The Jyväskylä Region is the only region in Finland to participate in an OECD review project aimed at supporting the contribution of higher education institutions to regional development. The project involves a total of 14 regions in 12 different countries. In the initial stages of the development process a self-evaluation was conducted in the Jyväskylä Region, taking part in which were the University of Jyväskylä and Jyväskylä Polytechnic as well as their stakeholders.
All in all the self-evaluation process demonstrated that given the different points of departure the regions higher education institutions were able to work successfully together to promote regional development, supported by interaction with their various stakeholders, states Jari Ritsilä, senior researcher at the University of Jyväskyläs School of Business and Economics, who coordinated the project.
The self-evaluation review of the Jyväskylä Region highlighted a number of challenges for improving interaction between institutions of higher education in the region. These include furthering efforts to meet the knowhow needs of the local labour market and strengthening the position of higher education institutions in the regional innovation system.
The large number of international students in the Jyväskylä Region constitutes a significant resource in the regional development process, too. This opportunity must be exploited better than at present, Ritsilä underlines.
By Timo Sillanpää