Developing Undergraduate Mathematics Education in a Network of Finnish Universities

Practice Paper Recommended citation: Kurki, E.-K., Laaksonen, V., Alestalo, P., Ali-Löytty, S., Ernvall-Hytönen, A.-M., & Rämö, J. (2025). Developing Undergraduate Mathematics Education in a Network of Finnish Universities. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Järvinen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53rd Annual Conference. European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI), Tampere, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631513. This Conference Paper is brought to you for open access by the 53rd Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI) at Tampere University in Tampere, Finland. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License. DEVELOPING UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN A NETWORK OF FINNISH UNIVERSITIES E.-K. Kurki a, 1 , V. Laaksonen b, P. Alestalo c, S. Ali-Löytty d, A.-M. ErnvallHytönen e, J. Rämö f a Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9266-1329 b Tampere University, Tampere, Finland https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5469-3231 c Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland d Tampere University, Tampere, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6720-7722 e University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland f University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland Conference Key Areas: Teaching mathematics and physics in engineering education; Open and online education for engineers Keywords: mathematics curriculum, STEM career interest, collaborative teaching, online learning materials ABSTRACT We present an ongoing project that seeks to answer several current challenges identified in university mathematics education, and deepen the collaboration in mathematics education between Finnish universities. Our goals are to nurture student interest in mathematics studies; make sure that beginning students have sufficient mathematical skills to continue their studies at university level; create and publish online learning materials for today’s digital milieu; pilot different models of collaborative online teaching; and, eventually, create an administrative framework that would facilitate student mobility between universities and degree programmes. At the time of writing, work on the project has started by surveying the current state of basic mathematics education, online teaching, revision materials, and the needs of participating universities. We report preliminary results and discuss the next steps to be taken. 1 1 Corresponding Author: E.-K. Kurki, [email protected] 1 INTRODUCTION In the national STEM strategy outlined by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, natural sciences and mathematics are identified as key competences of the future. They lay the foundation for other competences such as technological innovation, circular economy, and socially and economically sustainable development (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2023). Alarmingly, the mathematical skills of upper secondary school and beginning university students do not always measure up to these ideals; compare e.g. (Joutsenlahti et al., 2016) and the transition issues observed in (SEFI Mathematics Working Group, 2013). At the same time, Finnish statistics show that while the number of available student places in STEM fields was increased in 2024, student interest is stagnating and the newly available places were largely left unfilled (Education Statistics Finland, 2024). In this working paper, we present the project "Attractive and Innovative Higher Education in Mathematics through University Network Collaboration” (MATech), undertaken by the Finnish Institute of Technology (FITech) network of universities and the University of Helsinki, and funded by the Ministry and Education and Culture (FITech, 2025). In brief, we aim to make sure that beginning STEM students are ready to encounter university mathematics, and eventually graduate with the expertise to meaningfully strive for the development goals set in the national strategy. Initially focusing on undergraduate mathematics education, the project consists of four work packages (WPs) to be completed in 2025–26. The Finnish Institute of Technology is a network founded in 2017, that comprises all nine Finnish universities that offer education in technology. 1 Other founding members of the Institute are Technology Industries of Finland (Teknologiateollisuus) and the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK). The initial founding mission of the network was to respond to competence demands arising in industry, but the FITech board has since decided to strengthen the collaboration between member universities at the level of degree studies. The aims of the MATech project are structured around five challenges in university mathematics education: • Attractiveness of STEM fields and lack of student motivation: There is a pressing need to educate more STEM experts for the future. Accordingly, we need to nurture students’ interest in STEM careers. Furthermore, even students of science, technology, and engineering tend to underestimate the importance of mathematics, which has a negative impact on their academic success and later professional development. • Heterogeneous student population: The students’ mathematical skills and abilities at the beginning of university studies are highly divergent, and some need to revise the basics before they are ready to tackle the university mathematics curriculum. • Lack of cohesion across universities: Even though the scientific content of undergraduate science and engineering programmes is largely the same, 1 The FITech member universities are Aalto