Finland offers unparalleled expertise and solutions for competence and learning. Finland has an extremely good international reputation in the field of education, which is based on, among others, its success in the PISA survey. Digitalisation makes the development of new approaches, products, services and comprehensive solutions possible. The Learning Solutions programme combines educational institution learning, business solutions and competence development through research. Learning Solutions is a partner programme, whose key partners are the Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM), National Board of Education (OPH) and Finpro's Future Learning Finland national education cluster programme (FLF). Businesses work with research teams to develop new learning-related solutions, which are piloted in practical trials at schools and educational institutions. Learning practices, products and service found to nationally beneficial are used to foster international business. Learning Solutions improves the learning environment, teaching and learning. Solutions integrate pedagogy, content, technology and workplace practices. Within this partnership programme, Tekes and other funding organisations provide funding for a few project entities—value network projects—involving prescribed subject areas. The Ministry of Education and Culture and National Board of Education are responsible for development and administration of the national education system. The Learning Solutions programme will run from 2011-2015, with an estimated budget of EUR 52 million, EUR 30 million of which is being funded by Tekes.

1. Learning Solutions 2011- 2015
Partnership programme
Pekka Ollikainen
23.8.2011
http://www.tekes.fi/programmes/Oppimisratkaisut
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2. Learning Solutions programme overview
Finnish
competitiveness
and welfare
Learning
International
environments
growth
and
enterprises
processes
LEARNING SOLUTIONS
Trial
New products, New Developing environments,
services and operating co-operative attracting
comprehensive methods networks, expertise-
solutions value intensive
network investment
Developing projects
New expertise work
organisations
Goals Means
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3. Learning Solutions – needs and opportunities
 Expertise and learning form the foundation of Finnish competitiveness
 Digitalisation and development of an information society make change possible
• Public sector reform and an improvement in productivity are needed
• Resources will be targeted at the national level over the next 5 years by
applying technology in learning reform
 Finland offers expertise, for which there is demand throughout the world
• Strong international interest in Finnish learning expertise
• The education export cluster and other activities promote international
business
 Work organisation development perspective
• Change is needed in both the private and public sector
 Research perspective
• Multidisciplinary expertise is needed: pedagogy, workplace, ICT, etc.
 International co-operation
• Opportunities in global business and co-operation
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4. National cooperation and partners
Result of co-operation and Tekes programme:
• A few nationally vital learning solutions
• New products, services and comprehensive solutions
for Finland and the international market
• New operating methods
• New multidisciplinary expertise
Ministry of
Education and
Culture Businesses
Research groups
Finnish National Schools and educational
Board of Tekes
institutions
Education programme
Future Learning Finland
Cluster Programme International
Association of
business
Finnish Local and
Regional
Authorities Other actors
National system
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5. Developmental specification
Learning Solutions
 Products, services, operating methods and
processes that support learning
 Learning Solutions improves the learning
environment, teaching and learning
 Solutions integrate pedagogy, content,
workplace approaches, ICT and other
technologies
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6. Partnership programme
 Key partners: Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM), National Board of Education (OPH),
Future Learning Finland FLF, Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities,
municipalities and the business sector
• Common vision and common national goals
− The Ministry of Education and Culture and National Board of Education are responsible for national
system development and investments; the Tekes programme creates a few new solutions
− FLF promotes exports, businesses develop exportable solutions in the Tekes programme
• Businesses, research groups, schools and educational institutions develop and pilot solutions together
• Developers, users, funding bodies and partners are involved in programme value network projects
− The selection, funding and realisation of subjects as well as the implementation of their results are
ensured together
− Preliminary subjects: e-learning materials, simulations and games, electronic matriculation
examinations, paperless school and development of information society education as a whole
− Brainstorming and implementation sparring workshops
 Key role of the programme
• To promote co-operation between businesses and educational institutions
• Providing businesses with the incentive to develop and take advantage of international business
opportunities
 Co-ordination
• The programme has its own steering group
