Introduction: Our education aims to make an impact

The societal impact of higher education refers to short-term and long-term outcomes and changes that education can bring about, for both the individual and society as a whole. However, how we measure this impact and our influence is by no means an unambiguous or commonly agreed process. 

The impact that a higher education institution has had can be monitored with indicators that describe, for example, its educational volumes or the scope of its research activities. Although these quantitative indicators often fail to address long-term trends, they are indicative and, above all, verifiable. Long-term impact, on the other hand, is a more difficult thing to measure. It is often difficult to identify the impact of an individual measure in a societal context, where many things tend to change and shift simultaneously. Other issues, such as the status of the economy or international phenomena, can also result in various changes, and the impact of new competence or knowledge can be difficult to distinguish. The time span of a change also poses its own challenges. Laurea has conducted an extensive amount of work to, for example, develop social equality. However, the impacts of our efforts to reduce social exclusion or improve the preconditions for life occur over the long term, often over a span of many years, which makes verifying their results difficult. 

Impacting society and the lives Finns and our stakeholders has been part of Laurea’s principles since its inception. At Laurea, the principle of learning by development is to produce benefits for our partners while enhancing the competence of our students. For example, our Business Management projects allow our students to accumulate new skills while providing solutions to our partner companies and boosting their competitiveness. 

One of the points of this publication is to highlight the diverse ways in which we can have an impact. On the one hand, this diversity applies to the ways in which we can create impact, from large research projects and degree programmes to smaller initiatives involving only a few individuals. On the other hand, diversity can also apply to the different ways in which we monitor our impact and influence, and includes not only quantitative outcomes, but also stories, experiences, and the human element of an impact. 

For society, education is an investment in its future that ensures its future competence and competitiveness in a specialised world with fewer routine tasks and increasing demand for specialised competence. Monitoring the impact of the education, RDI activities, and business operations of higher education is important – and even necessary. We hope that you find this review of our work in 2023 interesting and thought-provoking. If you have any further questions about this report, feel free to contact us for more information! 

Teemu Ylikoski
Development director, D.Sc. (B.A.)