University, LUT University, University of Eastern Finland, University of Jyväskylä, University of Oulu, Tampere University, University of Turku, University of Vaasa, and Åbo Akademi University. While the University of Helsinki does not grant degrees in Science (Technology) and is not a member of FITech, it actively participates in the present project. each university is responsible for their own curriculum and there is great variety between different universities and majors. This impedes course credit transfer and student mobility between study tracks. • Creating up-to-date, high-quality materials with limited resources: Sharing and collaboration between universities would increase efficiency. • Developing accessible, digital, university-level courses open to all audiences: Target groups include but are not necessarily limited to students at upper secondary schools, universities and universities of applied sciences, as well as life-wide learners. 2 AIMS OF THE PROJECT 2.1 Work package 1: Overview of the universities’ mathematics education, transitions, and development foundations In the first stage, we produce an overview of the current organisation of basic mathematics education for STEM students across FITech member universities. The results will provide us with a starting point that informs all other work packages. In practice, we compile information on the content and extent of basic mathematics education at the course level. As a “basic course” we understand a course that is compulsory to a large population of students in a degree programme or major, and imparts transferable mathematical skills. The student is typically expected to pass these courses in their first or second year of study, before progressing to more specialised studies. There currently exist substantial differences between the organisation of basic studies in different universities and degree programmes. The core content and learning objectives of a course called, say, Calculus 3 are not necessarily the same across universities. Consequently, recognition of existing learning is nontrivial when a student moves from one university or programme to another. We expect the results of WP1 to benefit student mobility within universities as well as transfer between universities of applied sciences and university-level engineering programmes. Furthermore, there is currently no comprehensive understanding of the set of key mathematical skills that every Finnish engineering student should possess after completing their undergraduate degree. One of the future goals of WP1 is to prepare a recommendation for such a framework. In the future, we will ask the same question of master’s studies. At the time of writing, the MATech project has been running for less than two months and is very much a work in progress. As a simple illustration of the current state of Finnish engineering education, we present the amount of basic mathematics courses, in ECTS credit points, that a B.Sc. (Tech.) student is required to pass. The table only takes into account Bachelor’s programmes in Technology, taught in either Finnish or Swedish, at research universities. The University of Helsinki only grants Bachelor’s degrees in Science, and does not figure in this preliminary overview. Undoubtedly, more information is needed in order to understand the actual content and conceptual level of compulsory basic mathematics studies. The discrepancies in breadth between different universities and degree programmes can be partially explained by the needs of each degree programme, the inclusion of mathematical content in courses that are not strictly about mathematics, and path dependency. Table 1. Minimum amount of credits (ECTS) of basic mathematics courses in Finnish B.Sc. (Tech.) degree programmes by university, including different majors in each programme, as of April 2025 University N (programmes) Median (ECTS) Range (ECTS) Tampere 12 25 20–30 Aalto 15 25 15–35 Jyväskylä 2 25 25–25 LUT 8 16 9–25 Vaasa 4 17 12–17 Turku 8 20 20–20 Oulu 8 25 20–30 Eastern Finland 3 25 19–25 Åbo Akademi 3 20 15–25 2.2 Work package 2: Attractiveness of studying mathematics and sufficient basic skills at the beginning of university studies The second work package addresses the transition from school to university. Why are an increasing number of students losing interest in pursuing STEM subjects at the university level? How to effectively teach university mathematics to first-year students with widely varying mathematical backgrounds? We start by looking into upper secondary and university students’ attitudes toward mathematics through questionnaires and interviews. The aim is to find out, on one hand, what discourages students from pursuing studies in a mathematical field and, on the other, to let them uncover aspects of mathematics they find attractive and relevant. Based on the results of the surveys, we will create content that shows the aspects of mathematics that are meaningful to secondary school students. This may include, for example, stories of STEM graduates and their mathematical journeys as well as examples and hands-on problems that illustrate the role of mathematics in society. A panel of students and teachers from the target schools will provide feedback on the materials, allowing us to tailor them to the needs of the students and schools. Another focus of the work package is to ensure that students have sufficient prerequisites to take university mathematics courses. In first-year engineering courses, the student population is very heterogeneous in their mathematical abilities, and an overall decline in students’ mathematical proficiency has been observed both in Finland and abroad (e.g. Kangaslampi et al., 2024; Deeken et al., 2020). We are by no means the first to attempt to address this issue; see, for