Neither one thing nor another

In a world where internationalisation and global academic profiles are becoming more and more important, university mergers remain highly controversial. Many seem to make sense at first—why not combine institutions that have similar strengths and profiles to create one larger, more efficient and more internationally visible university?

But mergers include many pitfalls as well as benefits: institutional cultures must change, weaker departments might lose out and trusted research partnerships need to be renegotiated. The risks are high.

Three higher education institutions in the city of Tampere are attempting to build a “new type of university in Finland” by combining some of their work into what they hope will take the form of an internationally renowned, multidisciplinary institution. They want to establish a research and learning environment that combines basic research with technology development, and offer a more international degree structure.