• Higher-level co-ordination is agreed upon in separate discussions
and appropriate forums
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7. Programme goals
 Development of a few key national learning solutions
through national and international co-operation
 New products, services and comprehensive solutions
for Finland and the international market
 New operating methods
 New multidisciplinary expertise
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8. Programme target group
 Businesses
• Development targets: products, services and work organisations
• Internationalising and lead companies, such as SanomaWSOY, Nokia, Finavia,
Otava, Microsoft Finland, Pöyry, Kone and Sanako
• Approximately 200 businesses have been identified in the Finnish learning cluster
 Schools and educational institutions
• Development target: work organisations, management and operating methods
 Public research organisations
• Developing new, multidisciplinary expertise
 Funding bodies
• The programmes activates joint efforts, problem specification and funding of
common solutions
• Tekes provides funding for the development of products, services, work
organisations and expertise in the programme
• The Ministry of Education and Culture, National Board of Education and
municipalities provide funding for national development and investment
• The Technology Industries of Finland Centennial Foundation
provides funding for the development of high-quality learning
environments and solutions
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9. Key national goals concerning the programme
Finland an international learning pioneer
• Finland takes full advantage of information and communication
technologies as a learning tool: ICT supports learning functions
• Learning pedagogy and process reforms foremost
• Effective dissemination of good practices
• Enhancing well-being, study capacity and work capacity
Finland has a strong learning solutions and education export cluster
• Shared focus area with stakeholder groups: development, verification,
productisation and distribution of solutions made possible using the most
promising technologies at the national and international level
• Top educational and learning-related products and services developed in
Finland are distributed nationally and internationally
• Major, important problems and solving them foremost
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10. Added value of the programme
 Programme serves as an active national and
international platform for co-operation
 Programme facilitates the development of new products,
services, operating methods and expertise as well as
their piloting
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11. Programme actions
Value network projects
• Development of new products, services, solutions and operating methods as
well as their piloting
• Goal: international business, directly or indirectly
• New expertise through multidisciplinary research
• Funding for parallel project entities, which are run by businesses, research
groups and educational providers
• Sparring workshops for actor networks: brainstorming and implementation
sparring workshops
 Independent business projects
• Most promising solutions for international business operations
 Stakeholder group co-operation in specifying, realising
and measuring the national desired state and common
areas for development
• Key national spearhead projects are selected
• Living Labs and trial environments
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12. Value network projects
 Important international market opportunity and/or national challenge
identified in the background
• National solution functions as a reference implementation
• Includes trials in a real-life environment and piloting
 Includes a case-specific network of organisations:
• SMEs
• Large-scale enterprises
• Learning solution users (schools and educational institutions)
• Research groups
 Programme comprehends approx. 15 value network projects, which
have a total of 100-200 participants
 Selection, active monitoring, measurement and funding in co-
operation with Tekes stakeholder groups on a case-by-case basis
 Majority of the Tekes funding for the programme allocated for value
network projects
• Investments from other national funding bodies play a key role
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13. Learning Solutions – value network project
Business Business
project 1 project N
Common project plan Users
involved
Research Research
project 1 project M
Business Business X
1
- Parallel research projects, common plan
- Parallel business projects, different ways to join the entity
- Businesses can also participate by providing funding to research projects
- Schools and educational institutions provide a user orientation
- There can be other funding bodies in addition to Tekes
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14. Learning Solutions programme subject areas
for 2011
 Programme subject areas for 2011:
• International learning networks
• Games and simulations in learning
• Innovative learning solutions
 Other preliminary subjects in the programme: electronic
matriculation examinations, paperless school and development of
information society education as a whole
 The programme holds workshops for building value network
projects
 for target groups: brainstorming and implementation sparring workshops for value
network projects
 The goal of the workshops is to initiate key project entities, value network
project preparation and realisation.
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