In the past decades, the development of higher education institutions (HEIs) in industrialized countries has become intertwined with innovation policy and the goal of national competitiveness. Focusing on the discourses on innovation by the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC), this article illustrates the transformation of Finnish higher…

This article explores the strategic external funding goals and plans of action of Finnish universities of applied sciences (UASs) as articulated in their institutional strategies using the ecology-of-games metaphor. UASs are pressured to expand external funding sources compared to their previous student number-based funding history. The UASs'…

The first half of this paper provides a historical overview of: (a) J. V. Snellman's philosophy of "sivistys"; and (b) its legacy on public policy in Finland. The second half discusses the findings of a qualitative study exploring contemporary understandings of the public good among Finnish policymakers and university staff. The dataset…