The Finnish National Defence University (, MPKK, ) is a military university located in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. The university trains officers for the

Finnish Defence Forces The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

and the

Finnish Border Guard The Finnish Border Guard (FBG, ; ) is the agency responsible for enforcing the security of Finland's borders. Duties Main duties of the Finnish Border Guard: * Protecting the land borders and territorial waters of Finland from unauthorised e ...

. The main campus is located in

Santahamina Santahamina () is an island and neighbourhood of Eastern Helsinki, Finland. At present it is a military base housing the Guard Jaeger Regiment, making access restricted. The Finnish National Defence University (NDU) is also located on the islan ...

. Prior to 2007, the school referred to itself, in English, as the National Defence College.

History

The first army officer school in Finland, then part of Sweden, was , which was founded by

Georg Magnus Sprengtporten Count Georg Magnus Sprengtporten (16 December 1740 – 13 October 1819) was a Finland–Swedish politician, count, baron, and general of the infantry. Sprengtporten is a controversial figure in the national histories of Sweden, Finland, and Russ ...

in 1780 in

Kuopio Kuopio ( , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Savo. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Kuopio is approximately , while the Kuopio sub-region, sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the mos ...

and relocated to

Rantasalmi Rantasalmi is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia regions of Finland, region, northwest of Savonlinna and northeast of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area ...

in 1781. Initially, it was established to train officers for the Savo Brigade of the Swedish Army, but soon it began to recruit cadets from all of Finland. The school continued operation even after the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

in 1809, where Finland was ceded to the Russian Empire. However, in 1818, a fire broke out in the building, and the school was moved to

Hamina Hamina (; , , Sweden ) is a List of cities in Finland, town and a Municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately east of the country's capital Helsinki, in the Kymenlaakso Regions of Finland, region, and formerly ...

to become the Hamina Cadet School. The Hamina Cadet School was trained officers for the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. It was abolished on July 24, 1903 under the influence of various orders given during the first period of repression of Finland by the Russian Empire. After independence, the Finnish officer training was always divided among three schools until 1992: initial education at the ("Cadet School", abbreviated KADK, founded in 1919), General Staff Officer Training at the ("War College", founded in 1924), as well as continuous training at the ("Battle School", founded in 1927). From the beginning of 1993, all of these schools were merged into the National Defence University, one of the largest colleges of higher education for officer education. In 2001, the ((a military junior college), known as NDI, national defence institute)) in

Lappeenranta Lappeenranta (; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately , while the Lappeenranta sub-r ...

was decommissioned, but the school was immediately repurposed to provide freshman and army training for the National Defence University, as the Army Academy (, "Land Warfare School").

Rectors of the National Defense University

Degrees

It is possible to get the following degrees in the National Defence University: * Bachelor of

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

* Master of military science * Senior staff officer's degree * General staff officer's degree * Doctor of military science

Departments

* Department of Leadership and Military Pedagogy * Department of Warfare * Department of Military Technology

Locations

Service branch schools

The following establishments are responsible for the branch- or service-specific education of the students: * Air Force Academy,

Tikkakoski Tikkakoski is an urban area (a '' taajama'') and a district of Jyväskylä, Finland, about north of the city center. Before 2009, Tikkakoski was part of Jyväskylän maalaiskunta. Having originally been part of Tikka-Mannila, Tikkakoski beg ...

* Army Academy,

** Armour School,

Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna (; ; ; or ''Croneburgum'') is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Kanta-Häme. It is located in the southern interior of the country and on the shores of Vanajavesi, Lake Vanajavesi. The population of Hämeenlinna is appr ...

** Artillery School,

Niinisalo Niinisalo is a village in the municipality of Kankaanpää in the region of Satakunta in Finland. It is known for the Niinisalo Garrison which is the base of the Finnish Army unit Artillery Brigade (Finland), Artillery Brigade. The population of N ...

** Engineer School,

** Infantry School,

** Signals School,

Riihimäki Riihimäki (; ) is a town and municipality in the south of Finland, about north of Helsinki and southeast of Tampere. An important railway junction is located in Riihimäki, since railway tracks from Riihimäki lead to Helsinki, Tampere and La ...

* Naval Academy,

* Border and Coast Guard Academy,

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

Imatra Imatra is a city in Finland, located in the southeastern interior of the country. Imatra is located in the region of South Karelia, on Saima, Lake Saimaa and the River Vuoksi. The population of Imatra is approximately , while the Imatra sub-regi ...

(part of

) * Logistics School,

(part of Defence Forces Logistics Command) Besides these, Military Museum of Finland, National Defence Courses departments and the National Defence University Library operate under National Defence University.

References

External links

Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu

Finnish National Defence University
Education in Helsinki Universities and colleges in Finland Educational institutions established in 1993 Military academies of Finland 1993 establishments in Finland {{Finland-university-stub