Technology education at the University of Eastern Finland (UEFDI), North Karelia

Different sectors of industry will require tens of thousands of highly educated professionals in the coming decades. To meet this growing need especially in Eastern Finland, new technical education programs will be launched in the fall of 2023, which will train new professionals for the needs of the business community in North Karelia and Northern Savonia. The education programs will focus on Technical physics (Kuopio), Sustainable technologies (Joensuu), and Photonics (Joensuu). The University of Eastern Finland, which is the most multidisciplinary university in Finland, will also offer new types of study content that will be developed through the students’ elective courses. The three-year project will begin as the first engineering students start their studies in the new technology education programs. Approximately 200 engineering students will begin their studies in the fall of 2023.The project aims to develop cooperation with the business community in the region, create a sustainable foundation for encouraging women to pursue studies in the technology field, and create pathways for applying to engineering programs at universities of applied sciences. The project will develop work-life collaboration with local companies, create new and exciting student recruitment practices, and coordinate further education opportunities with existing engineering programs at universities of applied sciences. The project will also support the commitment and attachment of students to the region through internships and summer jobs in companies during the implementation of the project. The project will yield its first technology bachelor’s theses and the first English-language engineering master’s degrees in 2026, i.e. during the project. The project also aims to support the retention of international expertise in the Eastern Finland region.In addition to education content development, the project will also develop the infrastructure for practical courses in technology. New equipment will be acquired for laboratory studies and group projects. The project will be implemented simultaneously in Northern Savonia and North Karelia, but the funding applied for is specifically for the development of the Joensuu campus. The measures taken by the project will benefit the business community and contribute to the development of both regions.With the help of this project and technical education, we will take care of the availability of the workforce needed by the companies in the region and the high-level quality of the education, and strengthen the attraction and retention power of the province by attaching engineering students more closely to the province and its companies. At the same time, it is ensured that there will be enough technical experts in the region in the future to secure the growth and internationalization of companies, and the connection between labor force and labor supply is promoted.