Financial statement and annual report 2024: a year of renewal and planning for the future
2024 was a successful year for Metropolia. During the year a lot of planning and developing was made in order to go towards the organization's vision for the future. In addition, the financial performance was good despite the challenging economic environment.
Key figures from the year 2024:
- Turnover was €134.6 million, up 10.5% on the previous year
- Profit for the financial year was EUR 9.5 million, with an adjusted profit of EUR 3.7 million.
- RDI turnover was €12.6 million, with 76 RDI projects in progress at the end of the year
- During the year there were 17 461 primary applicants applying to Metropolia
- During the year, 91 new employees were recruited and the number of full-time employees at the end of the year was 1145
− In 2024 Metropolia's strategy was updated and the objectives and indicators for the next four-year period were agreed with the Ministry of Education and Culture. As part of this work for the future, we also reformed our organization and set growth targets to support the implementation of the strategy, says Riitta Konkola, President and CEO of Metropolia.
Metropolia's growth strategy includes growth targets for research, development and innovation activities (RDI), business and lifelong learning up to 2030. In RDI activities, the goal is to increase the amount of externally competed funding and to strengthen especially international RDI activities. The goal of paid business activities is to expand Metropolia's revenue base and to ensure even more financial development for Metropolia in the future. Significant aspects include domestic business activities, tuition-paying students, and commercial RDI aimed at companies.
Developing future solutions together with partners
Metropolia's strategic vision is to be a bold reformer of expertise and a builder of a sustainable future. In 2024, the organization moved towards this vision in close collaboration with the working life and other national and international partners.
One example of new initiatives in 2024 is the Immersive Sustainability Lab, opened at the end of the year on Metropolia's Arabia campus, which promotes sustainable development innovations and applications as well as provides a meeting place for city residents, companies and communities. In 2024, another opening was celebrated: the sustainable development learning and project space Garbon Garage. In May, a new partnership in the field of cultural well-being research and education began when Metropolia and the University of Jyväskylä's joint competence center CuWeRE agreed on cooperation with Sweden's Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the ShareMusic and Performing Arts organization.
− We are increasingly collaborating internationally. We now have a unique vantage point in this regard, as we are the only Finnish higher education institution that serves as the main coordinator in a European university alliance, says Riitta Konkola.
At the beginning of 2024, the European University alliance U!REKA coordinated by Metropolia, started its activities based on several years of cooperation between Metropolia and five European universities of applied sciences and 26 associated partners. One of the goals of the U!REKA alliance is to support European cities in their carbon neutrality goals.
Read Metropolia’s financial statements and annual report 2024
More information
Riitta Konkola
President and CEO, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences
riitta.konkola@metropolia.fi