Parliamentary election 2023

1. Student sports are taken into account in university funding.

Universities are required to offer sports services, but the laws and regulations don’t make any mention of the quality or amount of these services. This puts the students at different universities and campuses in an unequal position. We need financial incentives to develop sports services and increase physical activity in the university environment.

Incentives should also be created to increase collaboration between universities to ensure that students can use the sports services at other universities flexibly. This is particularly important for the students at universities with campuses in several cities, but also due to the increase in distance learning.

The national recommendations for university sports state that each university should invest at least 30 euros per student into sports services every year.

Goal: An incentive is included in the models for university funding which steers universities towards carrying out the recommendations for university sports.

2. The funding for the Universities on the Move programme continues.

Universities participate in the Universities on the Move programme to create an active culture and increase physical activity among students both within the traditional sports services and in the university environment during the daily studies. According to the sports policy report, project funding should offer support in establishing the activities as part of the universities’ ongoing activities.

The fact that the Universities on the Move project is needed is also supported by the 2021 Finnish Student Health and Wellbeing Survey (KOTT), according to which 68.1 percent of university students sit for more than 10 hours a day. In addition, more than half of university students don’t get enough exercise in terms of their health.

Goal: The funding for the On the Move programmes is extended, and the programmes are improved based on assessments of effectiveness. The Universities on the Move programme is extended to include all universities.

3. Students and university sports are acknowledged in the legislation.

Students should be seen as a separate group alongside children and young people in the promotion of exercise and in the legislation. University sports services are joint promoters of physical activity among all kinds of university students, in the same way that the FSHS is a provider of student health care services. This is why the position of university sports must be protected, and they must be given the same opportunities as other sports service providers to apply for and receive funding for maintaining and improving its activities.

Goal: Students are acknowledged as a separate group in the legislation regarding the promotion of exercise. University sports is ensured equal status with other sports service providers.

4. The Finnish model is extended to include students in secondary and higher education.

Students’ sense of belonging and community have been impacted by the pandemic. The transition phases on the education path and the time investment required by studying often end up disrupting an existing hobby and making it hard to find new ones. The Finnish model not only includes school pupils; instead it is extended to also cover the needs, opportunities and individual wishes regarding sports and other hobbies of students in secondary and higher education.

Goal: The Finnish model is extended to include students in secondary and higher education.