Community insights from the vision survey help shape Uniarts Helsinki’s future
Uniarts Helsinki’s vision work ahead of 2040 took a step forward with a wide-scale online survey in October and November. The survey was an invitation for the whole university community to reflect on questions like what makes Uniarts Helsinki meaningful and what kind of future we want to build together.
A total of 975 respondents representing students, staff and alumni shared their views on what they want Uniarts Helsinki to stand for in the future.
“The responses form an important foundation for our vision work, which focuses on summarising the purpose of Uniarts Helsinki’s existence and its mission in a changing world. The goal is to shape the future of the arts sector and Uniarts Helsinki. Thank you to each and every student, staff member and alum who answered the questionnaire. Your contributions are extremely valuable and help us build the future of Uniarts Helsinki,” says Rector Kaarlo Hildén.
The survey kicked off the university’s vision work, and the results will be used as the main starting point for the university’s strategy work. The new university board is set to launch the strategy work in spring 2026.
Wide-scale participation from various groups
Altogether 975 individuals answered the survey: 178 students, 311 staff members and 467 alumni. All academies and services were well-represented among the respondents, which helped form an exceptionally broad picture of the diverse experiences and wishes of the university community.
A total of 178 students answered the survey: 32 of them are Academy of Fine Arts students, 76 of them are Sibelius Academy students and 62 of them are Theatre Academy students. As for staff members who answered the survey, 25 of them work at the Academy of Fine Arts, 121 of them work at the Sibelius Academy and 62 of them work at the Theatre Academy. A total of 22 Open Campus staff members answered the survey, while 39 respondents represented the shared services. 40 respondents did not want to specify their unit.
What does the university community find important?
There will be more in-depth discussions on the detailed results later, but it can already be stated that our community has a strong idea of what Uniarts Helsinki’s purpose is. The respondents highlighted the following key values, for example:
- high-quality arts education and research,
- the intrinsic value and societal relevance of art,
- freedom, diversity of views and room for critical thinking,
- daily interactions, a sense of community and dialogue.
Answers to open-ended questions highlighted the wish to promote cooperation, improve practices and policies and tailor the university’s resources and facilities in a way that would best promote art-making, learning and research. The community hoped that Uniarts Helsinki will continue to act boldly as an influential pioneer – both in the arts sector and in society at large.
Next steps in the vision work
A more detailed analysis of the survey material is currently underway. As the vision project moves forward, we will make full advantage of the results when planning the kind of long-term path that the university should take in its future endeavours.
The vision work is the responsibility of the vision steering group and project group, which will organise workshops and discussion sessions on the results in the beginning of 2026.