Direction for planning comes from strategy
WORKING LIFE INCLUDED IN PLANNING
International companies and the versatile culture in the region, as well as students from all over the world make VAMK an international and multicultural institute of higher education. This, together with our desire to be the best partner in competence, gives a premise for working-life oriented planning. This work involves individual teachers when they consider the working –life impact of their courses; Heads of Degree Programmes when they renew curricula together and in deliberation with working life and VAMK’s management and supervisors with their active grasp on enhancement and co-operation. Continuity and method is brought by field-specific Advisory Committees and agreements with working life partners. The co-operation between the units of Higher Education in Vaasa is also unique and special.
STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN PLANNING
The students are an equal partner for us in education enhancement. The student body VAMOK appoints student representatives to degree programme meetings; by participating in these, the students can have a voice in topical matters. The students also have a representative in almost all VAMK task groups, including the decision-making bodies, such as Board and Management Team.
Doing it for real
UNIQUE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
New and modern teaching facilities, equipment and software as well as joint laboratories on Campus provide our students learning environments that are in the league of their own. VAMK provides its students modern and practical contact teaching; Technobothnia laboratories for the students of Engineering and Clinical Training Centre in Alere for students of Health Care and Social Studies. The real commissions from working life, practical training, which is a part of the degree, as well as theses commissioned by working life translate the theory into the student’s competence.
SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE FOR STUDIES
By introducing the students well into studies, we want to ensure a good start for the studies. In addition to student tutors and group infos, each group is appointed a tutor teacher. Group guidance includes the starting discussion and appraisal discussion each year. The advancement of studies and the student’s career plans are in focus in appraisal discussions. The student counsellor helps and supports the students in special situations. Electronic services, introduced in the autumn of 2020, will help students in practicalities.
Assessment and enhancement
GOOD EMPLOYMENT SITUATION OF THE GRADUATES
The best feedback of the success of the education is the employment of our students and the feedback from their employers. The results show as a good employment situation of the graduates. In annual meetings with our co-operation partners, the success of the co-operation is assessed and new ways to co-operate are developed.
TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE IT
The action plans of the educational unitsare created in co-operation with the teaching staff.In the Unit Review held every autumn, the results are compared with the objectives; what we want to attain and what our exact goals are. Our teachers are in continuous interaction with the working life experts in their respective fields and the feedback from them is taken into account when planning the curricula and the action plan for the following year.
VAMOK’S IMPORTANT ROLE
An especially important partner for VAMK in the education enhancement is VAMOK. The agreement made with VAMOK includes numerous measures with which we support the well-being and fluent learning process of the students. In addition to co-operation with the student body, we receive the learner’s perspective or assessment of the education from our alumni who have started their work careers. They give feedback via VAMK’s feedback systems and the graduand feedback questionnaire AVOP, as well as by replying the career monitoring survey.
