Vuokko Kohtamäki

I am a senior lecturer and docent at Tampere University, Faculty of Management and Business, HEG (Higher Education Group).  

Research and teaching interests and profile: higher education (both universities and universities of applied sciences) autonomy, governance and management, leadership and funding 

 If you require any further information, please feel free to contact me.

Academic progam leader and coordinator of Higher Education Administration and Management Program KOHA* (40/50 ECTS).  

As an academic professional, my main tasks involve teaching and supervising doctoral students and their theses, as well as guiding KOHA students and master-level students. I conduct research in the field of higher education, focusing on autonomy, governance, management, leadership, and funding.

KOHA is a unique national expert education designed for higher education professionals and other experts working with higher education issues.

* Tampere University's Faculty of Management and Business gave a recognition to KOHA-progam of its success in teaching (2022). 

Courses:

Introduction to Research on Higher Education, 5 ECTS

Higher Education Systems - Steering and Coordination, 5 ECTS

Organisation, Administration and Management, 10 ECTS

Finance and Financial Administration in Higher Education, 5 ECTS

Funding and Financial Management in Higher Education, Research and Innovation, 5 ECTS

Quality, Evaluation and Development in Higher Education, 5 ECTS

Qualitative and quantitative research and research-based evaluations: This area covers the understanding and application of qualitative and quantitative research methods for conducting research and evaluations. It involves gathering and analysing data, interpreting results, and drawing conclusions based on empirical evidence.

Teaching and supervising higher education governance and management-related topics: This area pertains to expertise in teaching and supervising topics related to higher education governance and management. It involves teaching students on aspects like educational leadership, organisational behavior,policy analysis, and resource management in the context of higher education institutions.

Planning, coordinating, leading: This area encompasses skills in planning and organising tasks and projects, coordinating efforts among team members and stakeholders, and providing leadership to guide and support individuals and teams in achieving their objectives.

Vice member of the Board of Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of Jyväskylä (2022-)

Vice member of the Board of the Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University (2019-)

Member of Salary Evaluation Group, teachers and researchers, Tampere University (2016-)

Member of Health and Safety Team, Tampere University (2020-2022)

 Tampere University Association of Researchers and Teachers – Tatte, vice president (2012-2014), board member and vice board member (2012-2015)

To construct state-of-the-art understanding of higher education institutions and their governance

Universities, universities of applied sciences, higher education governance, management and leadership in Finland and internationally

Administrative sciences, social sciences

Academic level 3 (associate professors, university lecturers, senior research fellows)

Textbook

Kohtamäki, V., Pekkola, E., Kivistö, J. (2020 ed.). Korkeakouluhallinto: johtaminen, talous ja politiikka. Gaudeamus. 

Research articles

https://researchportal.tuni.fi/fi/persons/vuokko-kohtam%C3%A4ki

Kohtamäki, V. (2024). Ammattikorkeakoulujen autonomian hybridisyys ylläpitäjähallinnon ja osakeyhtiöhallinnon konteksteissa. Tiedepolitiikka 49(2) 40-51.Luettavissa sähköisenä https://journal.fi/tiedepolitiikka/article/view/142713

Kohtamäki, V. & von Boguslawski, M.  (2024). Strategic Ambitions of External RDI Funding of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, Studies in Higher Education, 1-17. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03075079.2024.2334840

Kohtamäki, V. (2023). Performance Agreement Through the Lens of Resource Dependence Theory.  Journal of Education Policy 39(4) 541-563.   DOI: 10.1080/02680939.2023.2245791

Kohtamäki, V. (2023). Strategic Dependence on External Funding in Finnish Higher Education. Cogent Education, 10(2), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2282816

Kohtamäki, V., Zheng G. & Nasrin J. (2023). Gender Inequality in Academic Leadership: Bangladesh, China and Finland. Higher Education Quarterly  78(1) 78-92. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/hequ.12447

Kohtamäki, V. (2022). Autonomy-driven segmentation for competition among Finnish universities: leaders' perceptions. Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames), 47(1), 67-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2020.1730314

Furiv, U., Kohtamäki, V., Balbachevsky, E. & Virta, S. (2021). COVID-19 Crisis Response of Higher Education Institutions: Tampere University (TAU) and University of São Paulo (USP)Leadership and Management Strategies for Creating Agile Universities. Connolly, T. & Farrier, S. (eds.). IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-8213-8

Kohtamäki, V. (2019). Academic leadership and university reform-guided management changes in Finland. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 41(1), 70-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2018.1553499

Kohtamäki, V. & Balbachevsky, E. (2019). An explorative study of the consequences of university autonomy in Finland and Brazil. Higher Education Quarterly, 73(3), 328-342. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12186

Kallunki, J., Kivistö, J. & Kohtamäki, V. (2018). Funding of Higher Education in Finland. Bloomsbury Education and Childhood Studies, DOI: 11.5040/ArticlesonHigherEducation

Puonti, P. & Kohtamäki, V. 2018. Miksi korkeakoulut tavoittelevat kansainvälisiä kumppanuuksia? [Why Finnish higher education institutions seek international partners?]Journal Administrative Sciences 37(4) 257-269.

Kivistö, J. & Kohtamäki, V. (2016). Does Performance-Based Funding Work? Reviewing the Impacts of Performance-Based Funding on Higher Education Institutions. In Pritchard R., Pausits, A. & Williams, J. (Eds.) Positioning Higher Education Institutions: From Here to There. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, pp. 215-226.

Kohtamäki, V. (2015). Does structural development matter? The third mission through teaching and R&D at Finnish universities of applied sciences. European Journal of Higher Education 5(3), 264-279.

Kohtamäki V. (2015). Interaction between teaching and R&D: The Struggle of Academic Leaders in Finnish universities of applied sciences. Nordic Studies in Education 36(2), 133-147.

Kohtamäki V., Hölttä S. & Bisaso R. (2015). Training in Professional Development and Capacity Building. In S. Bergan, E. Egron-Polak, J. Kohler & L. Purser Handbook Leadership and Governance in Higher Education. Berlin: Raabe. 75-94.

Kohtamäki V. (2014). Driving strategic development in Finnish universities : Reflecting on two case study examples. In Cai Yuzhuo, Kohtamäki Vuokko (ed.) Transformation of higher education in innovation systems in China and Finland. Tampere: Tampere University Press, 79-97.

Kohtamäki V. (2014). Rahaa opetukseen ja tutkimukseen: rahoituksen sisäinen allokoiminen yliopistoissa [Funding of teaching and research: Internal resource allocation models of Finnish universities]. Hallinnon tutkimus 33 (4), 314-331.

Kohtamäki V. (2011). How do Higher Education Institutions enhance their Financial Autonomy? Examples from Finnish Polytechnics. Higher Education Quarterly 65 (2), 164-185.

 Kohtamäki, & Lyytinen, A. (2004). Financial Autonomy and Challenges to Being A Regionally Responsive Higher Education Institution. Tertiary Education and Management, 10(4), 319–336.