In its midterm policy review and spending limits discussion of spring 2021, the Finnish government stated that the number of international degree students in Finland should be tripled by 2030, while increasing their employment and retention rates in Finland to 75%. Through the Talent Boost programme, the government is investing in keeping international students in Finland in the form of business collaboration and by improving the receptiveness and diversity of professional life.

The Talent Boost programme is coordinated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Education and Culture. It is a cross-administrative programme designed to boost the immigration of senior specialists, employees, students, and researchers, with a focus on attracting the kind of talent who will be instrumental for the growth and internationalisation of Finnish companies, and for RDI in the leading growth sectors. It also targets sectors suffering from a labour shortage. The programme aims to enhance Finland’s attractiveness to specialists and their families.

Kielibuusti is part of the Talent Boost service proposition of the higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education and Culture. The service proposition comprises measures which higher education institutions use to boost the integration of international students and researchers into Finnish society and their entry into the Finnish labour market.

The Talent Boost service proposition of the higher education institutions and the Ministry of Education and Culture state the following:

“We will offer international students education in Finnish/Swedish and new forms of language learning.
Through our collaboration structures, we will develop and offer advanced courses in Finnish as a second language and extend language offerings to students outside each individual higher education institution as well as to the international staff of the higher education institutions who need advanced instruction in Finnish as a second language.”

Kielibuusti also relates to the Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education in Finland (SIMHE) activities recorded in the Talent Boost service proposition. The University of Helsinki and the Metropolia University of Applied Sciences serve as what are known as SIMHE institutions. SIMHE institutions provide national and regional supervision and guidance to foreign-born individuals who are eligible for higher education, and support the deployment of good SIMHE practices at other Finnish higher education institutions. All higher education institutions involved in Kielibuusti will adopt supervision and guidance practices and services developed at the SIMHE institutions.

At the University of Helsinki, Kielibuusti is involved with the qualification training for individuals who have completed their degree in medicine and dentistry outside the EU/EEA countries. The qualification training is part of the Talent Boost service proposition. Kielibuusti provides expertise in regard to language studies, which are an integral part of the training.