Current issues

The Suomi.fi Web Service provides comprehensive instructions for different life events and for dealing with public administration. It is an excellent source of information for students as it is. Now the Suomi.fi Web Service also provides ready-made material for schools with exercises. The material has been produced jointly by lower secondary school teachers and the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV).

The European Commission decided that the new SALTO Digital Resource Centre will be established at the Finnish National Agency for Education, which is the Erasmus+ National Agency in Finland. SALTO Digital is the first resource centre to operate in all educational sectors and also in the field of youth.

During the spring, municipal education services were able to organise places in basic education for children and young people who fled Ukraine. However, a significant proportion of the respondents to the survey by the Finnish National Agency for Education estimated that they would have poor opportunities to offer places for more children or young people.

Over 32,600 applicants applied to English-taught study programmes and art study programmes offered in the first joint application this spring, with 21% receiving an offer of admission.

The amount of sexual harassment and violence that young people experience, for example in public places and online, has increased in a worrying degree. The Finnish National Agency for Education has published a poster and a brochure containing instructions for students on how to recognise, prevent and intervene in sexual harassment and violence.

The Finnish National Agency for Education has launched a website that compiles information on study and research opportunities offered by Finnish higher education institutions for people whose studies or academic work in Ukraine has been disrupted by the war. The page can be found at www.studyinfinland.fi/ukraine.

At the turn of March and April, the Finnish National Agency for Education conducted a survey among the providers of early childhood education and care (ECEC), basic education as well as general upper secondary and vocational education on the impacts of the Russian attack. More than 800 people who have fled Ukraine go to school, study in upper secondary education or are in early childhood education and care in Finland. The largest number of children and young people who have fled Ukraine are currently in instruction preparing for basic education.

The European Union enables Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps project beneficiaries to support Ukrainians currently fleeing and affected by the war.

Events like the Ukraine crisis shock us all. The media reporting about the matter can confuse and frighten children and young people in particular. Early childhood education and care, schools and educational institutions play a crucial role alongside homes in restoring the feeling of safety and security of children and young people. Children and young people should also be protected from the flood of war news – events that are happening far away, but nevertheless shock us as well.

Due to the crisis in Ukraine, the force majeure clause can be applied to ongoing projects and mobility activities funded by the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programmes.

A record number of applicants participated in this spring’s first joint application to higher education: the number is approx. 10 000 more than the number of applicants in the corresponding joint application last spring. There are also 500 more study places available.

The first joint application of the spring to universities and universities of applied sciences (UAS) begins on Wednesday the 5th of January at 8:00 and ends on Wednesday, the 19th of January at 15:00. The application form can be filled at Studyinfo.fi. No registration or login is required in order to apply.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to restrict student mobility in higher education as the number of outgoing and incoming students in Finland remained clearly lower than normal in autumn 2021. The spring term is anticipated to be slightly better.

The European Commission opened the calls for proposals under the Erasmus+ programme on 24 November 2021. In addition to the usual actions, the programme offers interesting new possibilities such as virtual exchanges in higher education and in the field of youth and DiscoverEU inclusion action which enables more and more youths to get to know Europe by train. The calls for proposals for the European Solidarity Corps programme was opened on 17 November 2021.