Important to strengthen connection between research and undergraduate studies at art universities
22.04.2009
The quantitative need for doctoral degrees should be assessed as it is important to proportion the number of doctoral students to the actual need for doctorates. It would also be important to strengthen the connection between research and undergraduate studies at Finnish art universities. Finnish research and doctoral education are among the pioneers in certain fields.
These are among the findings of the evaluation panel assessing the art research in Finland. The Academy of Finland invited an international panel to carry out the evaluation, and the evaluation report was published today. The evaluation focused on research and doctoral education at all four Finnish art universities and the University of Lapland’s Faculty of Art and Design in 2003–2007.
In its evaluation, the panel examines doctoral education in Finland, noting that the Finnish doctoral school system is good and efficient. However, the panel finds the excessively high ratio of students to teachers a practical problem that affects the quality of doctoral degrees. Attention should also be given to how the career path of young doctors in arts and design can be organized at different universities so as to be rewarding for both the institutions and their students and for the doctors themselves. According to the panel, the international dimension should be further strengthened both in research and doctoral education in the field.
The panel suggests that the art universities should further develop their research strategies with regard to the position of research activities in relation to the development of art and art practice and its societal relevance. The panel underlined as a general observation that art and design play an important role in the development of innovations. The contribution that artistic research makes to the formation of knowledge is a challenge for all the parties involved and opens up new avenues for generating knowledge.
The evaluation panel was chaired by Professor Richard Buchanan (USA) and the other panel members were the Vice Chair, Professor Emerita Riitta Nikula (Finland), Professor Sven Ahlbäck (Sweden), Professor Omar Calabrese (Italy) and Professor Claudia Jeschke (Austria).
The evaluation report has been published in English in the publication series of the Academy of Finland and it is available in pdf format at www.aka.fi/publications > publication series. The report can also be ordered from the Academy of Finland by sending an order to viestinta@aka.fi.
More information:
Science Adviser Tiina Forsman, Academy of Finland,
tel. +358 9 7748 8443, tiina.forsman(at)aka.fi
Academy of Finland
Communications Specialist Riitta Tirronen
tel. +358 9 7748 8369, +358 40 828 1724
riitta.tirronen(at)aka.fi