The IMD World Competitiveness ranking shows that Finland’s competitiveness has stalled. Our economy has been weighed down by rising interest rates affecting investment, as well as the impact of Russia’s war of aggression on the export of goods and services. According to OECD reports, the proportion of highly educated people in Finland has declined relative to other OECD countries since 1991. Today, only 39% of people aged 25–34 hold a higher education degree.
Raising the national competence level is essential for strengthening the competitiveness of companies. This need is particularly acute in small and medium-sized enterprises, where the greatest potential for growth lies. SMEs would benefit significantly from research, development and innovation activities that generate new products, services and solutions.
In the public sector, too, familiar challenges persist—for example in the wellbeing services counties, which across the country are seeking ways to improve efficiency and develop new models of operation. There is a clear need for high‑quality, practice‑based applied research and development.
Across Europe, many countries have in recent years expanded doctoral education and RDI activities within universities of applied sciences. The aim has been to strengthen UAS institutions and enhance their capacity to compete internationally in work‑based applied research and innovation.
Finland should follow this development to escape its current competitiveness slump. Professional doctorates could be completed directly within companies, enabling them to gain highly skilled new experts and product developers who understand their operating environments. Work‑based research accelerates regional development and opens new opportunities for growth.
Professional doctoral education would complement the Finnish higher education model: university doctoral training and academic research would be matched by a parallel pathway focused on labour‑market needs and directly serving industry and organisations.
Access to doctoral education would also enable universities of applied sciences to attract a greater share of competitive international funding. At the same time, it would strengthen the attractiveness of Finnish UAS institutions in the global competition for highly educated and skilled international professionals. Doctoral programmes at universities of applied sciences would ensure that both pillars of our dual model are fully mobilised in support of Finnish expertise and research excellence.
Finland’s strength lies in advanced research and new innovations. Professional and university doctoral education would reinforce one another. We need the full capacity of our entire higher education system to strengthen Finnish research, capability and competitiveness.
Author
Heikki Saastamoinen President, CEO South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences XAMK
This text was originally published in Finnish in Itä-Savoon 31 October 2025.
A group of Finnish universities of applied sciences aims to enable Professional Doctorate degrees in Finland. The degree would be equivalent to a university doctorate but implemented in an applied manner, in close cooperation with companies and working life. Sami Kotiniemi, Chair of the Board at DA-Group Oy, sees great potential in Professional Doctorates.
“Professional Doctorates would bring significant benefits to a high-tech company like DA-Group. They combine applied research and practical working life very closely, and we would certainly gain a lot for our own product development and research,” Kotiniemi states.
According to Kotiniemi, there is considerable room for growth in research, development, and innovation activities within Finnish companies. The challenge is that too much focus remains on acting as traditional subcontractors. As a result, high-level expertise, intellectual property, and assets mainly accumulate elsewhere—often abroad. Professional Doctorates could be one solution to raise companies’ competence levels and competitiveness.
“This type of work should be done much more in Finland and in Finnish companies. We need more businesses that innovate, develop, and increase added value here in Finland,” Kotiniemi emphasizes.
Doctoral Education Creates Both Career Paths for Employees and Solutions for Product and Service Development
If Professional Doctorates are introduced in Finland, Kotiniemi envisions DA-Group immediately joining forces with universities of applied sciences to further educate its employees.
“I believe several of our employees would be eager to start on a Professional Doctorate pathway right away. We could engage our staff even more effectively by offering them this opportunity to advance and grow in their careers.”
Kotiniemi highlights that the strength of Professional Doctorate education lies in the fact that employees do not disappear from the workplace for years to study. Instead, doctoral studies are carried out at the workplace, focusing on the organization’s own development needs.
“Through this, we would quickly gain product development and innovation directly related to our existing and future products. Development and innovation work would be immediately put into practice,” Kotiniemi envisions.
Collaboration Between Companies and Universities of Applied Sciences Benefits Both Parties
DA-Group Oy has worked closely with HAMK since the company’s founding — already for 30 years. The company was established by three engineering students from HAMK’s Forssa campus, and its first office was located in Kehräämö, now part of HAMK’s premises.
Today, cooperation includes various student projects and RDI initiatives. Company representatives also participate in developing future engineering education.
“I truly appreciate that HAMK listens to the needs and ideas of the business world so that degree programs can be tailored to meet companies’ future requirements and challenges,” Kotiniemi says.
