Anneli Hietaluoma

The UTA programmes have been extremely popular in Finland from the very beginning. The total number of participants each year is about 3.500 elderly people, of which 75 - 80 % are women. The average age of the participants is 65 years, their basic education varying from primary level to tertiary. The vocational profile is also very heterogeneous: there are retired teachers and factory workers, as well as health professionals, office staff, and many others. One of the typical reasons for participating in the programmes is, for instance, that these elderly people did not have a chance to study earlier in their lives, due to lack of financial resources, war, or some other external constraint.

General Principles

1. Universitas - enlightenment for all

The guiding principle behind the establishment of the third age university was the historical, original concept of (the Humboldtian) university as an institution providing enlightenment to the people in a society.

2. An integral part of the University

The national advisory board recognises that the UTAs in Finland are an official part of the university institution. This connection has also been acknowledged by the State, and in spring 1991 the finnisch Ministry of Education ratified the third age universities as part of open university operations in Finland. This, however, is only in name, because it is not yet possible to obtain a degree at the university of the third age. But it is possible for all open university students to get university credits (eg. in Philosophy, Sociology), by application to the university.

3. Co-operative planning

The basic principle in designing programmes and other events at the third age university is co-operative planning. All operations are planned jointly by participating UTA students and academic staff.

4. No age limit - no entry requirements

There are no age limits for participation in the UTA activities. Nor are there entry requirements as to the educational level needed.

5. Finance

Financing the activities of the third age universities is partly done through study fees that vary from FIM 50 to 300 per term. In addition, a separate fee of about FIM 100 to 200 per term is charged for participating in seminars.

Forms of Activity

No standard model exists, and each university can develop activities according to their own preferences and needs. The main programmes are: Lecture series - lectures have been of an interdisciplinary general study type, each concentrating on one theme of current interest. Lecture series are a central form of activity in all Finnish UTAs. Seminars - seminars tend to involve small groups working together - the number of participants varies from 10 to 30 depending on the subject at hand. The studies are, in general, co-ordinated by academic staff.

To date seminars have been arranged on topics such as: physical exercise and health; human relations; social conflict; the life cycle; creative writing and literature; managing PC programmes; social studies; women's issues, art appreciation, cultural tradition, local history, languages and biography writing.

Studying in old-age homes - tape-recorded lecture series of UTA of Helsinki including study guides enable UTA study groups to operate in old-age homes.

Projects - some projects have been in progress to assess the actual situation and the future plans for old age service culture in 2030 as prepared by the National Board of Social Welfare.

Students programmes - cultural trips (theatre, art exhibitions), travel groups (holidaying at home), international groups ( the development of foreign contacts and networking) and study tours are examples of such activities.

Research - in Finland the development of research in this field is relatively new and is divided into two main areas. One of these is the research carried out by the UTA students themselves, in which a research seminar, based in Jyväskylä from 1989 - 1991, was a good starting point. The first seminar focused on carrying out sociological research. Fourteen people took part in the programme, four of which started doing inividual research. Subjects for the research were: "Voluntary work at an old people's home"; "The possibilities of community housing for elderly women"; "Interaction between a widowed mother and children" and "The image of old age conveyed by Römpän ukko" (the image of "Römpän ukko" was created by a Finnish cartoonist, Kari Suomalainen). In autumn 1991 another research group started its programme studying the image of old age as in popular literature written in the 1980's.

Since then a research seminar has always been in the programmes of the UTA in Jyväskylä. Eg. from 1991 to 1993 a research group examined age, life span, ageig an old age as their own experience or as read in the books. A report was published in 1994 titled "Writings on age, life and getting older". In 1994 and 1995 the seminar was working on the influences of technology in older peoples life. Ten UTA students wrote down their own experiences and also interviewed people in old age homes.

Research programmes have also been started in other UTAs in Finland. In Helsinki, for example, a research seminar was started autumn 1991. The seminar topic was "The attitudes of elderly people to ageing and studying". Tampere started a research seminar in spring 1992. The topic was "Human growth".

Developing the function of the third age universities in itself requires research. In autumn 1991 a national research and development project was launched in Finland. The overall aim of this project is to study the third age university activities from the point of view of its profile and its "universitas principle", as well as the third age learning process as a conceptual, substantial and methodological issue. The project was sponsored by the Finnish Ministry of Education. Several reports have already been published and also a presentation video based on UTA students speeches in Helsinki, Jyväskylä and Tampere. It is named "Good vintage - perceptions of life and the activities at the University of the Third Age in Finland".

All general information about UTA activities in Finland can be found in the finish language as http://www.avoinyliopisto.fi/ikis.html

Contact:

UTA of Jyväskylä
Anneli Hietaluoma
Unit Director
Summer University of Jyväskylä
P.O. Box 35

SF - 40351 Jyväskylä

Tel.: ++358 14 603 721
Fax.: ++358 14 603 621

e-mail: HIETALUO@cone.cec.jyu.fi