The success of the city and the two local higher education institutions is closely intertwined. For several decades, the City of Tampere, Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) have engaged in close collaboration across diverse areas of activity. The strategic partnership has been in place since 2020.
– The strategic partnership provides a clearer and more concrete framework for our ongoing collaborations and expands opportunities for participation among both members of the Tampere Universities community and our stakeholders, say Partnership Manager Anna Kosonen from Tampere University and Key Account Manager Tuula Laitinen from TAMK.
– Working together embodies the spirit of Tampere. We have a shared mission to ensure that Tampere remains a vibrant city, a hub of expertise and an excellent place to study, work, live and thrive. We are committed to sustaining the city’s vitality over the long term and from a broad range of perspectives. To achieve this, we need knowledge based decision making and access to new, world class expertise. These are areas in which our local higher education institutions are natural and highly valuable partners, says Ilmari Nurminen, Mayor of Tampere.
For the first time, the City of Tampere and Tampere Universities have drawn up a Work Programme to guide their activities during the new agreement period. The Work Programme identifies three priority areas.
– The priority areas include making Tampere the most student friendly city, strengthening Tampere’s profile as a leading science hub, and promoting the city as a centre of excellence in education. For example, we will be working together to increase employment opportunities for students, promote the well-being and literacy of children and young people in Tampere, and test new methods that support research based decision making. I dare say that such broad and concrete collaboration is not carried out anywhere else than in Tampere, says Sanni Pietilä, Partnership Manager at both Tampere Universities and the City of Tampere.
The partners already engage in established collaborations in research, the development of Tampere as a student city, international engagement, regional vitality policy, education and advocacy.
According to President of Tampere University Keijo Hämäläinen, the collaboration between Tampere University and the City of Tampere has already delivered tangible benefits.
– We have strengthened competence pathways, streamlined the framework for collaborative projects, and increased the prominence of science in the city’s profile. During the next agreement period, we will support the city in making use of the best available research expertise and influence the future of Tampere through research, development and the contribution of expertise.
President of TAMK, Professor Mika Hannula, echoes the views of President Hämäläinen, emphasising the important role of the strategic partnership with the City of Tampere:
– The partnership provides TAMK with broader opportunities to contribute expertise and engage in collaborative applied research with the city’s own specialists. Our continuous dialogue and interaction allow TAMK to steer not only its education but also its research, development and innovation activities towards supporting the city’s vitality. The renewed agreement offers a clear framework for our shared efforts.
The two Presidents agree that the partnership makes Tampere stronger, while also enhancing the impact that Tampere University and TAMK have on the development of the region and the whole of Finland.