Participation in Professional Doctorate education would be a natural continuation of this long-standing collaboration.
About the Company
DA-Group has grown from a small engineering office founded in Forssa in the 1990s into a major supplier of complex products and systems, designing and manufacturing demanding electronics and high-tech solutions.
Its customers include industrial companies as well as organizations in the defense and space sectors. The group employs over 140 professionals.
A working group of 13 universities of applied sciences proposes the introduction of a Professional Doctorate in Finland, in line with established European practice. A recent survey of business leaders shows that there is clear demand for this new type of degree. Half of company representatives expressed a very or fairly positive attitude towards professional doctorates. Almost as many consider it possible that their company could offer a position for a professional doctoral candidate in the future.
According to a survey conducted by Aula Research on behalf of the universities of applied sciences, 50% of respondents are positive about a Professional Doctorate, while 40% are neutral or undecided. Only 9% expressed a negative view. Companies also see clear benefits: 49% believe their company could provide a position for a professional doctoral candidate.
“These figures are remarkable given that only 22% of respondents had previously heard of professional doctorates. The spontaneous reception of the initiative by companies is therefore very positive. There is clearly a need for high-level research and development expertise closely linked to working life,” says Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä, Vice President of Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK) and chair of the working group behind the proposal.
Interest spans companies of all sizes and sectors, but the benefits are seen most clearly in companies with more than 100 employees – and especially those with over 500 employees.
“Larger companies naturally have more opportunities to invest in competence development, research and product development. However, the real game-changer is the SME sector, whose growth and internationalisation drive exports and regional vitality,” Ahokallio-Leppälä adds.
Sami Kotiniemi, founder and Chair of the Board at DA-Group, a high-tech company based in Forssa, sees significant advantages in professional doctoral education:
“It combines applied research and practical working life in a very concrete way. We would definitely benefit from this in our product development and research.”
Business leaders identified the following key benefits of a Professional Doctorate:
Raising the competence level of employees and work communities
Enhancing the company’s reputation and positioning it as a forerunner
Conducting research in the company’s own operating environment and creating solutions for real business needs
Pilot Proposed for the Next Government Term
In November, the group of universities of applied sciences published its proposal to pilot a Professional Doctorate programme during the next government term. The proposal stems from concerns about Finland’s declining competitiveness, weakening innovation capability and the risk of falling behind European developments.
A Professional Doctorate is workplace-oriented, multidisciplinary and solution-driven. It complements the Finnish higher education system and is equivalent to a university doctorate but with a different focus: applied research and development in close cooperation with workplaces. Research topics arise from working life, and solutions are implemented during the doctoral studies.paikalla.
Survey details
Conducted by Aula Research on behalf of 12 universities of applied sciences
Target group: CEOs, HR managers and R&D representatives in companies with 10+ employees
Method: Online survey supplemented by telephone interviews
Responses: 306 company decision-makers
Data collection period: 29 September – 23 October 2025
Further information:
Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä Vice-President Häme University of Applied Sciences [email protected] tel. +358 40 090 4330
Explore the proposal for Professional Doctorate degrees!
Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (Diak) has joined the group of higher education institutions working to launch Professional Doctorate education in Finland. With Diak’s participation, a total of 13 Finnish universities of applied sciences are now involved in preparing the national pilot. This further strengthens the shared commitment of the UAS sector to develop workplace-oriented doctoral education and respond to the evolving competence needs of Finnish society and working life.
“Finland urgently needs new initiatives to accelerate economic growth and sustain our welfare society. We are delighted to join this transformative doctoral pilot, which will enable us to build coherent educational pathways for professionals and developers in the social and health care, church, and interpreting sectors,” says Kati Komulainen, CEO-President of Diak.
The Professional Doctorate is a workplace-oriented, multidisciplinary and solution-focused degree that complements the Finnish higher education system. It is equivalent in level to a university doctoral degree, but its core lies in practical, work-based research and development. The aim is to generate knowledge, products, services and solutions that can be directly applied in companies and organisations. The degree would strengthen the role of universities of applied sciences as reformers and developers of working life.
Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä, Vice President of Häme University of Applied Sciences, considers Diak’s participation a significant step forward.
“It’s fantastic that 13 universities of applied sciences are now involved in developing Professional Doctorate degrees! Diak’s decision to join demonstrates the broad recognition of the potential of Professional Doctorate education across the UAS sector,” Ahokallio-Leppälä says.
