Kuopio University

Kuopio University (Finnish: Kuopion yliopisto), a defunct comprehensive university in the city of Kuopio in the province of Eastern Finland, Republic of Finland, was founded in 1966 and merged with the University of Joensuu to form the University of Eastern Finland in 2010. In 2008, Kuopio University had 1,696 employees, including 112 professors, and 5,572 students, including 4,589 at the bachelor's and master's level, 983 at the doctoral level, and 172 international students. The then Rector was Prof. Dr. Mati Usitupa.

histories

The University Act of Kuopio was passed in 1966, and teaching activities began in 1972 with the first 100 or so students specializing in medicine, followed by dentistry, pharmacy and environmental science in 1978, the first nursing department in Finland and the Institute of Health Care, and the Department of Clinical Nutrition in 1989. The following year, dentistry, pharmacy and environmental science were opened, and in 1978 Finland's first Department of Nursing and the Institute of Health Care were founded. 1984 saw the establishment of the Department of Clinical Nutrition, and in 1989 the A.I. Vilthanen Institute of Molecular Sciences was established. In February 2007, the Finnish Biological Center was established, spreading over six universities in the country, with the University of Kuopio branch consisting of the A. I. Vilthanen Institute of Molecular Sciences.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Finland's higher education was reformed, and since 2007 the Ministry of Education has been working on the merger of Kuopio University and Joensuu University. The two universities finally merged on January 1, 2010, to form the University of Eastern Finland (Itä-Suomen yliopisto).

Teaching and Research Institutions

Prior to the merger with Joensuu University, education and research at Kuopio University was conducted primarily through five colleges and the A. I. Virtanen Institute of Molecular Sciences. These five colleges were the College of Business and Information Technology, the College of Medicine, the College of Natural and Environmental Sciences, the College of Pharmacy, and the College of Social Sciences.The A. I. Virtanen Institute of Molecular Sciences is also generally considered a college. The disciplines of health sciences, environmental sciences, and welfare economics are the strengths of Kuopio University.

reputations

The Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities 2009 ranks Kuopio University 4th-5th in Finland, 171st-208th in Europe and 402nd-501st in the world. The Times Higher Education and QS World University Rankings 2009 ranked Kuopio University 4th in Finland and 328th in the world.

international exchange

Kuopio University cooperates with European universities through Socrates and other agreements within the framework of the European Union, in the fields of life sciences, genetics and biotechnology, food quality and safety, and information technology. Kuopio University's traditional partners are mainly from Europe, North America and Northwest Russia, but in recent years it has increasingly cooperated with universities in East Asia, Southeast Asia and North Africa. Kuopio University sends and receives about 180 and 260 exchange students per year, respectively.