On Friday, May 13, Tatte’s working group on international members presented its report on the results of last year’s survey on the experiences of international researcher, teachers, and staff at Tampere universities. The survey and report are the result of a collaboration between Tatte and the Tampere University chapter of the Finnish Union of University Professors.
The report reveals a complex picture of the diverse experiences of international researchers, teachers, and staff at Tampere universities, and it discusses a broad range of issues identified in the survey, from the perennial question of language practices to the practicalities of banking to problems of harassment and discrimination. It emphasizes the diverse range of experiences imperfectly gathered under the concept of ‘international’, while also noting that many of the problems faced by international members are bound up with broader structural issues in the university.
Above all, the results foreground the need to understand and treat international members of Tampere universities as precisely that, as full members of the university community. This is necessarily the work of the entire university community—not just international members themselves—and we hope that the results of the survey can inform this work going forward. Toward that end, the working group has begun drafting a series of recommendations based on the survey to be presented to the university in the coming months.
We had hoped to concurrently release a Finnish language translation of the report, but we have encountered some delays, so we have decided to share the English language report now, and we will post the Finnish translation as soon as it is available.