Finnish education: a product to export

Quiz time. What is becoming the new hot Finnish export? Your choices are A. Paper (Finland’s surface is covered by forest by more than 70%), B. Electronics (see Nokia) C. Education (not sending pupils to other countries of course). Well, A is not valid anymore. Back in the good days (when also a lot of paper was used worldwide before the domination of the internet), that might have been valid. Nokia is also a giant that collapsed, then acquired and is no longer Finland’s superpower. Education is the name of the game.

How come? And is it even possible to export education? How can the Finnish people benefit from this? Read on!

Why did Finland choose education as a strategic priority?

First things first. It is amazing that a nation decides on its core strengths and lets them guide their way to the future. Not many countries in the world do so. Thumbs up! Furthermore, the Finns (as all the Nordic people) are very straightforward and realistic (practical too).

They said “OK, we are a small country (in terms of population) but a rich country in terms of resources. But we don’t want to exploit those resources (land, water, nature)”. This pretty much explains the rationale. What comes after “hard” resources? The “soft” ones, call them intangible. People and society. How can we make better use of them? By educating them to be happy and innovative! Bingo! Now you know!

PS: Finland ranks as one of the most educated and innovative countries in the world. No doubt!

Can Finnish education be exported?

Yes, it can. They already do it. The Helsinki International Schools are expanding abroad to countries like China, Argentina and the Arab world. This project is actually managed by the University of Helsinki, one of the top universities in the world (no doubt again!) and aims at promoting the concepts and values of Finnish early childhood education all around the world via licensing.

Aha! This is the secret. Remember? Finland is a small country of 5.5 million people. If they tried to find Finnish teachers to cover the positions in schools overseas, it would not work. Sorry, size matters! So, they decided to export the concepts and make it even more innovative.

Instead of just implementing the Finnish system in a foreign country and on foreign kids, they chose to cooperate with local teachers. They are carefully selected to fit in the Finnish educational values but they also help in adapting the system to the culture of the local kids. This is how you can export education! Hats off!

How can Finnish people and society benefit?

They say that education is one of the most valuable investments. And the Finnish education wonder took decades to build and produce results. It requires long-term commitment and stability.

• Education and know-how are one of Finland’s 3 core strengths. Innovation is also part of it. Still wondering how this can help people and society?
• A competitive advantage that boosts the economy. This means more jobs and growth, that turn into more taxes and welfare state. What goes around, comes around.
• Happier people, as education is closely linked with the levels of happiness one experiences. A system that is built on openness, togetherness and trust, can only boost the happiness of the people.
• Better citizens. Sustainability and curiosity (that sparks innovation) make for people who can better adapt to the changing needs and circumstances in our world.

Add them all up and the total sum is positive. Ready to cash out! And then for a dive into the icy water!