instance, the MathBridge project (Kangas et al., 2010). We design and pilot a diagnostic test that can be used in Finnish universities. The new test will be based on the test of students’ basic mathematical skills created and currently in use at Tampere University; similar tests exist or have existed at other Finnish universities. The diagnostic test will direct the students to those revision materials that will help them enhance their knowledge and skills to the required level. Given that many member universities already offer revision courses or materials, the process began with a survey to the representatives of the member universities to identify existing resources and gaps. The survey revealed that while the current test questions cover almost all relevant mathematical topics, they primarily focus on calculations and lack emphasis on conceptual understanding. As a result, we will develop new conceptual tasks; compare Joutsenlahti et al. (2016). The results also highlighted that the universities have diverse needs, underscoring the importance of adopting a modular structure for the revision materials. This modular approach enables each student to select the topics they need to revise. Ultimately, collecting existing materials and creating new ones collaboratively not only optimises resources but also strengthens cooperation and networking between the participating universities. 2.3 Work package 3: Inspiring online learning materials and co-teaching piloting The third work package focuses on online courses, beginning with an overview of the current offering and identifying needs for future development. We will also consider the possibility and possible methods of online-based collaborative teaching. Ideally, sharing and collaborative planning would promote the efficient use of resources within the FITech network. In February 2025, we conducted a preliminary survey addressed to representatives of participating universities on existing online courses. The respondents were likewise asked to express any wishes for future development from their point of view, as well as their interest in piloting collaborative teaching. The responses provide WP3 with a starting point to bridge the gap between the current state of online teaching and the existing demand for it. As things stand, the participating universities already possess a lot of digital learning materials and practices. However, there is a variety of implementations and target groups (degree students or external learners). Many respondents were less interested in creating new courses than updating existing resources. Materials that have been carried over from earlier implementations may need to be readapted to a world where AI has or soon will become an everyday tool. At the same time, there appears to be a demand for more basic mathematics courses in English. We will create materials in all three relevant languages, and make them freely available to both teachers and independent learners on existing platforms, notably the Library of Open Educational Resources (https://aoe.fi) and Abacus (https://abacus.aalto.fi). The purpose of the teaching pilot is to test new modes of collaborative teaching across universities, available to all FITech students. Participating universities will be able to experiment with different models based on their needs and interests, and we hope to discover some good practices that could eventually be deployed throughout participating universities. One such model could be to locally organise tutorials in small groups, while learning resources and exercise problems will be available online, with student-teacher interactions based e.g. on flipped learning (Kangaslampi et al, 2024). The EXAM software (https://e-exam.fi/in-english/) enables students to be evaluated under supervision on their home campuses. The online component could be replaced simply by livestreaming lectures, which has the advantage of being easy to implement with existing tools and resources. 2.4 Work package 4: Collaboration in advanced studies As the fourth and final work package, we will survey the needs of and demand for collaboration in advanced mathematics studies, and seek to update existing network agreements accordingly. The focus of WP4 will be on administrative matters, while participating universities and teachers are responsible for the scientific content. Our purpose is to bring together the relevant people and institutions, making their collaboration as fluid as possible. The guidelines and framework for WP4 are provided by the Digivisio 2030 programme (Digivisio 2030, 2025). 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The “Attractive and Innovative Higher Education in Mathematics” project is funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. This work paper is partially based on the original project proposal, where Sanna Viitanen (Aalto University) and Johanna Luomala (FITech) have contributed substantially, in addition to the authors of this paper. The project is coordinated by Jaakko Hyytiä (FITech), who gave comments on the manuscript. REFERENCES Deeken, C., Neumann, I., & Heinze, A. (2020). Mathematical Prerequisites for STEM Programs: What do University Instructors Expect from New STEM Undergraduates? International Journal of Research in Undergraduate Mathematics Education, 6(1), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40753-019-00098-1 Digivisio 2030. (2025). Basic information on the Digivisio 2030 programme. https://digivisio2030.fi/en/basic-information-on-the-digivisio-2030-programme/ (31.03.2025). Education Statistics Finland (2024). Vipunen – opetushallinnon tilastopalvelu: Korkeakoulujen hakeneet ja paikan vastaanottaneet. Opetushallituksen ylläpitämä opiskelijavalintarekisteri. 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