The first project under the partnership is a barometer survey of young people's financial skills, with results just published. The aim in future is also to strengthen staff competencies and students' employer connections.
The University of Helsinki and the financial service provider OP Financial Group have signed a partnership agreement for the period 2024-2029. The goal of this intensifying cooperation is to boost the financial skills of young people and collaboratively tackle challenges associated with sustainable development.
"We wish to identify new ways to promote the sustainable financial success of people in Finland, which is why we are now joining forces with the University of Helsinki. We will expand our expert collaboration and also produce research-based financial knowledge for society as a whole," says Chief Human Resources Officer Hannakaisa Länsisalmi of OP.
"We are happy to expand our collaboration with OP Financial Group, the largest of its kind in Finland. We have many common interests, and the partnership enables us to promote them in an increasingly goal-oriented manner. The research collaboration initiated to enhance young people's financial skills is a wonderful example," says Rector Sari Lindblom of the University of Helsinki.
Unique knowledge of young people's financial skills
The results of the first joint financial skills barometer survey by OP Financial Group and the University of Helsinki were published on Tuesday, 1 October at Think Corner. The groundbreaking survey was conducted among adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age in comprehensive schools, general upper secondary schools and vocational institutions across Finland. More than 1,800 young people from 72 institutions responded to the survey. Among other things, the survey charted their views on saving and managing personal finances.
"The barometer shows that young people have on average good financial skills, which are linked to success at school," says Academy Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro, who heads the survey together with Professor Terhi-Anna Wilska from the University of Jyväskylä.
Based on the survey, the financial skills of general upper secondary school students are better than those of students at vocational institutions. Moreover, boys' financial skills are slightly more robust than girls', and they are also involved in more conversations at home about investing and accruing wealth.
In general, young people are satisfied with their financial management skills. They have a starkly negative attitude towards instant loans, and most of them know where to get help with financial problems. Indeed, it could be said that in their attitudes young people represent a consumption-oriented, thrifty and environmentally conscious style.
"The survey is unique in Finland, and its results can be used by schools, families, decision-makers and the financial sector. The aim is to conduct the survey at regular intervals to make visible trends in young people's financial skills," Salmela-Aro says.
Continuous learning and new employer connections
As Finland's top university, the University of Helsinki is able to provide OP Financial Group with state-of-the-art multidisciplinary research knowledge on various topics. In fact, research-based development of human resources at OP is one of the cornerstones of the partnership.
"The partnership plays a huge role in increasing OP Financial Group's expertise and promoting its diversity. Another important part of the collaboration is raising awareness of OP as an employer among students," Länsisalmi notes.
The financial group can offer a wide range of traineeship opportunities for students of various degree programmes. Moreover, the company's experts can visit the University of Helsinki to give lectures, while students can visit OP Financial Group to familiarise themselves with its operations.
"This way we improve our students' employer connections and make sure that their studies are as good a match as possible for the labour market," Lindblom says.
Strong support for research and education from OP Financial Group
The partners share a vision for promoting the sustainable financial success of people in Finland by means of research. At the same time, solutions to current sustainability and responsibility issues are being sought. OP Financial Group and the University of Helsinki can, for example, organise joint workshops and seminars for their staff, as well as bring important topics into public debate.
OP Financial Group has been a major supporter of research in the past too. In 2017 the University of Helsinki received a donation of €1 million from the group under the governmental matched funding scheme at the time, enabling the development of legal education.
