Universities offering Finnish Studies outside Finland can apply to EDUFI for financial support for teaching Finnish language and culture . The support can be used to cover a part of a teacher’s salary.

Due to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian universities cannot apply for financial support for the time being.

 

    The purpose of support

    Universities outside Finland can apply for financial support for teaching Finnish language and culture when they

    • offer teaching of Finnish language and culture, and
    • they don’t currently have a visiting teacher of Finnish language and culture sent by EDUFI.

    The support can primarily be used to cover salary and employer expenses of one teacher of Finnish language and culture, and in exceptional cases to contribute to salary and employer expenses of several teachers.

    The teacher to whom support is applied for should have

    • a relevant university degree
    • a good level of proficiency in Finnish language 
    • a good knowledge of Finnish culture and society.

    The support cannot be used to top up a salary to exceed what is a normal salary for a local teacher. Neither can it be used to cover general administrative expenses (overhead) or equipment or material.

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    The level and duration of support

    The support can be a maximum of about 50 % of a normal salary and employer expenses of a local teacher, up to a maximum of 20,000 euros/year. This amount cannot be exceeded even if the support is used to contribute to salaries of several teachers.

    Support can be applied for 1 to 2 years at a time. The period of support normally starts from 1 September and ends by 31 August. In appropriately justified cases, the support period may also start on 1 January.

    The support awarded may be less or for a shorter period than applied for.

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    Higher support for universities starting to teach Finnish language and culture

    A university that is only starting to teach Finnish language and culture may apply for a higher support if

    • Finnish language and culture has not been taught in the county in question before or in many years, and
    • recruiting a Finnish language teacher in the country is difficult or impossible.

    At our discretion, we can be flexible in setting the maximum amount of the support, the share expected from the university or the size of the salary. However, we cannot pay the whole salary of a teacher, but the university also has to make a financial commitment to teaching of Finnish.

    A higher support to start teaching of Finnish language and culture can only be awarded for one support period.

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    How to apply for the support?

    The application deadline for the financial support is during September/October every year. The next deadline will be for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2026 (or 1 January 2024 - 31 December 2025).

    The deadline for applications is 16 October 2023 at 23.59 Finnish time (UTC +3). Late applications will not be considered.

    The following attachments will be needed:

    1. a plan for the use of the support (needed from all applicants)
    2. a curriculum for Finnish language and culture (unless it is available online in English or in Finnish).

    The application must be signed by a person authorised to sign on behalf of the university. The application can also be signed electronically.

    Please send the signed and scanned application or electronically signed application with attachment(s) to kirjaamo [at] oph.fi. Write "Financial support for teaching Finnish language and culture OPH-3690-2023" in the subject field of the message.

    Remember to retain the message you have sent and the automatic reply you have received from kirjaamo [at] oph.fi.

    We reserve the right to request for further information after the deadline.

    Application form
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    Selection results and assessment criteria

    Applicants will be informed about the application results by 31 December.

    Emphasis will be laid on the following characteristics in the decision-making:

    • Teaching of Finnish language and culture will be started in a university in a country where it has not been available before.
    • Finnish language and culture is a subject of study in the university or has a significant role within a study module.
    • The university is developing and/or expanding its teaching of Finnish language and culture. 

    More detailed assessment criteria are available in the document below. Remember to familiarise yourself with the criteria before filling in the application form.

    Assessment criteria
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    Payment of the support and reporting

    The support will be paid to the university that will then forward it to the teacher named in the application form.

    The university should submit an activity and financial report about the use of the support by the end of each support year. The end of the reporting period is 30 September each year unless an exceptional start date for the support was applied for.

    If support was awarded for two years, the support for the second year will only be paid if required reports have been submitted and the support used according to the plan.

    Report forms
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    Contact us

    Contact person Leena Kärnä

    Contact us: skk [at] oph.fi

     

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    Previous support

    Autumn 2022

    China, Tianjin, Tianjin Foreign Studies University

    Czech Republic, Brno, Masarykova univerzita

    Autumn 2021

    Canada, Toronto, University of Toronto

    Germany, Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

    Germany, Bielefeld, Universität Bielefeld

    Hungary, Eger, Eszterházy Károly Catholic University

    Italy, Naples, Università degli Studi di Napoli - L'Orientale

    Mexico, Naucalpan de Juarez, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

    USA, Bloomington, Indiana University

    USA, Provo, Brigham Young University

     

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