Centria University of Applied Sciences passed FINEEC’s audit – diverse regional development activities and the cooperation networks supporting them the institution’s strengths

Centria University of Applied Sciences received special praise from FINEEC’s audit team for its strong role as a collaboration partner and reformer of competence of the region’s industries and companies. Centria’s international and multicultural operating environment creates significant added value to the staff and students and makes it possible to strengthen the competence base in the institution’s operating area.

Centria has a strong role as a working life partner and renewer of competence in its operating area

The planning and implementation of degree education and RDI activities at Centria University of Applied Sciences have been strongly integrated into stakeholder cooperation with the companies and industries of the region. The focus areas of the RDI activities are chemistry and bioeconomy, production technology, digitalisation, and entrepreneurship and wellbeing. The strong RDI activities have a renewing and developing influence on the operating environment. An example of this is the RoboSote project promoting the utilisation of care robotics and technologies and digital service solutions. At Centria, the teaching staff participate in the RDI activities and the RDI personnel in teaching. The planning, implementation, evaluation and development of education are carried out in a studentcentred and communal manner.

“Measuring societal impact is part of Centria University of Applied Sciences’ strong role in regional development. Centria could promote it by defining the concepts and objectives of societal interaction and societal impact more clearly than at present. An evaluation framework for societal impact might be helpful in this,” summarises Mervi Vidgrén, Chair of the audit team and Principal of Savonia University of Applied Sciences.

Centria supports internationalisation in the region through education export

The optional evaluation area chosen by Centria was education exports, which it also uses to support internationalisation in its operating area. Centria’s multicultural operating environment creates significant added value to the staff and students and makes it possible to strengthen the competence base in the institution’s operating area. It is recommended that education in intercultural communication and competence be offered to the personnel, students and external stakeholders more than currently so that the positive effects of internationalisation will be realised in the entire institution and its operating area.

Quality system produces knowledge for strategic management and everyday activities

Centria’s strategy guides the operation of the entire higher education institution strongly. The quality system has been built to support the implementation of the strategy and it is an integral part of the management system. The quality system and its procedures produce information for both management and operating activities. Elucidating the mutual relationships between the several different strategic action plans would support strategic management at Centria and clarify the personnel’s operational quality responsibilities.

Strong support for the development of personnel’s competence

The teachers and other personnel at Centria are committed and competent. Centria provides strong support for the personnel’s competence development, and the personnel are enthusiastic about their work. The institution directs a significant amount of resources to the personnel’s competence development, such as individual training, periods of work experience, support for progress on career paths in research and participation in international activities. These strengths and good practices emerged in the audit as fairly positive processes supporting the personnel’s work motivation and wellbeing.

Centria University of Applied Sciences passed the audit conducted by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) and was awarded a quality label for six years. Passing the audit shows that the activities and the quality system of the university of applied sciences meet both the national criteria and the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area. The audit focuses on higher education institutions’ procedures for maintaining and enhancing the quality of education, RDI activities and societal interaction. The audit criteria have been published in FINEEC’s Audit manual for higher education institutions. The audits of higher education institutions’ quality systems were launched Finland in 2005.

The audit report is available on FINEEC’s audit platform.

Additional information

• Mervi Vidgrén, President, CEO, Chair of the audit team, tel. +358 44 785 5001, mervi.vidgren(at)savonia.fi
• Kirsi Mustonen, Project Manager of the audit, tel. +358 29 533 5515, kirsi.mustonen(at)karvi.fi