World's Best Higher education System Finland

Higher education

Higher education in Finland has a dual structure. Higher education is provided by universities and polytechnics, also known as universities of applied sciences. Both sectors have their own profiles. Universities emphasise scientific research and instruction, whereas polytechnics adopt a more practical approach. Higher education institutions are very autonomous in organising their instruction and academic year.
There is restricted entry to all fields of study. The applicant volumes outweigh the number of places available. Therefore universities and polytechnics use different kinds of student selection criteria. Most commonly these include success in matriculation examination and entrance tests.
Equal access to higher education is ensured by the wide institutional network, the free education, student financial aid as well as the flexible pathways to higher education. Efforts have also been made to lower the threshold to apply to higher education by developing an on-line joint application system.