The National Union of University Students in Finland (SYL) is a non-governmental organisation that represents all Finnish student unions and, consequently, all university students in Finland. As part of its 2026 action plan, SYL wants to focus on the relationship between fiscal austerity policy and higher education policy: we are publishing a collection of popularised articles on the topic and inviting specialists and researchers to write for the publication.
The purpose of the publication is to examine education policy amid austerity in Finland. The concept of fiscal austerity refers to the pursuit of curbing or reducing public expenditure, debt and deficit. Recently, strict austerity policy has been implemented in Finland, and in autumn 2025, a parliamentary agreement was also made on further cementing the debt brake.
Meanwhile, the objectives of higher education policy in Finland have for a long time aimed at expansion. The Vision for Higher Education and Research in 2030, adopted in 2017, outlined a 50% increase in the level of education in the young population. This objective is now being updated, and the plan is to set it even higher. At the same time, the aim is to maintain good learning outcomes and high-quality implementations.
Education is one of the largest items of government expenditure. This is why it is also often the subject of austerity policy when savings are sought from the national budget. At the same time, however, education is often seen as a means of economic growth. Increasing the level of education also aims for innovation, higher employment rates and a turn for growth, which has been dragging for a long time.
In other words, there is a notable discrepancy between the austerity policy and Finland’s stated educational policy objectives. SYL wants to focus on this contradiction in its article collection. We are looking for popularised articles from different fields and theoretical frameworks.
What kind of texts do we want?
SYL wishes to receive articles that deal with the topic from different perspectives and fields of science. We expect the articles to be written in clear and precise language and to have a research-based approach. The author is responsible for the accuracy of the details in their text. As the publication is aimed at a broad readership, we hope that authors use the most comprehensible and popularised means of expression.
What is the publication used for?
The task of SYL is to influence decision-making concerning students. The collection of articles will be published both online and in print. The publication will be used as an active tool in SYL’s advocacy activities and meetings with decision-makers and stakeholders.
Detailed instructions
You can write alone or in a group. A fee of EUR 400 is paid for the writings. The length of the final texts, excluding references, is approximately 2,500 words. The articles will not go through peer review, but they will receive feedback from the editorial board, which consists of specialists from SYL and the student unions and members of the board. Expertise and a basis in research are expected of the articles. The publication will be in Finnish, so the texts must also be in Finnish.
We ask you to send the article proposals as PDF or Word files to heidi.rattya@syl.fi and anna.oksanen@syl.fi. The appropriate length of the proposal is 3,000 characters, excluding references.
Tentative timetable
- Article proposals submitted no later than 5 April
- Authors selected on the week of 20 April
- Time to write until 3 August
- Comments on the first versions of the articles on 31 August
- Final articles ready on 30 September
- Publication in November–December 2026
For more information, please contact
Heidi Rättyä, Educational Policy Specialist
heidi.rattya@syl.fi, +358 (0)41 515 2231
