This paper presents an analysis of the recent development of a part of the higher education in Finland. Its objective is to analyse how Finnish polytechnic school reacted to the new requirements to become responsive to regional needs and how they build up the necessary abilities to this regional engagement. The central theoretical framework are the institutional changing elements described by Burton Clark (1998) on his analysis about entrepreneurial universities. In particular the article focus on the channels and interfaces that those institutions have established with other players in the region.
Finland; higher education; regional development; polytechnic school; academic entrepreneurship