Entrepreneur Sami Kotiniemi: “Professional Doctorates Would Bring Significant Benefits to High-Tech Companies Like Ours”
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.