University of Lapland
The University of Lapland is a public university in Rovaniemi, Finland. It was established in 1979 and is the northernmost university in the European Union.
Around 4,000 undergraduate students and 500 doctoral students study at the university. Most of the university's students come from southern part of Finland or from abroad. The university is ranked internationally at 2570th place.
The University of Lapland focuses on art and design, law, social sciences, and northern and Arctic issues. The university's strategic focus areas are Arctic global responsibility, sustainable tourism, and management of future services and distances. The university is a member of the international network University of the Arctic and hosts the organisation's international secretariat.
The university collaborates with universities and organisations around the world to promote research, education, and cultural exchange. The number of employees at Lapland University is 642, of which 46 are professors. Lapland University's budget for 2018 was approximately €50 million.
Studies
The university has four faculties:- Faculty of Art and Design
- Faculty of Education
- Faculty of Law
- Faculty of Social Sciences
International collaboration
The University of Lapland is an active member of the University of the Arctic, hosting its international secretariat. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region.The university also participates in UArctic's mobility program north2north. The aim of that program is to enable students of member institutions to study in different parts of the North.
Research
The University of Lapland focuses its research on changes in the northern climate and other forms of arctic research such as responsible tourism and sustainability.The university's faculty of law also studies the rights and issues of the Finnish minority group Sámi.
The strategic choices deal with
- global Arctic responsibility
- sustainable tourism
- future services and reachability
Rectors
- Esko Riepula 1979–2006
- Mauri Ylä-Kotola 2006–2019
- Antti Syväjärvi 2019–
Notable people
- Pigga Keskitalo, Sámi politician and academic
- Katri Kulmuni, politician, former Centre Party leader and Minister of Finance
- Liisa Rantalaiho, sociologist