The joint proposal by the universities of applied sciences for Professional Doctorate degrees was published on 5 November 2025. The goal is to launch a national pilot during the 2027–2031 government term to ensure Finland keeps pace with international developments and can meet the growing competence needs of working life.
Further information:
Kati Komulainen CEO-President Diaconia University of Applied Sciences [email protected] tel. 046 856 7347
Explore the proposal for Professional Doctorate degrees!
A group of 12 universities of applied sciences is proposing a pilot programme for professionally-oriented doctoral education to be launched during the next government term. The proposal stems from concerns about Finland’s declining competitiveness, weakening innovation capacity, and falling behind in European development.
Finland’s competitiveness, skill level, and innovation capability demands new solutions. The 12 universities of applied sciences propose the introduction of a professional doctorate programme that responds to the needs of working life and businesses, supports the development of organisational competence, and strengthens the vitality of regions and the whole country. The proposal will be published at an event held at the Citizens’ Info in the Little Parliament in Helsinki on 5 November 2025 from 11:00 to 12:30.
“Professional doctoral education is already in place in many European countries, such as Germany, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Now it is Finland’s turn to grant universities of applied sciences the right to educate doctoral candidates who will develop Finnish working life, enhance the competitiveness of businesses and the country, and provide solutions to organisational development needs,” says Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä, Vice President of Häme University of Applied Sciences and Chair of the working group behind the proposal.
The Professional Doctorate is a work-oriented, multidisciplinary, and solution-focused degree that complements the current higher education structure. It is equivalent in level to a university doctoral degree but serves a different purpose. The degree is aimed at professionals who wish to develop their field and workplace through research-based methods. The research questions and development needs arise from working life, and solutions are implemented during the doctoral studies. Typically, the degree is completed alongside employment within the workplace.
“We have the necessary expertise, a shared vision, and the readiness to advance doctoral education. All that is needed now is political will and legislative support to enable the training of professional doctorates during the next government term,” Ahokallio-Leppälä states.
The proposal for professional doctorate has been prepared by a working group representing the following 12 universities of applied sciences:
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK)
Humak University of Applied Sciences
JAMK University of Applied Sciences (Jyväskylä)
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk)
Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä Chair of the working group of the 12 universities of applied sciences Vice President, Häme University of Applied Sciences [email protected]
Universities of applied sciences want Finland to follow European development and enable professional doctorates. The doctorate would be equivalent to the corresponding university degree but would be implemented in an applied manner, in strong cooperation with companies and the world of work. The goal is to increase Finland’s competitiveness.
The preparation of the professional doctorate is progressing in collaboration with the universities of applied sciences. As many as 12 universities of applied sciences are involved in the working group that is preparing a concrete proposal for the guidelines of the doctorate and a possible pilot in which the degrees will be tested.
The Ministry of Education and Culture is currently preparing a vision for higher education and research. The universities of applied sciences propose the professional doctorate as part of this vision and hope that the degree or pilot could be implemented, for example, in the next government term.
The following universities are involved in preparing the doctorate pilot:
Arcada University of Applied Sciences
Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences
Häme University of Applied Sciences
Humak University of Applied Sciences
JAMK University of Applied Sciences
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences
Kajaani University of Applied Sciences
Laurea University of Applied Sciences
Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
Oulu University of Applied Sciences
Satakunta University of Applied Sciences
Savonia University of Applied Sciences
This means that there is a very significant representation of Finnish universities of applied sciences – about 65 percent of all students in Finnish universities of applied sciences study at these institutions.
The work of the group is led by Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä, vice president of Häme University of Applied Sciences.
“It is wonderful that so many universities of applied sciences see it as important that Finland keeps up with the development of the European higher education field. The doctorate complements the Finnish education model. It is important from the perspective of Finland’s competitiveness and the development of companies,” says Ahokallio-Leppälä.
She explains that the professional doctorate addresses the need to improve Finland’s competitiveness and achieve economic growth. The research is practical and directly responds to the development and competence needs of companies and the business world.
“Currently, too little research and development work is being done in Finnish SMEs, even though RDI activities could provide them new innovations, products, and services. Professional doctorates could be conducted directly in companies, allowing companies to raise their level of expertise and obtain the high-level experts and product developers they need. I see enormous opportunities for development through this also in the public sector, for example, in welfare service counties,” says Ahokallio-Leppälä.
Further information:
Heidi Ahokallio-Leppälä vice president, Häme University of Applied Sciences [email protected]
