VAMK Starts Change Negotiations on the Role and Number of Principal Lecturers

Vaasa University of Applied Sciences (VAMK) will initiate change negotiations in accordance with the Finnish Act on Co-operation within Undertakings. The negotiations concerning 14 Principal Lecturers will begin on 4th of May 2026, lasting at least three weeks.

In recent years, the operating environment of universities of applied sciences has undergone significant change. Public funding has declined, with no major increase anticipated.

”This development requires changes also from VAMK”, says President, CEO Hannu Vahtera.

The government has set a goal to increase the proportion of young adults with a higher education degree to at least 50 percent by 2030. At the same time, public finances are in crisis, and no additional funding is in sight.

Funding for degree education relative to targets has decreased, while the share of research, development and innovation (RDI) activities, including Master’s degrees at universities of applied sciences, has increased in the funding model. As a result, the role of the principal lecturer must in the future be clearly distinguished from that of a lecturer, both in terms of level of responsibility and job content.

“Going forward, the principal lecturer’s role will focus especially on Master level teaching and supervision, curriculum development, RDI activities, project work, publications, securing external funding, advanced development tasks, and national and international networking,” Vahtera explains.

“The change negotiations will examine the role, job description and number of principal lecturers in relation to the organisation’s strategic objectives,” tells Vahtera.

In the negotiations, both the number of principal lecturers in different fields of education and the future competence profiles required will be assessed.

The change negotiations may have impacts on personnel. Possible measures include changes to job descriptions and objectives, transfers to another position, and redundancies. The change negotiations are based on operational, financial, and organisational restructuring reasons.

The negotiations will be conducted in accordance with the Act on Co-operation within Undertakings, together with representatives of the personnel.

“The change negotiations are a difficult situation for all of us, as VAMK is a close-knit community,” describes Vahtera.

“No one wants to face a situation like this, but sometimes change negotiations are unavoidable. If we do not prepare for the future now, it may hit us suddenly and unexpectedly, and the consequences could be far more severe,” Vahtera states.