Annual Report 2025
Work begins on building the higher education group
At the beginning of 2025, the University of Jyväskylä and the City of Jyväskylä signed a letter of intent to explore the expansion of the ownership base of Jamk University of Applied Sciences. On 22 December 2025, the City of Jyväskylä, the City of Jämsä, and the Äänekoski Federation of Municipalities for Vocational Education signed a deed of sale to transfer 97 shares of JAMK University of Applied Sciences Ltd to the University of Jyväskylä. The transaction was completed in January 2026.
Cooperation between the University of Jyväskylä and Jamk University of Applied Sciences is expected to enhance the attractiveness of Jyväskylä’s higher education institutions, improve the conditions for RDI activities carried out in collaboration with businesses, and lead to more cost-effective solutions for the development of services and infrastructure.
The year 2025 was another successful one for research. The number of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications remained at the previous year’s level, with the total number remaining stable at around 3,500 per year.
The University maintained its strong standing in competitive research funding. JYU expanded the applicant base for competitive research funding and made broader use of various EU funding instruments, which contributed to the high level of funding received. The University also had success in funding calls by the Research Council of Finland, the main domestic funding body, as well as in Business Finland’s new research-oriented call, Rise to Challenge (Näytönpaikka).
The number of degrees also increased, with 3,497 degrees completed and growth occurring on all degree levels.
For master’s and doctoral degrees, we nearly reached our target level, and graduation in target time improved slightly.
The number of bachelor’s degrees increased, but additional efforts are required to reach the target level. Compared to previous years, there was a slight decline in graduation in target time.
In lifelong learning, the University maintained its strong national position in open higher education, despite a slight decline in the number of ECTS credits earned compared to the previous year.
JYU continued its active cooperation in the European FORTHEM alliance, beginning preparations for the next application period with the role of a coordinating university.
Stakeholder engagement focused on new partnership agreements, which were signed with, among others, Metsä Group, Valmet and Elomatic. Research findings were communicated to the public, from children to older people, through various Science for All events, which reached a total audience of 44,600 people. The programme gained national visibility through our media partners Keskisuomalainen (the major daily newspaper in Central Finland) and Yle Areena (the streaming platform of the Finnish National Broadcasting Company). The University also arranged local Science Days as part of a national programme, JYU’s contribution to the European-wide Researchers’ Night, and a discussion series for the Jyväskylä Festival. The Faculty of Mathematics and Science celebrated its 60th anniversary by offering a wide-ranging programme for various audiences throughout the year.
he University of Jyväskylä aims to be a carbon-negative and nature-positive organisation by 2030. The University is committed to reducing its measurable biodiversity and climate impacts by at least 60% from 2019 levels and offsetting the remaining impacts for which it is responsible by 2030.
JYU’s carbon footprint calculation for 2024, completed in summer 2025, indicated that the University’s carbon footprint has decreased approximately 42% from 2019 levels. The largest categories of climate impacts were investments, procurement, real estate and energy.
The University has very few direct emissions. The total carbon footprint continued to decrease in 2024, standing at 20,687 tCO2e, in comparison to 2023, when it was 21,786 tCO2e.
The University is committed to promoting a culture of equality and non-discrimination, accessibility to higher education, and a safe and accessible environment for research, teaching, studying and work. In 2025, the University began implementing its new equality, non-discrimination and accessibility plan, and an expert responsible for coordinating social sustainability and responsibility was recruited.
The University’s revenue for the financial year was €255 million, representing a 4% increase from the previous year. Operating expenses also rose by 4%. The operating result after operating expenses was a deficit of €2.8 million.
State funding received by the University increased by €8 million and supplementary funding also continued to rise, growing by €2 million from the previous year. The share of supplementary funding in the revenue has remained fairly stable in recent years. Competitive research funding increased to €47.8 million. This was an increase of €2.5 million compared to the previous financial year. The largest project financers continued to be the Research Council of Finland, the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the European Commission together with other EU funding. The share of competitive research funding accounted for more than half (55%) of the total supplementary funding.
The overall result turned profitable at €19.3 million due to a significant realization within the University’s investment activities. The most significant impact on the investment result came from the sale of the insurance-wrapped investment portfolio. The one-time realization of this portfolio contributed €12.2 million to the investment result, while the remaining investment activities contributed €9.4 million, which is very close to the result of the previous financial year (€8.4 million).
The overall result, including investment assets, is clearly in surplus, meaning the University’s balance sheet grew stronger.
The University’s personnel costs increased by €6.9 million, that is, 4% from the previous year. The increase in staff is reflected in the total salary expenditure; similarly, the doctoral education pilot programme launched in autumn 2024 is now fully reflected in the figures. Personnel costs again accounted for 68.4% of the University’s total expenses. The facilities programme reduced rental costs by €1.2 million, but in the largest categories of other expenses, costs again rose to, and even above, levels seen before the University’s financial adjustment programme.
The number of person-years worked by monthly-salaried staff increased by 3.3%. The total number of person-years for monthly-salaried staff was 2,753. For teaching and research staff, the total was 1,743 person-years (+5.2%) and the number of other staff’s person-years was 916 (–0.2%). For teaching staff in the Teacher Training School, the total was 94 person-years (+3.6 %). The combined total for all staff groups in 2025 was 2,852 person-years.
International staff accounted for 21.3% of the person-years of monthly-salaried teaching and research staff, compared to 20.0% in 2024. Of the person-years of the whole staff, international staff accounted for 15.1% of the total. The University employed monthly-salaried staff from 77 countries; besides Finland, the largest groups came from India, China, and Iran.
