Finland is located in Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia. The total population at the end of 2006 was 5.2 million, 60 percent of whom live in urban areas and 40 percent live in rural areas.
Finland’s economic progress requires the further removal of barriers to export and investment and an open import policy promoting competition. The key challenges include customs duties and non-tariff barriers to trade and trade-distorting measures that are still prevalent in many markets.
However, the trade policy agenda is subject to constant revision due to changes in the structure of the world economy. It is thus important to ensure the viability of agriculture and to take care of the foundations of the welfare state.
The continued existence, expansion and reinforcement of the multilateral rules-based trade policy system, embodied in the WTO, is of utmost importance for Finland. However, in order to safeguard its interests, the EU has to further deepen its bilateral trade relations especially with its principal trading partners.
Finland has a highly industrialised, largely free-market economy with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing, principally:
- wood
- metals
- engineering
- telecommunications
- electronics industries.
Trade is important and exports equal two-fifths of GDP. Finland excels in high-tech exports, e.g., mobile phones. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products.
Education is a factor for competitiveness. The current priorities in educational development are to raise the level of education and upgrade competencies among the population and the work force, to improve the efficiency of the education system, to prevent exclusion among children and young people, and to enlarge adult learning opportunities. Special attention is also paid to quality assurance and impact in education, training and research and to internationalisation. National arrangements and decisions are informed and influenced by policies and objectives jointly formulated in the European Union, the Council of Europe, the OECD and the UN and in Nordic cooperation.
Finnish education and science policy stresses quality, efficiency, equity and internationalism. It is geared to promote the competitiveness of Finnish welfare society. Sustainable economic development will continue to provide the best basis for assuring the nation's cultural, social and economic welfare. The overall lines of Finnish education and science policy are in line with the EU Lisbon strategy.
In Finland, the basic right to education and culture is recorded in the Constitution. Public authorities must secure equal opportunities for every resident in Finland to get education also after compulsory schooling and to develop themselves, irrespective of their financial standing. Legislation provides for compulsory schooling and the right to free pre-primary and basic education. Most other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.
The Finnish education system is composed of nine-year basic education, preceded by one year of voluntary pre-primary education; upper secondary education that consists of general and vocational education and higher education (universities and polytechnics). Adult education is available at all levels. Pre-primary and basic education is free of charge. Most of the other qualifying education is also free for the students, including postgraduate education in universities.
Universities focus on research and education based on research. They confer Bachelor's, Master's, licentiate and doctoral degrees. Universities select their students independently and entrance examinations are an important part of the selection. Studies are quantified as credits (ECTS). One year of full-time study corresponds to 60 credits. The extent of the Bachelor's level degree is 180 credits and takes three years. The Master's degree is 120 credits, which means two years of full-time study on top of the lower degree. In 2005 about 17.2 percent of the applicants were offered a study place at university. There are 20 universities covering all the different regions of Finland.
Polytechnics offer work-related education in response to labour market needs. A polytechnic degree requires 3.5 - 4.5 years of full-time study. The requirement for polytechnic Master's programmes is a polytechnic degree or equivalent, plus a minimum of three years of work experience in the field concerned. The polytechnics determine the admission criteria and arrange student selection and entrance examination at their discretion. In 2006 about 30 percent of the applicants were offered a study place at polytechnic. There are 28 polytechnics covering all the different regions of Finland.
UK has been the most popular destination for Finns who wish to take a whole degree abroad since 1995. Other popular destinations are Sweden, Estonia, United States and Germany. There are roughly 3000 Finnish students studying in the higher education institutions in the UK (59 percent undergraduates, 18 percent postgraduates and 23 percent exchange students). Finns go to study various different subjects to UK universities. Business studies, Media and communication studies, Art & Design and Psychology are among the most popular subjects. In the new two-cycle degree system students first complete the Bachelor's degree, after which they may go for the higher, Master's degree. In this new system there may be more students that are thinking about taking the Master’s degree in another country. Top-up fees have caused a slight decrease in the number of Finns applying into undergraduate degree programmes in the UK.
The British Council Finland has one office in Helsinki. Our office is a back office with no public access to customers. We provide basic information for prospective Finnish students who are interested in studying in the UK through our website, telephone and e-mail. We also organise pre-departure information sessions for Finnish students who have been successful in applying to a UK university. There is a list of local agents who promote UK language schools and universities on our website.
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