Key performance indicator

In the liquidity ratios, the consolidated account of the City of Jyväskylä has been included in cash and cash equivalents.
The figures for the comparison years have been adjusted to comply with the new Ministry of Education and Culture's economic code.

Degree programmes in JAMK University of Applied Sciences produced 1,121 bachelor’s degrees in 2019 (1,114 in 2018), as well as 201 master’s degrees (194 in 2018). The number of ECTS credits completed in the Open Studies was 23,293 (15,281 in 2018), which is a new record.

The number of students at the Teacher Education College during the financial year was 829, and vocational teaching qualifications were achieved by 390 people (321 in 2018).

As an indication of the quality of education, JAMK was the first Finnish-speaking higher education institution to pass the third-round audit of the Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council.

In line with the strategy of the new-generation institute of higher education, JAMK’s new DigiCentre was opened in spring to support teaching staff in particular in the digitalisation of teaching.

2019 was again a record-breaking year for JAMK’s RDI activities, marking an increase of 4 % compared to the previous year. External funding for RDI activities amounted to €8.1M (€7.9M in 2018), marking a growth of approximately €0.2M compared to the previous year. As expected, the total volume kept increasing, reaching €11.4M (€11.0M in 2018).

The RDI efforts was developed with a focus on the strengths specified by JAMK’s strategy, including bioeconomy, applied cybersecurity, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, and automation and robotics. The efforts to increase the effectiveness of RDI activities were continued. For the development of RDI activities, an assessment of the organisation’s project maturity, among other things, was carried out to pinpoint areas for development. The key development measures included the certification of project managers and the development of portfolio management. The EduFutura co-operation with key partners, the University of Jyväskylä and the municipal education consortium was diverse. JAMK’s experts are actively engaged in the preparation and implementation teams of the various development platforms in the region.

External funding of the RDI projects 2019 (8.1 M€)

The service business turnover was about €4.6 million (€4.6 million in 2018), in addition to which services counted as RDI activities accounted for €0.6 million (€0.2 million in 2018).

Education exports grew by about 20% (exports in 2019 €2.1 million; in 2018, €1.7 million). The main areas of education exports have been China and Kazakhstan. In addition to these, new potential target countries were also examined during the current financial year. Education export cooperation in teacher education was continued with EduCluster Finland Oy. A significant factor in the growth of education exports was also the tuition fees collected from students from outside the EU/EEA, which comprised about 40% of the education export revenue.

JAMK has focused its service operations on competence areas where the competence is based on the public educational mission, thus maintaining the staff’s competence. This way, the services particularly develop and strengthen the quality of the education and keep it relevant and up-to-date in terms of working life.

JAMK University of Applied Sciences initiated active investment activities in the autumn of 2018 to enhance the efficiency of the management of its cash assets. A return of about 5.9% has been accumulated to date on the invested capital. The investments are made with rather moderate risk and may not compromise liquidity. The key aspects of the investment policy are responsible investment, the utilisation of investment expert services and risk management. Investment assets have been measured at fair value starting from financial year 2018 based on the code of financial administration for higher education institutions updated by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2018.

The average number of staff at JAMK University of Applied Sciences during the past financial year was 743 (739 in 2018) and the number of person-years amounted to 656. The staff expenses increased by €2.1 million.

The spread of the coronavirus to Finland after the end of the financial year, with its various consequences, will have a significant impact on financial year 2020. With regard to degree-awarding education, turnover will remain at the predicted level, but with regard to RDI activities, sale of services and education exports, turnover will fall significantly from the predicted level. The result for the financial year will inevitably remain negative irrespective of the corrective actions taken.

A vision for higher education extending up to 2030 has been drawn up under the direction of the Ministry of Education and Culture, which includes an objective of raising the portion of those with a higher education degree to 50% of the age group (people of 19 to 35 years of age). In order to meet this objective, the Ministry of Education and Culture has increased the degree objectives of higher education institutions from 2021 onwards. As far as JAMK is concerned, the increase amounts to more than 200 degrees a year. No such central government funding that would completely cover the increase is currently foreseen.

The volume of RDI activities has seen good development and is anticipated to remain at the current level in 2020.

Service business is expected to retain its current level in Finland or grow slightly. Education exports have become a strong pillar of support for business operations. In addition to controlled business growth, our performance and quality will continue to be developed.

The new funding model for universities of applied sciences has been approved and will enter into force in 2021. The new funding model gives JAMK an opportunity to reach an even better performance level, provided that JAMK’s curriculum work succeeds and develops increasingly versatile, high-quality and effective learning opportunities in degree programmes. In reaching the goals of the curriculum work, failure forms the greatest foreseeable financial risk to JAMK’s operations. Another risk related to the funding model is the competition between universities of applied sciences and JAMK’s relative success in this mutual performance measurement.

In other respects, the risks are specified in the risk register, which is updated twice a year. The principal risks are related to the acquisition of funding outside of central government funding and the factors related to personnel. Risks are managed according to the annual schedule, in addition to which various surveys, audits and inspections are carried out on an annual basis.

The environmental legislation and its changes do not require any particular measures as regards the company’s business, but environmental issues will be taken into account in all activities.

The parent company’s Board of Directors convened 9 times during the year of operation. Additionally, one evening session of the Board was held. In November, JAMK’s Board and management team made a joint visit to Germany to compare a few higher education institutions. The trip was part of the preparations for JAMK’s strategy update.

The key decisions of the Board included regular matters concerning the budget and financial statements.

Rector Jussi Halttunen served as the president, Vice Rector Heikki Malinen as the president’s deputy, BDO Oy as the auditor and Pertti Hiltunen (Chartered Accountant, Chartered Public Finance Auditor) as the principal auditor.

Board members of JAMK University of Applied Sciences Ltd. 1 January – 31 December 2019:

and Eino Leisimo as controller for the City of Jyväskylä. 
Mikko R. Salminen, Director of Administration, served as the Board’s secretary.

The Annual General Meeting was held on 6 May 2019.

The JAMK University of Applied Sciences Group is a subgroup of the Jyväskylä City Corporation. The domicile of the City Corporation is the City of Jyväskylä.

A copy of the consolidated financial statements is available at: City of Jyväskylä, Talouskeskus public utility, Heikinkatu 3 B, FI-40100 Jyväskylä.

The parent company has 160 shares of the same type, with a nominal value of €168.19 each.

The owners of JAMK University of Applied Sciences Ltd.

The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the financial statements be approved and that the parent company's loss for the financial year of EUR 495,250.12 be recognized in the retained profit account.