, but the staff have managed outstandingly – once more, I would like to express my thanks to everyone! We are on the right track, and it will help us to achieve good results over and over again.
Modified: 14.8.2008 12:07
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