The term of office of four members serving on the Board of Tampere University will end at the end of 2023, which means that four new board members will be appointed in the autumn. The Academic Board has decided on the criteria regarding the new members and is asking members of the university community to nominate candidates for the Board of Tampere University. The Academic Board will appoint the new board members and two of these members will be appointed from the suggestions from the founding members of the Tampere University Foundation.
Who do you think should have a seat on the Board of Tampere University? Send your suggestion to TREY to make sure that we students can promote matters that are important to us. Nominate an awesome person from your own field or find a suitable candidate from some other discipline. Suggestions can be submitted by individual students, organisations and other student groups.
We are collecting suggestions from students and organisations between 3 July and 6 August. After that, the Student Union will discuss the suggestions, and on 24 August, our Executive Board will make a decision on the students’ joint proposal. The deadline for the university community’s proposals is 31 August. We will publish the names of nominated candidates after the Student Union’s Executive Board has made the decision. Students and organisations can send their suggestions to the Student Union or directly to the University.
You can submit your suggestion to the Student Union using a Microsoft Forms online form. The suggestions to be submitted to the Student Union must be sent using the form by 6 August 2023.
To send your proposal directly to the University, use the-e-form you can find through the intranet release. The Academic Board has asked members of the university community to nominate their board member candidates by 31 August 2023.
For more information about the university board’s appointment process, please contact Tiia Virtanen, Student Union’s Specialist in Educational Affairs (tiia.virtanen@trey.fi, +35840 713 0077). Tiia is out of office between 22 June and 23 July.
What university board?
The Board of Tampere University has seven members. The same members make up the Board of the Tampere University Foundation. The university board’s main task is to set the guidelines for the University. It makes decisions concerning the University’s strategy and regulations. The board also appoints the president and other members in the administration and exercises considerable financial power.
While the Board of Tampere University may be far from the everyday lives of students, it makes far-reaching decisions and plans that affect the University.
Who can I nominate as a candidate?
The members of the Board of Tampere University have a high level of expertise in matters related to academia, society or business.
According to the Universities Act, the board of a foundation-based university ‘shall comprehensively represent the highest national and international expertise in the sciences and arts in the field of operation of the university and in societal and business life’. The university’s field of operation consists of the fields that are taught and researched at the university. High level of expertise can be defined as expertise gained by, for example, doing a doctoral thesis in your own field or successfully developing your skills in different areas of society or business.
According to the regulations of Tampere University Foundation, the term of office for a board member is four years. A board member can serve for a maximum of eight years, which is two terms. According to the founding document of Tampere University Foundation and the university regulations, the board is required to be strategic and independent.
The criteria complementing the University Act and the Tampere University Regulations for the selection of the board, as set by the Academic Board (Freely translated for the criteria in Finnish)
All members:
- understanding of the scientific community and academia
- social interaction skills
- extensive network of contacts
- commitment
- Active participation in board work
- Collaboration with the university community
- Advocacy and representation on behalf of the university
For the board as a whole:
- Up-to-date expertise and experience in the Finnish university field
- Academic leadership experience
- Academic excellence
- Internationality and familiarity with the international scientific community
- Educational expertise
- Comprehensive understanding of society, sciences, arts, business, and civil society
- Diversity in terms of age, expertise, experience, and gender distribution in accordance with equality law
- Diverse societal impact and visibility
- Financial and investment expertise
- Broad knowledge of the university’s fields of study and strong academic expertise in the university’s focal areas (technology, health, and society)
The following criteria will be highlighted when considering candidates for Board membership in 2023:
The board as a whole should represent a high level of expertise, ensuring that each member meets this requirement within their respective reference group.
Diversity strengthens strategic decision-making in a changing operational environment. According to the University Act (558/2009), the official administrative language of Tampere University is Finnish.
In 2023, the following aspects are highlighted in the selection:
- Academically high-level expertise and strong experience in working at the university
- Balanced representation from the fields of technology, health (in this round, medicine), and society
- Expertise related to basic research
- Knowledge of higher education and science policies, as well as the evolving RDI (Research, Development, and Innovation) operating environment
- Diverse societal impact, including experience with civil society organisations
- Members of different ages, including familiarity with the perspectives of students
- External and internal members from outside Tampere University
- Taking into account the Equality Act and upcoming selection rounds, three women and one man should be selected this time.
Ultimately, the responsibility for complying with the criteria and the law lies with the Academic Board, which decides on the board members.
How will TREY make its proposal?
The Student Union of Tampere University will make its own proposal to nominate candidates for the Board of the University. Our aim is to promote important student matters in Tampere University.
The Student Union’s proposal will take into account the qualification requirements and suitability criteria defined by the Universities Act and the Academic Board. At its meeting, the Student Union’s Executive Board made the following decisions to define its internal criteria:
Primary criteria:
- Expertise as a student
- Educational competence
- Understanding of the field of science and higher education
- Diverse backgrounds
- Multidisciplinarity and various fields
Additional criteria:
- Valuing the principles of proximity and interactivity in governance
- The person promotes the university’s autonomy, university democracy, tuition-free education, and equal language policy
- Familiarity with the Tampere higher education community and its current situation
- Ability to contribute to the work of the university board
When making the proposal, consideration is given to what is stipulated about board members in Tampere University’s regulations, as well as in Finnish laws and regulations.
The Student Union will hear students and organisations about their suggestions for new university board members to make sure that the voice of students is heard in the Student Union’s preparatory work, decision-making processes and advocacy work. We will listen to and appreciate the views of students and organisations when making our decision.
A team composed of representatives from TREY prepares a proposal for the Student Union’s Executive Board, which is discussed in a board meeting before the end of the consultation process with the university community. Consent is sought from the proposed individuals, to the extent possible, before the decision-making meeting.