Survey: HAMK’s reputation and awareness among stakeholders have improved further
The results of HAMK’s recent stakeholder survey are once again excellent. The awareness of our various areas of operation among stakeholders has increased, and more than half of the respondents (55%) believe that HAMK has a better reputation compared to other universities of applied sciences.
Responses to the stakeholder survey were collected from political influencers, those working in education and science, regional and municipal officials, as well as representatives from the media, agencies, ministries, and companies. The stakeholders in the survey included political influencers, companies, education and science, ministries, regional officials, municipal officials, media, regional councils, and agencies.
Highlights from the results
HAMK is considered to have succeeded well in various areas of its operations. HAMK is seen as widely networked both nationally and internationally, and 84% of respondents believe that HAMK adds value to its operational area.
Stakeholder representatives are most familiar with HAMK’s degree programmes (Bachelor’s 84%, Master’s 70%) and research and development work (66%). Compared to the results of 2023, the awareness of almost all areas of our operations had improved. The most significant growth was seen in the awareness of project activities, cooperation with companies, HAMK Design Factory, and our international activities.
Nearly half of the respondents (47%) see HAMK’s slogan “The Bettermakers” as reflecting their image of HAMK. Only 12% of respondents answered this question critically. This indicates that our brand is credible in the eyes of our stakeholders. In the brand renewal carried out in 2023, we wanted to define a slogan that challenges and motivates us to improve our operations even further. Based on the results of the stakeholder survey, it seems that we have succeeded in this goal.
47% of respondents feel that HAMK’s visibility has improved in recent years, and 39% feel that visibility has remained the same. Respondents are also very satisfied with their cooperation with HAMK. They are most satisfied with the expertise (88%) and usefulness (82%) of communication, as well as the clarity and comprehensibility of information (79%).
Professional doctorates received support
Universities of Applied Sciences are currently discussing whether they should also be able to award doctorates (professional doctorate) in Finland, similar to other European countries. Professional doctorates are parallel to the current university doctorates, but they are driven by the needs of companies, applied, and solution-oriented. HAMK leads a working group of 12 universities of applied sciences that is preparing a concrete proposal for the guidelines of the doctorate and a possible pilot in which the doctoral degrees could be experimented.
More than half (51%) of the respondents to our stakeholder survey are positive about the possibility of universities of applied sciences awarding doctorates. Representatives of companies viewed the topic even more positively: 56% reported being somewhat or very positive about professional doctorates.
Respondents identified the key objectives of professional doctorates as increasing the competitiveness and skill level of companies, as well as enhancing Finland’s innovation and renewal capacity.
Background and implementation of the survey
The stakeholder survey was conducted by Aula Research on behalf of HAMK. The purpose of the survey was to produce measurable and trackable information about HAMK’s reputation and awareness, stakeholders’ views on the impact of HAMK’s operations, and to measure satisfaction with HAMK’s communication and engagement. Responses were collected from a total of 251 stakeholder representatives. The previous similar survey was conducted in 2023.
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