The Finnish school system has earned acknowledgment worldwide because of high test scores. Finland’s Minister of Education now visits three Asian countries with a hope of making an export product out of the educational system.
This weekend Finland’s Minister of Education Krista Kiuru is heading to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. It is her first trip aimed at promoting Finnish educational exports.
In an interview with the Finnish Yle, the Minister tells that there is a lot of interests in educational exports among Finnish companies. An example is in the gaming industry.
“They’re attracted by the opportunities to export their products or applications that support the learning environment – such as maths games, for instance,” Krista Kiuru explains.
On Thursday the Education Ministry set up a committee to come up with ways to turn the Finnish schooling model into a profitable business. Jari Jokinen, Project Director at the Espoo-based Aalto University, is a member of the panel.
He says that education exports so far have been held back by a familiar Finnish phenomenon: a lack of know-how in how to sell them. Other obstacles include outmoded operational cultures and many legislative restrictions.
By the end of October, the working group is to find out what a Finnish educational product might be, to whom it could be sold and at what kinds of prices. The panel is being led by Social Democratic MP Päivi Lipponen, an author, teacher and wife of former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen.
Source: Yle
