The European Parliament has published the Academic Freedom Monitor based on 2025 data, delivering a clear message: the trajectory of academic freedom in Europe is worrying. But what does academic freedom actually mean? Academic freedom is the right of researchers,...
The values of SAMOK's 2025–2028 strategy include openness and a student-led approach. In my opinion, both are at the very core of a student organisation like ours, as they ensure membership influence and democratic decision-making. However, implementing them...
The quality of a University of Applied Sciences degree is not just a formality but a concrete promise to students and employers regarding the level of competence of students. The Finnish Education Evaluation Center (Karvi) supports quality management in higher...
When we talk about equality among students, the discussion often focuses on important topics such as livelihood, mental health, and the smoothness of studies. Alongside these, there is one theme that connects them all: accessibility. Accessibility is not just a...
On recurring occurrence, the Finnish government has said that we, international students are important. They even aim to triple the number of international degree students by 2030 (Finnish Government, 2021)! We are often portrayed as vital contributors to the...
All of us have surely stopped to think about our future at some point. Sometimes it’s clear what direction we want to take. Other times, the future feels foggy and uncertain. And increasingly, it seems to depend on decisions over which individual students have no...
October 5th is World Teachers’ Day, celebrated since 1994 at the initiative of UNESCO and Education International (EI). The day highlights the importance of teachers’ work, the need to improve their working conditions, and their invaluable contribution worldwide....
When a university of applied sciences aims to respond to regional and national needs, couldn’t the most fruitful solutions come from future professionals in their fields — the students? “Research, development and innovation activities (RDI) combine Tampere...
The 2025 Pride theme, “Pride without Borders,” calls for the right to equal and equitable support for all members of the rainbow community – both within and outside the community. Pride is, above all, a human rights movement, which in the 1970s was known as the...
Finland is suffering from a shortage of workers in several fields, and the country’s demographic dependency ratio is deteriorating at an alarming rate due to declining birth rates. One of the proposed solutions to these problems has been international students. The...
